Free/Low Price Windows Sound Editing Software

[Craig]

I have a request for info on free/low cost sound editing software for Behind the Scenes and since I'm not a Windows audio expert (and since BTS is supposed to be a community-based show) I'm asking for your input. Obviously Audacity is the program of choice for most people doing an edited show. What about those of you recording live and mixing MP3s and other soundclips with your voice? What free or reasonably-priced software have you found that works well for doing this and why do you like it?

Thanks in advance for your input. Comments used on the show will be credited. If you prefer to send audio comments you can do so to bts@godcast.org. You can also call in comments to (815) 301-8600 (not toll-free, works best with a land-based line, comments are limited to 2 minutes).

Craig

[bramley]

I use Audacity. And each week, I'm combining files of recorded interviews (saved as Audacity files), MP3's (from various sources), and then my own recorded voice to weave it altogether. I typically have one voice track and one music track that are part of the same file -- but you can add as many tracks as you like if you like that whole layered cacophony of sound. You can import MIDI or MP3 files, among others, and just cut and paste the bits you want. Then you can export the whole show as a WAV or MP3.

[cid92]

If all you are doing is the editing portion, Sony's ACID Xpress is a free downloadable program. It is a somewhat scaled sown verison of their ACID program. I have not played with it but it might be worth a shot.

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step2.asp?DID=551

[allthewhile]

woah, that thing is pretty robust! You can even raise the volume of individual tracks that you put on there, and the fading tracks in and out is really cool. I'm digging this much more than audacity!

[bramley]

I don't understand. I use Audacity to fade in and out and to raise the volume not just of individual tracks but single words or notes. Is there something I'm missing?

[allthewhile]

the interface on sony acid just seems more intuitive for someone like me I guess. The fading in and out in audacity has always been a pain for me, but maybe I don't get how to do it.

[cid92]

I think it boils down to what a user finds easiest to use. I've used ACID and Sound Forge for years now and love the product. I also have WaveLab. While WaveLab does a TON of stuff, I always migrate back to ACID and Sound Forge because they are easier to use for me.

I've seen the screenshots of Audacity and while it looks very clean, the layout of ACID is easier for me to follow.

[cid92]

OK. I just downloaded the Xpress version of ACID. I still use an older version - version 2.0. The new look of 5 is awesome.

I wonder what functionality they have stripped out of the Xpress download. I may have to poke around some more.

[Jaimador]

Questions about ACID? I've been running it since its inception, along with their Sound Forge, and Vegas. I also own just about every loop library they've produced. They trick me into buying more, I just can't stop myself :-)

And now, I'm getting into podcasting. My wife is going to kill me! :wink: I need to convince her to be my Dawn (of the Dawn and Drew show)

seriously, I find ACID the easiest program to score my podcast with, since I can add volume and effect envelopes, ducking my voiceovers, and do all sorts of cool music related things with my mix. And if you are interested in writing it to CD, you can actually drop track markers in your timeline and just burn an entire collection of casts to CD from ACID directly. AND it can open .mp3 files into the timeline, along with .wav files, .ogg, .wma, you name it. I think all the stuff I mentioned above can also be done in their ACID Music Studio, which is like $69 at Best Buy and CompUSA.

I'm very curious to see what these guys do with their software in response to the podcast phenomenon. Like I said in a different post, I hope they don't ruin a good thing...