I’ll admit it, I’m obsessive and can get a bit precious. In this case, this meant that if I wanted to try something new in a project, I had to save the old/current version, duplicate it, and start working on the new version/idea. Since I like to keep projects as a package with all the assets stored internally, this can start to hog drive space quickly. Also, knowing which file in the Finder was which was something else to manage.

Project alternatives make this a breeze. Now, if I want to experiment with a new mix or edit, all I have to do is stop before I do anything else, create the new alternative, and then start work on that alternative. For example, if the end of the song has several choruses and I want to see what it’s like to have the first of those be a drop chorus, I can create a new alternative called “Drop Chorus” and then begin editing the first of the final choruses to be that drop chorus. If I like it, I can continue with that. If not, I can revert to the previous alternative* and move on from there. Or, if I want different versions of the song such as single edits, extended solos, different arrangements, etc. I can create those all in the same project.

I’ve already created several alternatives in some of my projects, even though I haven’t gone back to the previous alternatives. But since this uses little drive space, it doesn’t matter that I have all these other alternatives. Maybe I’ll use them for something, maybe not. But it’s nice to be a hoarder without the clutter.

*The initial version of the project will always be stored as an alternative with the same name as the project. If you look at the Alternatives menu shown above for one of your projects and you have not created any alternatives, you’ll see the name of your project already listed below the line on the right submenu.