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Gear / Technical Help => Post-Processing, Computer / Streaming / Internet Devices & Related Activity => Topic started by: wheresjerry on September 07, 2011, 04:30:48 PM

Title: new iMac
Post by: wheresjerry on September 07, 2011, 04:30:48 PM
Well, took the plunge and got away from PC's and bought a 27" iMac.....Now, what programs do you folks use for editing shows you've recorded.  I am used to Sony Soundforge, and the usual, cd wav, audacity, traders little helper, etc.

PM or email me, and let me know what you all think is the best.

Thanks in advance!!

karl/wheresjerry
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: H₂O on September 07, 2011, 06:54:08 PM
I use WaveLab 7 SE

Since Audacity resamples everything I stay away.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: willndmb on September 07, 2011, 09:02:42 PM
i use audacity
never seemed to have a problem
you need xact too
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: Chris K on September 07, 2011, 09:32:42 PM
what I like

consumer grade: felttip sound studio or audacity

pro grade: dsp-quattro or wave editor

actually I prefer wavelab 6 (pee-cee) for my critical mastering  :-\  but dsp-quattro is probably my favorite and they are actually having a decent promotional price right now. Maybe I should try wavelab 7

i wish tc-electronics still made spark. its a great editor that I still use from time to time on my older macs

second the requirement of xact
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: runonce on September 07, 2011, 10:05:52 PM
I use WaveLab 7 SE

Since Audacity resamples everything I stay away.

Resamples?

It does import at a higher bitrate - and exports with dither...(if you choose) but is that the same as resampling?

I thought resampling was a complete A>D>A>D roundtrip...?
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: runonce on September 07, 2011, 10:10:41 PM
i use audacity
never seemed to have a problem
you need xact too

I think Audacity's biggest flaw is you're wed to their dither algos...not sure what they are...but I know some are not fans...

But it would be cool if you could use the dither engine of your choice with that product...like a R8brain plugin...

I know you can defeat dither - so maybe it just adds another step to dither your way...
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: Brian Skalinder on September 07, 2011, 11:05:01 PM
Check the stickied post "Readme1st" for a list threads with commonly asked questions (and answers), including one on commonly used audio editors.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: H₂O on September 08, 2011, 12:05:18 PM
I use WaveLab 7 SE

Since Audacity resamples everything I stay away.

Resamples?

It does import at a higher bitrate - and exports with dither...(if you choose) but is that the same as resampling?

I thought resampling was a complete A>D>A>D roundtrip...?

You cannot disable resampling - everything is automatically resampled to the project sample rate.  So if you open a 48Khz file in a 44.1 Khz empty project your file is resampled when you export.

Resampling simply means converting from one sampling rate to another and has nothing to do with A > D > A > D.  It is running the file through an algorythm to change from 48 Khz to 44.1 Khz or other rate.

I am not a fan of a program where you cannot easily control of these options.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: keytohwy on September 08, 2011, 03:24:49 PM
Come join us on the Team Mac forum.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: Brian Skalinder on September 09, 2011, 01:53:11 AM
You cannot disable resampling - everything is automatically resampled to the project sample rate.  So if you open a 48Khz file in a 44.1 Khz empty project your file is resampled when you export.

Seems like the obvious solution is to not open a file of sample rate A in a project of sample rate B.  Just make sure they match; this is very easy to do.  (While an easy answer, I suspect your IF is simply one example of perhaps many).

Not sure why one would want to open a file of Sample Rate A in a project of Sample Rate B, unless one intends to mix two sources of different sample rates - in which case the mixed down file will always have a single sample rate, anyway:  A, B, or C (i.e. different from either of the source files).  How else would an app mix down two sources of differing sample rate except via sample rate conversion?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the issue.  Hmmm.

To the best of my recollection (admittedly vague at this point, since I've not used some of them in a long time), every audio editor I've used (Audacity, CEP/Audition, Samplitude SE, can't recall with great confidence in Wavelab or Reaper) requires the audio file sample rate to match the project sample rate.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: willndmb on September 09, 2011, 09:02:46 AM
i use audacity
never seemed to have a problem
you need xact too

I think Audacity's biggest flaw is you're wed to their dither algos...not sure what they are...but I know some are not fans...

But it would be cool if you could use the dither engine of your choice with that product...like a R8brain plugin...

I know you can defeat dither - so maybe it just adds another step to dither your way...
High-quality Dither - Controls how Audacity dithers when exporting to WAV (see Uncompressed Export Format below).  For example, if one edits a file in the 32-bit realm and wants to export to a 16-bit WAV, this setting controls which dithering scheme Audacity employs when dithering from 32-bit to 16-bit.  Note:  It's important to set this value properly because Audacity -always- dithers, even if the Project and Export WAV sample formats are the same.  So if the Project and Export WAV sample formats are the same, set this value to None so Audacity does not dither needlessly.

thats what i do
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: DigiGal on September 09, 2011, 11:04:44 AM
Wave Editor (http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/techspecs.php)  & xACT
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: H₂O on September 09, 2011, 11:26:48 AM
You cannot disable resampling - everything is automatically resampled to the project sample rate.  So if you open a 48Khz file in a 44.1 Khz empty project your file is resampled when you export.

Seems like the obvious solution is to not open a file of sample rate A in a project of sample rate B.  Just make sure they match; this is very easy to do.  (While an easy answer, I suspect your IF is simply one example of perhaps many).

Not sure why one would want to open a file of Sample Rate A in a project of Sample Rate B, unless one intends to mix two sources of different sample rates - in which case the mixed down file will always have a single sample rate, anyway:  A, B, or C (i.e. different from either of the source files).  How else would an app mix down two sources of differing sample rate except via sample rate conversion?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the issue.  Hmmm.

To the best of my recollection (admittedly vague at this point, since I've not used some of them in a long time), every audio editor I've used (Audacity, CEP/Audition, Samplitude SE, can't recall with great confidence in Wavelab or Reaper) requires the audio file sample rate to match the project sample rate.

In Wavelab and ever other program I have used you first open a file then apply resampling to it through either a process command or in Wavelab you have to "render" it into the file - to me this is more intuiitve 
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: bryonsos on September 09, 2011, 11:44:17 AM
Wave Editor (http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/techspecs.php)  & xACT

I'm using Audacity right now, but I'm thinking of trying Reaper out based on positive reviews here. Any thoughts on Wave Editor vs. Reaper?
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: Brian Skalinder on September 09, 2011, 12:16:53 PM
In Wavelab and ever other program I have used you first open a file then apply resampling to it through either a process command or in Wavelab you have to "render" it into the file - to me this is more intuiitve

In Audacity, Export to Audio is, effectively the same as "render" from Wavelab (or Mixdown from SAM, or...).  I guess I don't see the distinction.  Poor menu wording, perhaps, but as far as I can tell, essentially the same workflow.  I have plenty of issues with Audacity (which is why I no longer use it), but I struggle to see how this feature is fundamentally different from any other app using the render / mixdown concept to perform sample rate conversion.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: Todd R on September 09, 2011, 10:16:47 PM
I have Wave Editor, but never really used it much -- it was just way slow.

For a Mac, I'd really recommend Amadeus Pro.  It only was like $40 for a full copy, though it may have gone up since they just released 2.0. Amadeus can do pretty much all you need for editing, plus you can add in VST and Audio Unit plugins to expand it's capabilities, plus it can cut into tracks on sector boundaries, open and save into wav, flac, mp3, AAC, ogg vorbis, etc.

Amadeus does pretty much all you need, but beyond that you'll want xACT which can tag and create MD5's and fingerprints, as well as having other useful utilities. xACT is an absolute must for Macs, and is made by a ts.com member and is based specifically on our needs.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: bgalizio on September 10, 2011, 07:09:10 AM
I never liked Wave Editor. It was too slow and clunky.

Sound Studio is my editor of choice, but I also use Amadeus Pro for matrix recordings.

I also use Sample Manager for resampling and dither.

xACT is a must have, as has been mentioned.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: DigiGal on September 10, 2011, 11:33:58 AM
I don't find wave editor slow at all on a new imac.  You copy your files to your hard drive before loading them into wave editor.  If you load your files directly into wave editor from sound card or usb it will be slow though.

The work flow in wave editor has a learning curve but there are online tutorials and the feature set is worth the curve.
Title: Re: new iMac
Post by: bgalizio on September 10, 2011, 03:50:56 PM
I don't find wave editor slow at all on a new imac.  You copy your files to your hard drive before loading them into wave editor.  If you load your files directly into wave editor from sound card or usb it will be slow though.

The work flow in wave editor has a learning curve but there are online tutorials and the feature set is worth the curve.

For me, the only features above what Sound Studio or Amadeus Pro offered was the resampling and dither algorithms. Hence why I went with Sample Manager instead.

The slowness was relative to SS in both action speed, time to do simple edits like fades or normalization, and dealing with the interface.