Open your program. You'll see a small red dot that acts as your "record" button and works in the same way as an older analog studio recorder. You can use MIDI to record your drum machine or instruments--both electric and acoustic--by plugging a mike directly into your computer. The online community feature is a fantastic addition. It provides free hosting of the user's music in a professional environment, and lets other producers review and rate your work. Acid Music Studio software can also render to almost any audio format. Another great feature is the automatic pitch and the ability to us tempo matching. To save time without sacrificing quality, record either vocals or instruments and dump them directly into your song.
Although you have the ability to record multiple tracks, you can also search for and download sounds from the Internet. Upload the new sounds and incorporate them into your music. This could save you a great deal of time if the idea you had for a sound has already been created and is readily available online. The software gives you the power to cut and paste, which allows you to quickly create songs without having to rely on the mouse to complete all functions. Try layering and automating reverb on only the snare. Now experiment with the drum track and your guitar track. This can cause the song to have a huge impact on the listener.
It's a good idea to periodically save your work. To do this, go to "file" on the tool bar and save each track. The first track will play if you opt to keep the track open during a mix. Using your notebook's line-in jack with a cheap analog mixer provides the versatility required to produce complicated music without the need for loops. Relying too much on loops creates the unwanted effect of repetition, making all of your songs sound similar.
Also try laying gated-reverb on the lead vocals. Patch an effect processor to a gate, and the sound source will be side-chained to the gate. This allows the vocal reverb to play on the vocal and to cut off abruptly when the vocal track stops.