I know some of you here on the Vegas forum use ACID (in the privacy of your own home of course ;-) ) so I thought you would be interested to know that the new VASST Instant ACID book has been release by CMP Books and is on its way to distributors. CMP was selling copies at the NAMM show this weekend so some people already have their copy.
For those of you who many not be familiar with the "Instant Series" by VASST (Instant Vegas, Instant Sound Forge, and now Instant ACID) it is a quick reference to all the information you really need to know to get you productive quickly and enough advanced tips and tricks to keep you productive if you are an experienced user. It is very visual (most pages have two images showing you what the text is explaining) and task oriented so that you don’t have to read it cover-to-cover. You can skip to just the task you are trying to accomplish and get the information you need instantly. They are perfect for people who don’t like reading because they are very visual, concise, step-by-step, and stay focused on the task. (truly a book for people who hate to read books)
Instant ACID covers all the new features of ACID Pro 5.0 (Grooves, Media Manager, Folder tracks, using Multi-port VSTi, etc.). Here is the Table of Contents so you can see what else it covers:
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Track Area
- Beat Rulers and Time Rulers
- Multiple Docking Areas
- Setting Up ACID the Way YOU Work
Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Looping
- ACID Properties/ACIDization
- Loops, Beatmapped Tracks, and One Shots
- Our First Project
- Drag, Drop, and Paint
- Cut, Copy, Paste, and Ripple
- Changing Tempo, Time Signatures, and Keys
- Markers, Regions, and Commands
- Saving a Project with All Its Loops
Chapter 3: Considerations for Nonlinear Video Editors
- Working with a Video Track
- Time Markers
- Tempo Markers
- Adjusting Tempo to Match Marker to Cursor
Chapter 4: Tips and Tricks
- Reverse Parts of Your Loops
- Use the Bus Tracks View
- Create a Natural Chorus Effect
- The “Wall of Sound” Effect
- Pitch-Shifting Tracks
- Detuning Tracks
- Employing Other Creative Tricks
Chapter 5: Beatmapping Existing Songs
- Know Your Copyrights
- Extracting Audio from CDs
- Matching Tempo
- Knowing When to Start
- Fixing Tempo Drift Using ACID
Chapter 6: Advanced Looping
- Manipulating Loops
- Reversing Events
- Pseudo-Granular Synthesis/Stutter Effect
- The Paint Tool and One-Shots
- Rendering FX with a Track
Chapter 7: Grooving to the Beat!
- Applying Grooves
- The Groove Pool
- The Groove Editor
- The Groove Editor and the Properties of a Loop Track
- Groove Cloning
Chapter 8: Organization Techniques
- Using Track Colors to Organize
- Using Folders Tracks to Organize and Edit
- Customize Media Folders
- Media Manager
Chapter 9: Creating Your Own Loops
- Choping to a New Track Using the Chopper
- Constructing New Loops Using Different Events
- Insert Event at Play Cursor/Paste Event At Play Cursor
- MIDI Tracks
- Rendering a New Loop
- Stretch Markers, Beat Markers, and Beat Anchors
- ACIDization of Rendered Loops
- ACIDized Track Types
Chapter 10: Recording Audio
- Audio Recording Hardware
- Setting Audio Device Preferences
- ASIO
- Windows Classic Wave
- The Record Window
- Monitoring While Recording via Hardware
- Recording Multiple Takes
- Working with Recorded Tracks
- Using the Metronome
Chapter 11: Recording MIDI
- MIDI Recording Hardware
- Selecting a MIDI Controller
- Selecting a MIDI Interface
- Selecting a MIDI Output Device
- Plugging It All Together
- VST Instrument Setup
- Multi-Port VST Instruments
- Making Your MIDI Recording
- Using the Metronome
- Selecting the Recording Device
- Recording
- Working with Track Properties
- Heads and Tails and What To Do About Them
- Strategy for Recording MIDI Loops
- Tracks and MIDI Channels
- Routing to MIDI Devices
- Addressing Multi-Channel MIDI Devices
Chapter 12: Syncing ACID with Other Programs
- Using ACID as a ReWire Mixer (Host)
- Using ACID as a ReWire Device (Client)
- Syncing to MIDI Timecode
- Syncing to MIDI Clock
- View Outgoing Timecode or Clock
Chapter 13: Applying Effects Plug-Ins
- DirectX Effects
- Effects Chains
- Tempo-Based DirectX Effects
- VST Effects Support
- Effects as an Insert or Send (Assignable FX)
Chapter 14: Mixing
- Approaching the Mix
- Inserts and Sends
- Buses
- Bus-to-Bus Routing
- Automation
- 5.1 Surround Mix
Chapter 15: Mastering
- Mastering Effects
Chapter 16: Burning the Final Project
- Track-at-Once CD Burning
- Disc-at-Once CD Burning
Chapter 17: Useful Formulas and Musical Aids
- Calculating Tempo and Seconds
- Calculating Delay and Decay
- Transposition Line
- I-IV-V-I Progression Chart
Chapter 18: Final Thoughts
Copies should be showing up soon at amazon.com, walmart.com and other book retailers.
~jr
For those of you who many not be familiar with the "Instant Series" by VASST (Instant Vegas, Instant Sound Forge, and now Instant ACID) it is a quick reference to all the information you really need to know to get you productive quickly and enough advanced tips and tricks to keep you productive if you are an experienced user. It is very visual (most pages have two images showing you what the text is explaining) and task oriented so that you don’t have to read it cover-to-cover. You can skip to just the task you are trying to accomplish and get the information you need instantly. They are perfect for people who don’t like reading because they are very visual, concise, step-by-step, and stay focused on the task. (truly a book for people who hate to read books)
Instant ACID covers all the new features of ACID Pro 5.0 (Grooves, Media Manager, Folder tracks, using Multi-port VSTi, etc.). Here is the Table of Contents so you can see what else it covers:
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Track Area
- Beat Rulers and Time Rulers
- Multiple Docking Areas
- Setting Up ACID the Way YOU Work
Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Looping
- ACID Properties/ACIDization
- Loops, Beatmapped Tracks, and One Shots
- Our First Project
- Drag, Drop, and Paint
- Cut, Copy, Paste, and Ripple
- Changing Tempo, Time Signatures, and Keys
- Markers, Regions, and Commands
- Saving a Project with All Its Loops
Chapter 3: Considerations for Nonlinear Video Editors
- Working with a Video Track
- Time Markers
- Tempo Markers
- Adjusting Tempo to Match Marker to Cursor
Chapter 4: Tips and Tricks
- Reverse Parts of Your Loops
- Use the Bus Tracks View
- Create a Natural Chorus Effect
- The “Wall of Sound” Effect
- Pitch-Shifting Tracks
- Detuning Tracks
- Employing Other Creative Tricks
Chapter 5: Beatmapping Existing Songs
- Know Your Copyrights
- Extracting Audio from CDs
- Matching Tempo
- Knowing When to Start
- Fixing Tempo Drift Using ACID
Chapter 6: Advanced Looping
- Manipulating Loops
- Reversing Events
- Pseudo-Granular Synthesis/Stutter Effect
- The Paint Tool and One-Shots
- Rendering FX with a Track
Chapter 7: Grooving to the Beat!
- Applying Grooves
- The Groove Pool
- The Groove Editor
- The Groove Editor and the Properties of a Loop Track
- Groove Cloning
Chapter 8: Organization Techniques
- Using Track Colors to Organize
- Using Folders Tracks to Organize and Edit
- Customize Media Folders
- Media Manager
Chapter 9: Creating Your Own Loops
- Choping to a New Track Using the Chopper
- Constructing New Loops Using Different Events
- Insert Event at Play Cursor/Paste Event At Play Cursor
- MIDI Tracks
- Rendering a New Loop
- Stretch Markers, Beat Markers, and Beat Anchors
- ACIDization of Rendered Loops
- ACIDized Track Types
Chapter 10: Recording Audio
- Audio Recording Hardware
- Setting Audio Device Preferences
- ASIO
- Windows Classic Wave
- The Record Window
- Monitoring While Recording via Hardware
- Recording Multiple Takes
- Working with Recorded Tracks
- Using the Metronome
Chapter 11: Recording MIDI
- MIDI Recording Hardware
- Selecting a MIDI Controller
- Selecting a MIDI Interface
- Selecting a MIDI Output Device
- Plugging It All Together
- VST Instrument Setup
- Multi-Port VST Instruments
- Making Your MIDI Recording
- Using the Metronome
- Selecting the Recording Device
- Recording
- Working with Track Properties
- Heads and Tails and What To Do About Them
- Strategy for Recording MIDI Loops
- Tracks and MIDI Channels
- Routing to MIDI Devices
- Addressing Multi-Channel MIDI Devices
Chapter 12: Syncing ACID with Other Programs
- Using ACID as a ReWire Mixer (Host)
- Using ACID as a ReWire Device (Client)
- Syncing to MIDI Timecode
- Syncing to MIDI Clock
- View Outgoing Timecode or Clock
Chapter 13: Applying Effects Plug-Ins
- DirectX Effects
- Effects Chains
- Tempo-Based DirectX Effects
- VST Effects Support
- Effects as an Insert or Send (Assignable FX)
Chapter 14: Mixing
- Approaching the Mix
- Inserts and Sends
- Buses
- Bus-to-Bus Routing
- Automation
- 5.1 Surround Mix
Chapter 15: Mastering
- Mastering Effects
Chapter 16: Burning the Final Project
- Track-at-Once CD Burning
- Disc-at-Once CD Burning
Chapter 17: Useful Formulas and Musical Aids
- Calculating Tempo and Seconds
- Calculating Delay and Decay
- Transposition Line
- I-IV-V-I Progression Chart
Chapter 18: Final Thoughts
Copies should be showing up soon at amazon.com, walmart.com and other book retailers.
~jr