ACID Pro 7 software features our patent-pending Groove Mapping and Groove Cloning quantization technology. With these tools, you can significantly expand your loop collection by morphing existing loops into fresh, new sounds. Let's take a look at what Groove Mapping and Groove Cloning can do for you.

It's easy to apply a groove to the tracks in your project. In the Window Docking area, click the Groove Pool tab. From the top section of the Groove Pool, drag the groove you want to use onto the desired track. Notice that a groove event is displayed along the bottom of the track. Increase the track height to see the groove name and zoom in to see a visual representation of the groove in the groove event. Drag a different groove onto the track to replace the current groove.

You can apply many different grooves to a single track to really build interest into your composition. Click the Groove Tool drop-down arrow in the main ACID Pro button bar and choose the desired groove. This also selects the Groove Tool. Drag the Groove tool across a small section of a track. Choose a different groove from the drop-down list and paint that groove across a different section of the track. A track can have as many different groove sections as you want.

If one of your tracks has a rhythmic feel (a groove) that you want to use on a different track, right-click the first track's track header and choose Add to the Groove Pool from the pop-up menu. Now, click the Groove Pool tab to bring it forward if it's not already visible and notice that a new groove (with the name of the file on the track from which you extracted it) appears in the Groove Pool. Use the methods outlined above to add this new groove to any other track in your project. The tracks now share the same groove.

Modify an existing groove and save the modified version as a new groove. In the Groove Pool, select one of the existing grooves and click the Duplicate Selected Grooves button. Adjust the blue Pre-Groove markers to change the groove, or create a brand-new, custom groove entirely from scratch. Click the New Groove button. Again, adjust the blue Pre-Groove markers.

Modify the track properties of an existing track and create a new groove based on those modifications. Right-click the track header for a track and choose Properties from the Shortcut menu. In the Track Properties dialog, click the Stretch tab and make adjustments to the various markers. Click the Play Quantized button to hear how your changes affect the rhythm of the file. Click the Play button to hear the file in its original rhythm. When you're happy with the changes you've made, click the Add to Groove Pool button. The new groove now appears in the Groove Pool.

After you've created a new groove, you might decide that it would work well in other projects too. You can export the groove so that you can use it in any project or share it with a partner. In the Groove Pool, select the groove you want to export from the list. Click the Export Selected Groove button. You can save the groove to any location on your computer drives that you want.