Sony acquired the original Acid from Sonic Foundry in 2003. Since then it has slowly developed Acid, and the company now markets a range of audio recording/looping software based on the original concepts and technology.

There are three products in the range. First up is the professional-level digital audio works (DAW) Acid Pro 6, followed by the mid-range Acid Music Studio. The product we're reviewing here is Acid XMC, which is aimed at beginners.

Sony Acid XMC supports recording and looping unlimited audio or Midi tracks with automatic key and tempo matching. It also comes with over 600 royalty-free, music loops. However, any effects required must be applied outside XMC because it doesn’t support them.

This stripped-down approach is ideal for the basic-level market, keeping costs down and the software simple. CD clips can be captured directly from Acid XMC and finished edits written either directly to audio CD or output in a variety of formats including mp3s.

Installation is uncomplicated, and only requires the entry of a 23-character serial number.

There is the usual prompt for registration, but unregistered users can still access updates. At the time of writing, the shipped version, 6.0b, was the latest.

Once launched, Acid XMC opens with a set of demonstration tracks already loaded and a splash overlay screen labelled ‘Show Me How’ that links to a set of tutorials. Unfortunately the online product help is generic to all three Acid products and frequently mentions procedures and features that aren’t possible or present in XMC.

The interface is a single window of clean and crisp 2D graphics split horizontally into a linear track view at the top and a tabbed, track properties and file explorer at the bottom.

Unlike some basic music software, Sony Acid XMC is not a toy, but a serious introduction to audio recording and looping. It could easily be used as an ideas notepad for later transference to more powerful software.

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