Topic: Audacity?

[lsd2525]

Never used anything other than Cool Edit 2000 and CDwav. Cool edit gone. Going to try Audacity (yeah last person on earth). But: is there any better freeware out there? Looking for compression, EQ and split on sector boundaries. Any suggestions? Or is this the way to go?

[2manyrocks]

Audacity is tough to beat.  don't forget that there are plenty of free VST plugins that can make it more useful.  Kjaerhus Audio made some really good free ones that work well with Audacity.   

[lsd2525]

Anything where I can change EQ and compression while the show is playing? Audiocity seems to play selections once you "treat" with whatever but is there anything you can use to make changes while you "dial it in"?

[2manyrocks]

Well, if you buy Reaper ($60), Reaper will allow you to hear your adjustments immediately while playing back the recording.  It  will also allow you to make A B comparisons where you can click back and forth between settings if you want to compare them.  It has a steeper learning curve than Audacity, but is more flexible, IMO. 

[lsd2525]

Eh, can't be any steeper than Audiocity lol. No, Audiocity seems a lot like Cool Edit, although in cool edit it seems like you could preview the whole file with the settings rather than a 5 second snippet. I need to check that reaper thing out. It would be nice to fool around and see what works on a show over all rather than EQ a whole show based on the worst sounding song. Thanks!

[page]

Anything where I can change EQ and compression while the show is playing?

No, and this is the entire reason I went to Reaper (which as 2manyrocks notes, does have a steep learning curve). The VST support is head and shoulders better.

I still use Audacity after rendering from Reaper because it will track on CD sector boundaries like a champ.

[2manyrocks]

You're welcome.  Reaper has a free trial period and all the features work.  Nothing is disabled in the trial period.  It's pretty much an honor system of paying for the software if you decide to keep using it. 

Having said this, Audacity is free, easy to use, and works well for many things.  I have it and Reaper and would hate to be without either one. 

[nulldogmas]

As another Mac option, Felt Tip's Sound Studio ($30) also lets you adjust settings on the fly. It's what I switched to after leaving Cool Edit.

[kirk97132]

They are giving away Adobe Audition v3 the later version of cool edit

[2manyrocks]

There's been quite a bit of internet discussion about Adobe's rather curious progression of handling Adobe Audition 3 this year (2013).  The current version of their website now says the download is available for  "legitimately purchased" versions.     

[kirk97132]

There's been quite a bit of internet discussion about Adobe's rather curious progression of handling Adobe Audition 3 this year (2013).  The current version of their website now says the download is available for  "legitimately purchased" versions.     

No they just bury it and make it hard to find.  AA3 is part of the CS2 suite
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=cs2_downloads
You need to create a user name for log in and you might have to dig around a little on their site but it is there.  And free  that message has been there from day one. Just get your log in and follow steps. 

You should end up here which will link you to the free downloads and serials:
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/creative-suite-2-activation-end-life.html?PID=5628473

[lsd2525]

Anything where I can change EQ and compression while the show is playing?

No, and this is the entire reason I went to Reaper (which as 2manyrocks notes, does have a steep learning curve). The VST support is head and shoulders better.

I still use Audacity after rendering from Reaper because it will track on CD sector boundaries like a champ.

So Reaper doesn't cut on sector boundaries? That seems kind of weird.......Still love good 'ol CDWav......

[runonce]

Anything where I can change EQ and compression while the show is playing?

No, and this is the entire reason I went to Reaper (which as 2manyrocks notes, does have a steep learning curve). The VST support is head and shoulders better.

I still use Audacity after rendering from Reaper because it will track on CD sector boundaries like a champ.

So Reaper doesn't cut on sector boundaries? That seems kind of weird.......Still love good 'ol CDWav......

Its just not that practical to perform song/track splits when in a multi-track format...

[page]

pretty much. It might be possible, but it's next door to idiot proof in Audacity and I always check the render before tracking anyway so it's not necessarily an extra step in my workflow.

[2manyrocks]

http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/creative-suite-2-activation-end-life.html?PID=5628473

I'm not sure if it shows up in the link, but this is what the adobe site says if you click into the "download and install CS2 applications:"

You can use the serial numbers provided as a part of the download only if you legitimately purchased CS2, CS2 applications, Acrobat 7, or Audition 3.

Best I can tell from searching, the "legitimately purchased" part was added sometime later after folks started posting on the internet that Adobe was offering Audition 3 for free.