www.harkproductions.com has some really awesome stuff. We've just recently used them in a promo for a major software company. Very deep, very nice and well laid out.

> SmartSound etc are not an option for me right now because of the time factor involved in the learning and usage

I don’t know if you’ve actually looked at SmartSound but it doesn’t get any easier. You pick a style, drag it to the length of your video, and export. That’s it! It fits the music with a perfect beginning and ending right on que. Even royally free music is harder to use because you have to take the time to cut the music to fit the video and you have to be smart enough to cut it on the beat. With SmartSound there is nothing more to do. You need absolutely no musical talent. Take five minutes to download the demo and see. They are running a special $50 off for December. You can get SmartSound Sonicfire Pro for as little as $99 this month.

I use ACID all the time to compose my music but I still use SmartSound for those projects that are too time constrained to compose for. The only drawback is it gets repetitive if you use it for too long in one shot but it’s great in a pinch (and you do sound pinched) When you have more time, we’ll teach you how to use ACID. ;-)

~jr

I used BackTraxx from Digital Juice. They have over 1,000 selections - very nice stuff and I haven't heard it before (except the re-mixes of some popular sounds (Mission Impossible, Pink Panther, Olympics, etc.).

Their site has low bit rate samples.

http://www.digitaljuice.com/products/products.asp?pid=1

Most of the demos on www.videobackstage.com use these.

I haven't seen any copies on e-bay, but their jump backs are occasionally availaible there.

I had a client of mine buy Serious Magic's Ultra Communicator and wouldn't you know, they used the same smart sound theme I used under their credit sequence.

That's the problem with the lower cost alternatives, they show up everywhere. Even though ACID has a 3-4 hour learning curve, it's well worth it. Even if you have Smart Sound, ACID can be employed to really jazz up the not-always-unique tracks.
BTW, for the BackTraxx not being offered on Ebay comment, there is quite a thread on the "why" of this over on DV Info.net. Until recently, Digital Juice would not allow a license to be transferred. I believe this changed just in the last week, as they've got a new EULA up there.

I would really re-think about Acid. Get Acid, download some free loops and you're off and running.

I figured out the basics of Acid in no time and I'm not really that bright.

Give Acid a try, you'll love it.

Stonefield

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Is Acid Express still free? .. I started/cut my teeth on this and used the Acids loops .. okay only a small amount of tracks BUT you get the idea of the s/w and can be going very fast . . G

Spot,

I'm curious which of the Hark libs you have been using? I have a few of them already, but was wondering which ones you were referring to.