Time to delve into some Windows-only audio editing software packages. As I’ve mentioned previously, there are many, many, many packages out there. Some are way more than you will ever need to edit together an audio product or podcast. Others are well-intentioned piles of code slop.
Last week, we talked a bit about Audacity. It is a good place to start. But you could also start with any of the products I’m about to list. It’s not that Audacity gives you training wheels; it’s that it’s a free way to get your feet wet (and to mix a metaphor, apparently).
The three software packages below are all Windows-only (we’ll cover three Macintosh packages next time). When choosing three to list here, my criteria included cost, intuitive interface, and functionality for spoken-word editing.
Most professional editing packages are designed (understandably) for music studios. They have the needs of mastering an album or 20 or even 100 tracks in mind. If you’re creating a podcast or a spoken-word audio product, you can use those products to achieve the goal, but you really don’t need all of that to do it. And you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars either.
Number 1
Sony’s Sound Forge Audio Studio 9
There are quite a few people who favorably compare this package to Audacity. “Like Audacity without the bugs” was one I found.
The Sound Forge interface from the Sony website
I’ve played with this application once or twice, and I found it intuitive, easy-to-use, and the sort of program that most people will be able to pick up quickly. There are a number of plugins that you will need to install as your skills improve and grow, but that’s easily accomplished.
They have some excellent tutorials that walk you through how to accomplish a task with screen capture video, so you know exactly how to do it.
It’s much faster than Audacity and you can download a free trial from Sony’s website. If you like it, you can purchase the package for somewhere around $55.
Number 2
Soundbooth is based on the old Cool Edit program (which Adobe purchased several years ago). Cool Edit was a perennial favorite with many folks, and while some don’t like what Adobe has done with the product, I believe it’s still a good editor.
At $199, it’s significantly more than Sound Forge, but you do get that wonderful Adobe integration with every other program they make. So if you’re creating full interactive mulitmedia ebooks, this may well be the way to go for you.
Like the Levelator that works with Audacity, Soundbooth can match sound levels across multiple tracks as you’re mixing them together. This saves you time fiddling or re-recording, but it also does it with a cleaner finished sound than Levelator does.
Adobe Soundbooth product screen shot
This product has some more complex features than does Sound Forge, and that can be good and bad. If all you want to do is create your weekly podcast, this may well be more program than you need. If, on the other hand, you want to do more intense production work, Soundbooth is very much worth a try.
As with Sound Forge, Adobe offers a free trial of the program so you can determine for yourself whether you like it.
Number 3
NCH Software’s WavePad Sound Editor
I have to be up-front and tell you that I’ve not used this program in the Windows version. I have, however, given the Mac version a try, and I think it’s worth mentioning here. It doesn’t have the massive commercial backing of either Sony or Adobe, but it’s still a clean, stable program that will get you up and running for some time in your production environment.
WavePad's simple, clean interface
I apologize that the picture above is the Mac interface . . . their website is smart enough to know that I’m writing this blog post on my Mac instead of the Windows machine. Still, the controls are clear, straight-forward, and it’s easy to make the edits you need to make without pulling your hair out.
At $79 it’s still a good price for putting together your audio product cleanly and easily. They also have a free trial so you can take it for a spin.
To Sum Up
There is a learning curve to any sound editing software. Don’t expect to download any/all of these programs and be able to use them straight away, unless you already know how to use these sorts of software. Be patient, and don’t jump into these programs with a hard deadline in mind. You’ll just make yourself crazy if you do.
Take your time, experiment, find the program that works for you and go for it. Half the fun with sound editing is playing around to see what you can come up with.
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