ACID is a full-featured digital audio workstation (DAW), but its simple pick/paint/play model makes it easy to create ACID projects from scratch.

1. Create a new project file.

   A project file is like your canvas and palette: it’s not a multimedia file, but it contains information about all the media in your project, how the media is arranged, effects, and so on. A project file lets you edit without worrying about changing your source media files.

2. Choose the media that you want to use in your project. Your media can come from any number of sources:

3. You can add media files from your computer.

4. You can record audio to add vocals or instruments to your project.

5. You can record MIDI to add notes from a keyboard or other MIDI controller to your project.

6. You can download media from the Web.

3. Drag files from the Explorer window, Media Manager window, or Windows Explorer to create events. Events indicate where you want to play each media file.

   When you drag files to an area of the timeline that does not contain a track, a new track is created. If you drag a file to an existing track, the file is added to the track as a new clip.

   When we drag a loop from the Explorer window to a blank portion of the timeline, a track is added to the project, and an event is created where we drop the loop.

4. Click and drag in the timeline with the Draw Tool or Paint Tool to create events:

   Events are drawn in the timeline as you drag: the event starts where you click and ends where you release the mouse button.

5. Edit the events on the timeline as needed.

   You can move events, adjust their length, or edit properties to fine-tune the sound of your project.

6. Save your project.

7. Deliver your project in its final format:

• You can render a file if you want to create a video or audio file.

• You can burn CDs.

Kickstart: Creating a Basic Project