Topic: Audacity alternatives for EQ? (free or nearly free)

[skinnypaul]

I really like Audacity - it seems to be pretty stable now and for the simple editing I do it's mostly fine. The only thing that's kind of a pain is the clunky EQ filter - I can't save a filter and come back to it later, it's not very granular and (worst of all) I can't playback the recording and fiddle with the EQ on the fly.

Are there any free alternatives that I should be checking out? PC or Mac is fine.

Thanks!

[TNJazz]

IMO Audacity is the suck.  Reaper is a much better program and comes with a lot of surprisingly good plugins.  Technically not "free", but like CDWave it's not crippled.  Single licenses are cheap though, and well worth the cost.

[Brian Skalinder]

IMO Audacity is the suck.  Reaper is a much better program and comes with a lot of surprisingly good plugins.  Technically not "free", but like CDWave it's not crippled.  Single licenses are cheap though, and well worth the cost.

What he said.  I'm currently invested in Samplitude SE (no longer available).  But if I were starting out now, I'd go with Reaper all the way.  Superior to Audacity in three critical ways:  workflow, features, and plugin support.

[page]

IMO Audacity is the suck.  Reaper is a much better program and comes with a lot of surprisingly good plugins.  Technically not "free", but like CDWave it's not crippled.  Single licenses are cheap though, and well worth the cost.

What he said.  I'm currently invested in Samplitude SE (no longer available).  But if I were starting out now, I'd go with Reaper all the way.  Superior to Audacity in three critical ways:  workflow, features, and plugin support.

I'll have to investigate this more. Granted, I just use Audacity for tracking now, but occasionally mixing down from multi-channel. Would be nice to get better plugin support....

[bugg100]

IMO Audacity is the suck.  Reaper is a much better program and comes with a lot of surprisingly good plugins.  Technically not "free", but like CDWave it's not crippled.  Single licenses are cheap though, and well worth the cost.

+1

Very flexible, yet sensible.  Great plugins included with the download. $40 if you decide to fall in love, but not crippled in any way.

[skinnypaul]

Thanks all. I've downloaded the Reaper eval and it looks pretty nice. Though it also looks like I need to spend a morning reading how it works - no bad thing!

[skinnypaul]

Hmm. I've had an evenings play with Reaper and I'm still scratching my head. It looks like a great too but it's quite a leap from an editor like Audacity.

Is there an idiots guide or tutorial out there geared towards the kind of stuff a taper might want to use it for?

Thanks!

[newplanet7]

What specifically are you trying to do with it?
EQ is a pretty broad term.

[skinnypaul]

Most of my recordings seem to really benefit from a slight reduction in the bass and a boost in the mid-highs. They can sound really muffled or boomy otherwise even when I tape with a clear line-of-sight or close to the PA (I'm using CSBs).

Using Audacity I've had some success with the equalisation filter to do this but it's kind of a pain that I have to draw a filter (that I can't save!), wait 5 minutes while it applies, then listen through to see how it sounds. Then start again if I don't like it...

I like that fact that with Reaper I can build an EQ filter and tweak it in real-time. What I can't figure out is how I export the end result!

I'm guessing there's something really straightforward that I'm overlooking...

[page]

Using Audacity I've had some success with the equalisation filter to do this but it's kind of a pain that I have to draw a filter (that I can't save!), wait 5 minutes while it applies, then listen through to see how it sounds. Then start again if I don't like it...

I like that fact that with Reaper I can build an EQ filter and tweak it in real-time. I'm guessing there's something really straightforward that I'm overlooking...

well, depends. the native plugins for Audacity you can preview like 5 or 6 seconds with (controlled in the preferences window) from the beginning of your selection so you end up doing selections in the middle as tests, then applying everywhere afterward. For most non-native plugins like VSTs, you can't preview at all. Thats one of the biggest knocks against audacity; it's plugin support.

[illconditioned]

^^^ Exactly.  I can live with the clunky interface.  The main limitation is that I cannot use plugins in real time.  Where Audacity is good is for simple tasks, cutting, converting, etc.  It can also run on Linux, Windows and Mac, so you only have to learn one tool.  But for any processing at all, you'll want another program.

  Richard

[bugg100]

I like that fact that with Reaper I can build an EQ filter and tweak it in real-time. What I can't figure out is how I export the end result!

I'm guessing there's something really straightforward that I'm overlooking...

File>Render, This brings up the render dialog box where you will choose file bit rate, sampling rate conversion if applicable, and the choice of rendering the entire file or only the selected portion... This is where I render sample subsets to be able to audition the processing chosen.

[skinnypaul]

I like that fact that with Reaper I can build an EQ filter and tweak it in real-time. What I can't figure out is how I export the end result!

I'm guessing there's something really straightforward that I'm overlooking...

File>Render, This brings up the render dialog box where you will choose file bit rate, sampling rate conversion if applicable, and the choice of rendering the entire file or only the selected portion... This is where I render sample subsets to be able to audition the processing chosen.

Doh! THANK YOU!! 

[bugg100]

no problem, jump in, come ba k with more questions when you need.

joe