- Audio editing features include trim, copy, paste, delete, silence, auto-trim, and more.
- Audio effects include audio boost, normalization, equalizer, envelope, reverb, echo, reverse and many others.
- Built-in support for VST plugins gives professionals access to thousands of additional instruments and effects.
- Supports most audio file formats including mp3, wav, vox, gsm, wma, au, aif, flac, real audio, ogg, aac, m4a, mid, amr and many more.
- Batch processing allows you to apply effects and/or convert thousands of files in a single function.
- Search audio recordings and bookmark them for more precise editing.
- Create bookmarks and regions to make it easier to find, recall, and collect segments of long audio files.
- Tools include spectrum analysis (FFT), speech synthesizer and voice changer.
- Sound restoration features include noise reduction and crackle removal.
- Supports sampling rates from 6 to 96 kHz, stereo or mono, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bit.
- Works directly with the MixPad multi-track audio mixer
- With an easy-to-use interface, you'll be editing in minutes
When choosing a program for editing audio files, each user already knows what exactly he plans to do with this or that track, therefore, he roughly understands which functions he exactly needs, and which ones he could do without. There are quite a few sound editors, some of them are aimed at professionals, others - at ordinary PC users, others will equally interest both, and there are also those in which audio editing is only one of many functions.
In this article we will talk about programs for editing and processing music and any other audio files. Instead of wasting your personal time choosing the right software, searching for it on the Internet and then studying it, just read the material below - you will definitely find a suitable solution for yourself and a link to download it from the official website.
AudioMASTER is a simple and easy-to-use audio editing program. In it, you can trim a song or cut a fragment from it, process it with audio effects, and add various background sounds, called atmospheres here.
This program is completely Russified and, in addition to visually editing audio files, you can use it to burn a CD or, even more interesting, record your own audio from a microphone or other device connected to a PC. This audio editor supports most well-known formats, and in addition to audio, it also allows you to work with video files (cutting, extracting an audio track, adding titles, and much more).
This audio editor is slightly less functional than AudioMASTER, but all the basic and necessary functions are still present in it. Using this program, you can trim tracks, cut fragments from them, and add simple effects. In addition, this editor allows you to edit information about audio files.
You can't burn CDs in mp3DirectCut, but such a simple program doesn't need it. But here you can also record audio. The program is Russified and, most importantly, is distributed free of charge. The biggest drawback of this editor lies in the truth of its name - besides the MP3 format, it does not support anything else.
Wavosaur is a free, but not Russified, audio editor that is noticeably superior to mp3DirectCut in its capabilities and functionality. Here you can also edit (cut, copy, add fragments) audio, add simple effects such as smooth fading or increasing sound. The program can also record audio.
It is also worth noting that with the help of Wavosaur you can normalize the sound quality of audio, clear any noise from any recording, or remove fragments of silence. A distinctive feature of this editor is that it does not require installation on a computer, which means it will not take up memory space.
Free Audio Editor
Free Audio Editor is a simple and easy-to-use audio editor with a Russified interface. It supports most current formats, including Lossless audio files. Like mp3DirectCut, you can edit and change track information here, however, unlike AudioMASTER and all the programs described above, you cannot record audio here.
Like Wavosaur, this editor allows you to normalize the sound of audio files, change the volume and remove noise. In addition, as the name implies, this program is distributed free of charge.
Wave Editor is another simple and free audio editor with a Russian interface. As befits such programs, it supports most popular audio formats, however, unlike the Free Audio Editor, it does not support Lossless-audio and OGG.
As in most of the editors described above, here you can cut out fragments of musical compositions and delete unnecessary sections. A couple of simple effects are available, but necessary for most users - normalization, fading and increasing volume, adding or removing silence, reverse, invert. The program interface looks clear and is easy to use.
Wavepad Sound Editor
This audio editor is noticeably superior in functionality to all the programs we reviewed above. So, in addition to the banal trimming of songs, there is a separate tool for creating ringtones, in which you can choose the quality and format based on what mobile device you want to install it on.
Wavepad Sound Editor has a large set of effects for processing and improving sound quality, there are tools for recording and copying CDs, and audio extraction from CDs is available. Separately, it is worth highlighting the tools for working with the voice, with the help of which you can completely suppress the vocal part in a musical composition.
The program supports VST technology, due to which its functionality can be significantly expanded. In addition, this editor provides the ability to batch process audio files, regardless of their format, and this is very convenient when you need to edit, convert, or simply change a large number of tracks at once.
GoldWave is similar to Wavepad Sound Editor in many ways. Although different in appearance, these programs have an almost identical set of functions and each of them is quite a powerful and multifunctional audio editor. The only drawback of this solution is the lack of support for VST technology.
In Gold Wave you can also record and import Audio-CD, edit, process and modify audio files. There is also a built-in converter, and batch processing of files is available. We should also highlight advanced tools for audio analysis. A distinctive feature of this editor is the flexibility of customizing its interface, which not every program of this kind can boast of.
OcenAudio is a pretty beautiful, completely free and Russian-language audio editor. In addition to all the necessary functions that such programs have, here, like GoldWave, there are advanced tools for audio analysis.
The program has a large set of tools for editing and changing audio files; here you can change the audio quality, add or change information about tracks. In addition, like Wavepad Sound Editor, support for VST technology is implemented, which significantly expands the capabilities of this editor.
Audacity is a multifunctional audio editor with a Russified interface, which, unfortunately, may seem a little overloaded and complicated to inexperienced users. The program supports most formats, allows you to record audio, trim tracks, and process them with effects.
Speaking of effects, Audacity contains quite a lot of them. In addition, this audio editor supports multi-track editing, allows you to clear audio recordings of noise and artifacts, and also contains tools for changing the tempo of musical compositions. Among other things, it is also a program for changing the key of music without distorting its sound.
Sound Forge Pro
Sound Forge Pro is a professional program for editing, processing and recording audio, which can be used in recording studios for editing (mixing) music, which none of the solutions described above can boast of.
This editor was developed by Sony and supports all popular audio formats. There is a batch file processing function, CD burning and import is possible, and professional audio recording is available. Sound Forge has a large set of built-in effects, supports VST technology, and has advanced tools for analyzing audio files. Unfortunately, the program is not free.
This brainchild of a popular developer is much more than just an audio editor. Ashampoo Music Studio contains in its arsenal all the necessary functions for editing and changing audio, allows you to import Audio CDs, record them, and also contains basic tools for recording audio. The program looks very attractive, it is Russified, but, unfortunately, it is not free.
What sets this solution apart from all the others discussed in this article is the wide range of possibilities for working with a user’s music library on a PC. Ashampoo Music Studio allows you to mix audio, create playlists, organize your media library, and create CD covers. Separately, it is worth noting the program’s ability to find and add information about audio files on the Internet.
Transcribe! is not an audio editor, but a program for selecting chords, which will clearly be of interest to many beginners and experienced musicians. It supports all popular formats and provides basic capabilities for changing the sound (but not editing), which, however, are needed here for something completely different.
Transcribe! allows you to slow down played compositions without changing their key, which is especially important when selecting chords by ear and not only. There is a convenient keyboard and a visual scale, which displays which chord is dominant in a particular section of the musical composition.
Sibelius is an advanced and most popular editor, although not for audio, but for musical scores. First of all, the program is aimed at professionals in the field of music: composers, conductors, producers, musicians. Here you can create and edit musical scores, which can later be used in any compatible software.
Separately, it is worth noting the support for MIDI - musical parts created in this program can be exported to a compatible DAW and continue working with it there. This editor looks quite attractive and clear, it is Russified and distributed by subscription.
Sony Acid Pro
This is another brainchild of Sony, which, like Sound Forge Pro, is aimed at professionals. True, this is not an audio editor, but a DAW - a digital audio workstation, or, in simpler terms, a program for creating music. Still, it is worth noting that in Sony Acid Pro you can quite freely perform any tasks of editing audio files, changing and processing them.
This program supports MIDI and VST, and contains a huge range of effects and ready-made musical cycles, the range of which can always be expanded. There is the ability to record audio, you can record MIDI, the function of burning audio to a CD is available, it supports importing music tracks from Audio-CD and much more. The program is not Russified and not free, but those who plan to create professional, high-quality music will clearly be interested in it.
FL Studio
FL Studio is a professional DAW, which in its functionality is in many ways similar to Sony Acid Pro, although outwardly it has absolutely nothing in common with it. The interface of this program, although not Russified, is intuitive, so mastering it will not be difficult. You can also edit audio here, but this program was created for something completely different.
Providing the user with the same capabilities and functions as Sony's brainchild, FL Studio is noticeably superior to it not only in its convenience, but also in its unlimited support for everything you might need when creating music. There are many libraries of sounds, loops and samples for this program that you can use in your tracks.
Support for VST technology makes the possibilities of this sound station almost limitless. These plugins can be both virtual musical instruments and tools for processing and editing audio - the so-called master effects. In addition, it is worth noting that this program is widely in demand among professional producers and composers.
Reaper is another advanced DAW, which, despite its small volume, offers the user very wide opportunities for creating your own music and, of course, allows you to edit audio. This program has a large set of virtual instruments, many effects, and supports MIDI and VST.
Reaper has a lot in common with Sony Acid Pro, although the former looks more attractive and understandable. This DAW is also in many ways similar to FL Studio, but is inferior to it due to fewer virtual instruments and sound libraries. If we talk directly about the capabilities of audio editing, then this trinity of programs as a whole can do everything that any advanced audio editor can.
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is another music creation program that, unlike the DAWs listed above, can also be used for musical improvisation and live performances. This workstation is used by Armin Van Buuren and Skrillex to create their hits, but thanks to the simple and understandable interface, although not Russian, every user can master it. Like most professional DAWs, this one is also not free.
Ableton Live also copes with any everyday tasks of audio editing, but this is not what it was created for. The program is in many ways similar to Reaper, and “out of the box it contains many effects and virtual musical instruments that can be safely used to create unique, high-quality and professional musical compositions, and support for VST technology makes its possibilities almost limitless.
Reason is a professional recording studio packaged into a very cool, powerful and feature-rich, yet simple program. Moreover, it is a recording studio both functionally and visually. The English-language interface of this workstation looks attractive and clear, clearly providing the user with all the equipment that could previously be seen exclusively in studios and in videos of popular artists.
Many professional musicians, including Coldplay and the Beastie Boys, use Reason to create their hits. This program has a huge variety of sounds, loops and samples, as well as virtual effects and musical instruments. The range of the latter, as befits such an advanced DAW, can be expanded with third-party plugins.
Reason, like Ableton Live, can be used for live performances. The mixer presented in this music mixing program, in its appearance, as well as in the range of functions and available capabilities, is noticeably superior to a similar tool in most professional DAWs, including Reaper and FL Studio.
Adobe Audition
A professional editor from a world-famous developer that provides almost limitless possibilities for working with sound. If we talk specifically about processing and changing audio (music, recordings, voices, anything) - this is the best solution we reviewed today. The program does not have DAW functionality, but our article is dedicated to something completely different. With its help, you can solve both basic problems such as trimming and gluing, amplifying the signal and improving the quality of audio, processing it with effects and filters, as well as more specialized ones - adjusting the tonality of the sound, eliminating noise and interference, removing vocals from musical compositions, burning discs, and more a lot of other things.
An audio editor can greatly simplify working with audio tracks.
With the development of new technologies, working on audio recordings has ceased to be exclusively the responsibility of professionals.
Now every home PC user has the opportunity to trim, mix and apply effects to sound files.
What can we say about transcoding them into various formats. Along with installed programs, online services also allow such actions.
The most convenient of the programs and services will be discussed further.
Downloadable editors
The traditional way to edit audio is to use installable programs.
Such programs provide ample opportunities, but for solving simple tasks, such as transcoding a file or trimming a composition, there are “too many” of them.
However, many users prefer to use programs.
"People's" program for sound processing. With a free distribution model, it offers a solid toolkit.
The first version of the software became available to the public in 2000. Since then, the project has been continuously developed and improved. The latest version for today was released on March 29, 2015.
Audacity supports reading and writing many formats, and various codecs, including: WAV, AIFF, AU, Ogg, MP2 and MP3.
A wide range of options for transcoding audio signals between formats is available.
In fact, any source file can be recoded into any format supported by the program.
Among other features, it is worth mentioning an unlimited number of tracks for mixing and a large number of additional filters and effects.
Wavosaur
A free music editor that can seriously compete with other audio processing programs.
In this case, the program does not require installation and does not make any changes to the system registry. A special feature is the ability to display a detailed track in 3D mode.
Wavosaur supports the most common formats: WAV, MP3, OGG, AIF, AIFF.
Ample opportunities are available for signal transcoding between formats, editing an unlimited number of tracks and processing in real time.
A significant drawback of the editor is that the supported operating systems are limited to the range from Win XP to Vista. Owners of common , 8 and 8.1 will have to look for an alternative.
Audio Editor Gold
Audio Editor Gold, unlike previous programs, is not distributed free of charge. Trial access is limited to 30 days and constantly pops up a reminder to register.
It features a friendly interface.
Track editing is done on a wave model, which can be scaled in detail to more accurately highlight sections of the track.
You can edit each channel separately.
The software supports free transcoding between all supported formats, including WAV, WMA, Ogg and MP3.
Any file can be freely recoded into one of the available formats.
Online audio editors
Network technologies are evolving. Their current level makes it possible to transfer the functionality of many programs to the browser.
Editing audio and video using network resources is no longer fiction, but a reality accessible to any network user.
TwistedWave
With TwistedWave, there is no need to download and install proprietary audio editing software.
The service offers the ability to trim, re-encode or add a filter to an audio recording using a browser.
Among the possibilities are about 40 VTS effects, fading effects over the entire track or sections of it, transcoding and saving the finished track in the cloud.
The service supports working with many formats: WAV, MP3, FLAC, Ogg, MP2, WMA, AIFF, AIFC, Apple CAF.
TwistedWave allows you to freely transcode files between supported formats.
For the saved recording, you can manually set the bitrate from 8 kB/s to 320 kB/s. That is, the service turned out to be a good audio converter.
Info! Free processing is only possible for mono mode. You will have to pay extra for processing a recording in two or more channels.
Online MP3 Cutter
With this service, cutting music will become a simple process that takes a minimum of time.
To get the required segment of the composition you will need only three steps: open the file, determine the segment and download the finished piece of the song.
The saved segment can be recoded into a more convenient format. The service supports five formats: MP3, AMR, WAC, AAC and Apple CAF. It is also convenient to use for simple audio transcoding.
It is enough to simply not define the segment to be extracted from the composition, and choose to save it in a different format.
That is, despite the fact that cutting music is the main purpose of Online MP3 Cutter, it can be used to successfully reformat audio.
Payment will not be required at any stage of using the service. A simple and intuitive interface with a minimum of necessary features is ideal for everyday use.
Make Your Own Ringtone
A convenient online service designed to create your own ringtones. Unlike the previous audio trimming service, it has 16 effects that can be applied to the recording.
Six audio encoding formats are supported: MP3, OGG, AAC, M4R, MPC and MP4. The finished file can be saved either to a computer or to a mobile device.
It is possible to send the finished cut by email.
Make Your Own Ringtone can also be successfully used as an online music converter. All supported formats are freely convertible.
That is, it is not necessary to trim the composition, you can simply save it in the desired format.
The best audio editor and converter
Review of an incredibly cool and, at the same time, free audio editor with a powerful set of tools. You can even turn the track backwards in it
Not every program can digitize an analog recording or create a soundtrack for a film. CHIP will tell you about the best audio editors.
The arsenal of tools available to modern audio editors is impressive. Sound processing is a task no less complex than, say, retouching a portrait, and restoring old audio recordings can be compared to restoring a damaged photograph. But unlike computer graphics, where Adobe Photoshop dominates, there is no clear leader among audio editing applications. In this article we will look at several of the most successful, in our opinion, applications that will allow you to digitize rare recordings from reel-to-reel and audio cassettes, make a ringtone for your mobile phone, remove noise that arose when recording your voice through a microphone, etc.
Sound Forge Pro 10: Restoration Expert
Noise Reduction uses several different noise reduction algorithms. Sony, which is developing this audio editor, has managed to create a very convenient, simple and powerful tool for audio processing. Many users rightly give their preference to this program. Sound Forge Pro is a professional editor that, in the right hands, can work wonders with the material being processed. As with most other sound editors, the loaded track is presented in the program window in the form of a diagram. Any defect, any recording error - all this can be seen on the “sine wave” of the track. By examining the waveform of the signal, the user can accurately determine which part of the recording needs processing. Sound Forge Pro is one of the best solutions for audio data recovery. In addition to accurate restoration of frequency characteristics (the editor has three types of equalizer - graphic, paragraph and parametric), the program contains many tools for removing noise. A recording defect can be caused by various reasons - the crackling of a vinyl record, extraneous hum, etc. Each type of noise requires a special approach to eliminating it, so there are many ways to restore a damaged audio recording. Depending on the nature of the sound artifact, in Sound Forge Pro you can interpolate the value of the sound, “masking” the damaged area with neighboring values, you can replace the missing fragment with data from the adjacent channel. The Noise Reduction module, which is present in the program, can use four different noise reduction algorithms, and the optimal option is determined in most cases empirically. In the simplest cases, you can use a threshold filter for noise - it will cut off all interference whose amplitude is below a user-specified value. One of the most powerful and advanced tools of the program is the composition spectrum analyzer. The characteristics of an audio recording can be viewed in individual channels, you can set the frequency range for plotting the spectrum, etc. Most audio editor commands can be accessed using keyboard shortcuts. If some of them are inconvenient or keyboard shortcuts are not assigned to them, this can be done manually in the program settings. Sound Forge Pro allows you to save lists of custom keyboard shortcuts. They can be loaded depending on the tasks performed in the program or used after reinstalling the system.
Adobe Audition CS5.5: Audio with video
The Audition sound editor, released today by Adobe, was previously called Cool Edit Pro and from the first versions won the favor of audio engineering enthusiasts. When Syntrillium Software, which laid down the basic concept of the application, transferred the rights to the program to Adobe, the deal amounted to a huge figure - 16.5 million dollars, and, it must be said, the audio editor was worth the money.
The integration of a sound editor into the software package for working with video and graphics Master Collection CS only added advantages to the program. Now users of Adobe's popular suite of programs can enjoy end-to-end editing. For example, when working with material in the Premiere Pro video editor, you can quickly switch between video and audio projects, preparing a multi-channel audio track for the video being created. The program also supports batch processing of files.
Many of the tools in this package are so convenient and perfect that the developers practically do not make significant changes, releasing the next version of the program over and over again. Using Audition, for example, you can very quickly clear an audio recording of noise, especially if the noise is caused by cyclic processes, say, interference from the electromagnetic field created by a transformer. In order to get rid of unwanted recording defects, in this case, it is necessary to highlight the noise profile on the sound diagram - the section of the recording where interference is best heard, without extraneous sounds. Next, the program can exclude the cyclically repeating noise amplitude from the main audio material. In some cases, this method makes it possible to suppress noise very effectively.
The editor is quite flexible in customizing the interface. The appearance of the program changes depending on what task the user is working on. If this is a multi-track mixing, the editor will look like a multi-track studio; if the work is being done on two monitors, Audition will occupy both screens. If necessary, the program can build and display a sonogram right next to the waveform of the edited audio track.
The program can work in multi-track mode, in which the interface takes on the appearance of a sequencer. The user can use an unlimited number of tracks, which makes this audio editor an indispensable tool for a musician or DJ. Using a multi-track virtual studio, Audition allows you to create professional mixes from dozens of different recorded parts.
Adobe Audition supports all modern digital audio technologies, including support for 5.1 multichannel audio, ASIO low-latency transfer protocol, and VST plug-ins.
Audacity 1.3.13: Reasonable sufficiency
Audacity can normalize the signal level throughout an audio session, create a smooth fading effect, automatically remove sections with silence, remove vocals from a composition, and it is also cross-platform. Free software that could be used by professionals for their own purposes is a rarity. The Audacity audio editor is one of the few free solutions that can compete on equal terms with expensive commercial developments. Not every commercial audio editor can boast such a powerful audio processing engine - up to 32-bit floating point. The program can also work with audio material in 16/24-bit modes with sampling rates up to 96 kHz. Another undoubted advantage of this audio editor is its support for Linux and Mac OS X platforms. The functionality of the program in any operating system is almost identical (with the exception of additional modules). The program allows you to record audio from an external source, such as a microphone. Recording can start automatically as soon as the program detects an increase in sound volume. The signal level at which automatic recording will trigger is determined by the settings. If the project you're working on uses external files, it's easy to lose some components. To prevent this from happening, you can check dependencies in the editor or specify in the configuration settings to automatically copy audio data to the project when saving it. Audacity makes it very convenient to control the track level. Using control points, you can adjust the amplitude envelope of the sound so that the recording becomes louder or quieter in the desired areas. Audacity can repair corrupted data - open audio files that have a missing or damaged header.
Connoisseurs of “high-quality” uncompressed audio in FLAC, APE, etc. formats will appreciate the tool built into Audacity for generating frequency spectrum. Based on the shape of the constructed curve, you can easily determine from what source the audio disc image found on the Internet was made. Although the program has many tools that can be found in other similar applications, they often differ in how they work. For example, the equivalent of the Pencil tool in Sound Forge Pro is a tool called “envelope change.” It, like the “pencil” in the audio editor from Sonу, makes it possible to manually draw the shape of a sound wave. However, in Audacity it can only be used when the track scale is selected enough to see individual sound samples. You can find many interesting filters in the program, and many of them help solve specific problems. For example, Audacity can normalize the signal level across an entire audio session, create a fade-out effect, automatically remove silence, and even remove vocals from a musical composition, creating a karaoke effect. Audacity contains a built-in hardware performance test. After a short test, the program will show the computer's potential - how many audio tracks this configuration can handle simultaneously. Those who find the standard arsenal of the program insufficient can use add-ons for Audacity. However, in this case you need to keep in mind that many plugins are commercial developments, and you will have to pay for their use. Another advantage of the program is the correct shutdown, after which a minimum of “garbage” in the form of temporary files remains in the system.
Conclusion
In order to make the sound editor interesting to a certain category of users, the creators select its capabilities in such a way that the application is targeted at the target group. For example, if you do a lot of video editing, Adobe Audition will be handy to have on hand. To restore rare recordings, it is optimal to use Sound Forge Pro. Well, if you are not involved in professional processing of audio files and open an audio editor no more than once a month, be sure to take a closer look at Audacity, whose tools are enough to solve the most popular tasks.
Comparison table of audio editors:
| Sound Forge Pro 10 |
Adobe Audition CS 5.5 |
Audacity 1.3.13 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Program website | http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com | http://www.adobe.com/ | http://audacity.sourceforge.net/?lang=en |
| Interface language | English | English | Russian |
| operating system | Windows XP/Vista/7 | Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS | Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X, Linux |
| Terms of distribution | shareware | shareware | for free |
| Price | from 11040 | 12057 | - |
| MIDI import | - | - | + |
| Import data from audio CDs |
+ | + | - |
| Creating an Effect Chain | + | + | + |
| Pros of the program | High precision sound processing, a wide selection of noise reduction products | Tight integration with Premiere Pro video editor | extension of capabilities with plugins |
| Disadvantages of the program | high price | high price | unusual interface |
| Importing video files | + | + | - |
