Acid Loops Explained.

Acid loops have become a nearly universal format for digital audio samples these days. Even though some music making programs won’t read the embedded tempo or key information, the basic .wav format of Acid Loops is read by all computers. We chose Acid loops since they are the most versatile format overall, working on all computers running Windows and Mac/Apple computers as well. So whether your host can read the embedded tags or not, they are there for use later on if you want to change programs or decide to add a second one to work with. And in the meantime, the tempo and key information is right in the file name so you can use it visually without having a program that reads it from inside the .wav file. Check out the SoundSpice Webshop and grab some free Acid loops to try-before-you-buy and see how we make using Acid loops easy by including tempo & key information right there in the file name.

The main function of Acid loops (or any format of looped audio) is as the name implies – to repeat a part seamlessly – that means without clicking, and so that it makes rhythmic or melodic sense to start over at the end of the loop. Acid loops can be a killer drum beat, a moody synth part, a grooving bassline, an attention grabbing percussion rhythm, or anything really. Usually loops are parts of a piece of music that naturally repeat, for instance in a lot of forms of music the beat may not change for a full minute or more, and the same for a bass line or synth part. With loops you can just paint some in across your whole track, then go back and erase or change them when it’s been a minute or two and the track needs some variety. Looped samples should repeat infinitely without changing or clicking, but they shouldn’t just be painted on as a block of sound through an entire song. You should use loop samples creatively to really get the most out of them, for yourself and for your listeners.

My other Acid loops sample company Perimeter Sound also does Acid loops, and offers the REX (.rx2) format loops as well. REX loops are more proprietary and are not universal, but they are still very much in use and demand for their easy sample beat slice editing & time stretching features. Check out the Perimeter Sound webshop if you need REX loops. All the Perimeter Sound loop sets come in both Acid loops and REX format. You get access to both formats for one low price, take your choice.

If you need to convert Perimeter Sound or SoundSpice Acid loops samples to a different format, you are of course welcome to do that for your own use. We suggest Sound Forge for Acid loops editing, and Recycle for REX loops editing. There are other programs available for working with either format, those are just the two that we use and recommend for editing audio files.

The latest version of Acid is available at the Magix Audio website and there is a trial version you can grab for free to try out. These days the original Acid loops program is a little bit old fashioned, but for working with looped samples it’s still a very easy and useful way to get going. I’m always surprised at how much I am able to get done when working with Acid loops. I would recommend that anyone grab some of our  freebees and the trial version from Magix and experience it for themselves.