When comparing Acid Pro 7 vs GarageBand, the Slant community recommends Acid Pro 7 for most people. In the question“What are the best DAWs? ” Acid Pro 7 is ranked 18th while GarageBand is ranked 27th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Ideal for LOOP or SAMPLE based music
Pro Supports multi-track recording
Multi-track recording is an option provided by Acid Pro 7 that can be especially beneficial for live performances. Each instrument can be recorded live with its own effects and input monitoring.
Pro Zoom function changes the size of all tracks simultaneously
Resizing is easy with Acid Pro 7, and can be done to every track at the same time with one master slider.
Pro It does not get any easier than this if you're an absolute beginner
Pro Freezes MIDI to WAV and can revert WAV to MIDI
In order to reduce CPU load, Acid Pro 7 offers the ability to bounce clips to WAV. This DAW stands out by letting users revert back to MIDI if further editing is required.
Pro Great sounding instruments
Pro Free if you have a Mac
Pro Extremely easy
GarageBand is one of the most basic and user friendly DAWs, making it very easy to learn.
Pro Good MIDI editing with quantization, piano roll and notation
Pro Amp Sims/ Pedal Effects/ Mics
There are several amp sims for guitar and bass or other direct input instruments. Different style speaker cabinets, microphones and mic placements. It also comes with a good selection of pedal effects.
Pro Allows 3rd party plug-ins
Plug-ins for effects or sample instruments can be installed and work great. Must get the AU plug-in for Mac if available.
Pro Easy automated drummer
Cons
Con PC only
Acid Pro 7 is not compatible with Mac.
Con Soon to be discontinued, no updates, MAGIX doesn't seem to care
Con Proprietary
No source code.
Con 32-bit only
Acid Pro 7 is 32-bit only and cannot use 64-bit plugins. This also limits the size of a project.
Version 10 is 64-bit
Con No send/buss tracks
Tracks can't be sent into a buss channel for grouping tracks together.
Con 44.1K sample rate
The maximum sample rate is 44.1K. No 48K or higher.
Con Mixer console panel not available
Mixing must be done on the channel strip or by smart control panel only. There is no mixer with fader, vu meter and effects chain listing.
Con No sidechain effects
Can't manipulate other tracks with a sidechain trigger such as ducking with a compressor.
Con Platform dependant
Only for Mac.