Sony Acid Music Studio 8 music creation software

Keyboards, guitars, amps and mixing desks cost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. The cost is prohibitive for any budding recording artist, which makes PC-based music-creation software a more affordable alternative for people who want to make music.

At the heart of Sony's Acid Music Studio 8 is a music-creation tool that allows users to drag and drop audio files (the software comes with over 3,000 royalty-free loops) onto a track. The audio files then automatically loop, while matching the song's tempo and without losing quality. This allows users to quickly and easily build drum patterns and basslines with minimum fuss to whatever tempo and key is required.

We found Acid Music Studio quick to install and it ran well on our recent test PC. We had to tell it which sound output to use but otherwise it installed without a problem.

When the software starts, the user is presented with a range of tutorials. We were pleased to see this help is offered despite the fact many users will already be familiar with how the Acid tools work. It also shows off some of the new and updated features but that revealed that there isn't much new here for those who have used previous versions.

Besides the usual audio loops, Acid Music Studio uses VST instruments – software-based synthesisers that can be used to make sounds on MIDI audio tracks in much the same way as real instruments. While the VSTs included with this version are limited, it's possible to add more and there are many available online. It can record live instruments if they are connected to your computer's sound card.

It's also possible to create a video mix to accompany your music. Video files can be chopped and moved in much the same way as audio loops and it was fun to play around with. It accepts most common video formats.

Once you have created a song it can be exported in several formats including MP3 and WAV so tracks can be played on portable music players and other devices. You can also choose to publish songs to acidplanet.com, a website for Sony Acid users that offers a platform for creators to share ideas and listen to other artists' work. We thought this was a nice touch – the site and the community of users was active, though the forums weren't much use.

Acid Music Studio is a good way to try out computer-based music production but you will need to be prepared to invest a fair amount of time to get to know the more advanced and more rewarding tools. It can become complicated quite quickly so the tutorials will be a must to avoid becoming daunted by the sheer amount of features.

To see what Acid Music Studio can do, see the video above which was made entirely with the software's free sample loops.