Choosing your Digital Audio Software

It can be a difficult task to choose the right audio software for your specific project, especially if you are new to the world of digital audio. This paper discusses some of the key factors to consider when choosing audio software and provides a comparison guide to some of the most popular packages.

Introduction

There is a wealth of audio software available aimed at different types of use and at different levels of production.

Capturing audio can be achieved in nearly all DAS and it is recommended that capturing is done within your editing and production software to simplify your workflow. Some professional level restoration software may not have the capability to capture analogue sound therefore basic audio software may suits needs better before transferring files into the restorative environment.

Depending on what you wish to do within your audio software, you may find that the more advanced packages offer too much for your project. Likewise a basic editing program maybe not give you the precise control and professional features you require. Of course there is a wealth of software available, for free and at a price, which can perform dedicated tasks for audio, such as file conversion software or vinyl restoration software. Useful as these are for their dedicated purposes, they are not discussed in this guide.

The following considerations attempt to encompass every aspect which may affect your decision and the comparison table which follows, provides information about editing and production software combined.

Considerations:

• Cost - From freeware downloads to packages costing near on a thousand pounds, DAS packages are on the whole priced with respect to their performance, features and quality. Researching and deciding on the needs of your software is crucial to prevent any mistakes involving over or under spending. Aside from the cost of licenses (note that there may be an educational discount available through some vendors for certain software), you will need to consider the costs of any training needed for learning how to use the software, and any future firmware updates.
• License Protection - It is becoming increasingly popular with a small minority of professional audio software manufacturers to provide licenses in the form of USB dongles. Although some manufacturers appear to be moving away from this, it may be worth investigating prior to purchase. Although they provide easy transferability and a hardware license backup if a computer was to fail, factors which may arise include administration involved in setting up and managing third party accounts for the dongles and secure storage when not in use.
• System requirements - All software will have a minimum and recommended system specification which is worth investigating to see if your system is compatible with at the least the recommended spec. There are a few software packages which are platform (Operating System, OS) specific, and even some which only run with specific external hardware. Greater processing power and RAM will be required if your project contains multi-track production and if you plan to be using on-board processing, for example plug-ins and batch rendering. As a result the recommended system specification will be dependent on the software, whether any processing is done externally (within dedicated hardware), and the intended use.
• Open Source or Proprietary - Open source software is not tied by licenses or vulnerable to becoming obsolete and unavailable, especially when, in some projects, you may wish to archive project files. Although there is often wide community support of open source software, proprietary software will come with a warrantee and, on the whole, a more professional network of support and documentation, which can be piece of mind especially if you are a new and inexperienced user.
• Usability - You may find that learning a new software package from scratch may be costly and time consuming. It is recommended that you trial a few packages, selected on your requirements, for the tasks that the project will require. An intuitive interface allows for a more efficient and less stressful project, and what one person finds easy to use may not necessarily apply to all. Therefore it is worth asking the following questions. How easy is it to use? Are the manuals easy to understand? Are there any tutorials that could be helpful? Is it clear how to contact the manufacturers if I need support? Most software is available to download for trial periods either as full working versions or with some features disabled.
• Functionality - All DAS is marketed towards a specific audience, be it music producers, mastering engineers, sound designers or muscians. As a result there may be many features which are irrelevant to the needs of your project and navigating your way around them all to find what you need may initially prove to be rather tricky. Some of the more basic and cheaper packages may have clunky, slow and badly designed interfaces. They may often perform even basic processing tasks much slower than more higher end DAS.

The main features of DAS are listed below and whether your project involves digitisation, file optimisation or the creation of new media it is important to understand which features you will need and the level of sophistication of these features.The main features of DAS are listed below and whether your project involves digitisation, file optimisation or the creation of new media it is important to understand which features you will need and the level of sophistication of these features.

1. Audio capture - Does it have the ability to capture audio as well as edit? What sample rates and bit depths can it capture at?
2. File format support - Does it support the format(s) of files you will be working on? If so, does it have to convert them to another format for editing? - If you have numerous file types, in a collection for example, are they all supported? Does it support the format(s) you wish to convert to for delivery (i.e. mp3 format)? Are the project files interoperable with other DAS? If so, is third party software needed to convert them into a readable format? You may need to consider the interoperability of project file formats. For example some older software versions may not support project files created in newer versions if you end up having staggered software upgrades in the future. It is always recommended to keep an archived copy in the original file format before any editing or optimisation.
3. Editing tools - Cut, drag, align, copy, paste, fade, cross-fade, mute, glue and silence are the basic tools which are essential for audio editing. Do you need to undertake any pitch correction, gain enhancement/reduction of individual files?
4. Video support - Are you sound tracking to film and require moving image synchronisation within the DAS? Are you synchronising to film on external hardware and need support for that?
5. Production/Optimisation tools - Do you intend to apply any signal processing to your audio files such as effects or dynamic processing? Are you looking for in depth control such as automating individual parameters of processors? Does your project need a graphical mixer for mixing sounds together? Do you intend to apply mastering type processing and techniques?
6. Restoration tools - De-noising, de-clipping, de-clicking, spectral repair etc. What types do you think are likely to be needed? Is it worth purchasing dedicated restoration software or making do with the capabilities of the software?
7. File conversion tools -  For repurposing and saving files, what formats are outputted and at what specification? Are there direct web optimisation features and upload tools?
8. Analysis tools - Spectrum analyser, LTAS plot, Sonogram.
9. Built-in file and directory management tool.
10. Surround mixing and/or surround sound encoding.
11. Batch rendering of files.

There may be some features in which your chosen DAS may be lacking. Most, if not all, DAS can host third party plug-ins which can perform a wide range of tasks from restoration to analysis to emulating real life instruments. The most common plug-in formats are VST, Audio unit, RTAS, TDM. Most plug-ins work in a stand-alone format as well, which means they can run outside the host software if you wish to perform the functions of the plug-in separately.

The following section provides an in-depth summary of some software solutions to allow for easy comparisons and a summary of features.

For prices:

Expensive - £300+

Reasonable - £100 - £299

Cheap - £0 - £99

Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Widely popular audio editing program with a simple and basic interface. A good peice of learning software for beginners but the program is rather slow and clunky. Platforms - Windows, Mac OSX, Unix, Linux Cost - Free, Open-Source	File formats	6+
	Native audio file format	.au
	Full editing features	Limited
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Yes, up to 16 channels
	Video support	No
	Mixer	No
	Production features	50+ built in offline effects
	Plug-in support	LAME
	Restoration tools	Some
	Analysis tools	None
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround sound features	No

 

Adobe Audition 3.0 - http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/audition
Formerly 'Cool Edit', Audition has been upgraded to a full recording, production and mastering package with extensive features and tools. Audition also has the excellent XMP-DM metadata record schema built in.   Platform - Windows only Cost - Expensive	File formats	20+
	Native audio file format	WAV
	Full editing features	Yes
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Production Features	Extensive. Good quality
	Plug-in support	VST
	Restoration tools	Yes - Good
	Analysis Tools	Yes - V. Good
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	Yes
	Surround features	Yes, including surround encoding
	Video support	Yes - Good
	Mixer	Yes
	Multichannel recording	Yes, up to 80 channels
	File management system	No

 

Apple Garageband - http://wwwp.apple.com/ilife/garageband
A sleek looking interface and a library of free music loops allows users of Garageband to produce their own music with a 'paint by numbers' ease. Full support for web delivery makes this ideal for quick simple podcasting.	File  formats	6+
	Native format	AAC
	Full editing features	Basic
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Yes
	Video support	No
	Mixer	No
	Production	Basic and music orientaded
	Plug-in support	Audio Units
	Restoration Tools	No
	Analysis tools	No
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround sound features	No
	File management system	Media browser

 

Logic 8 Studio -  http://apple.com/logicstudio
Owneed by Apple, Logic is a professional audio production package with a wealth of features and an intuitive interface. Great value for money and comes bundled with applications for moving image sound design, impulse response creation and dolby 5.1 encoding. Logic Express, a slimmed down version, as also avaiable at a lower price. Platform - Mac OSX Cost - Expensive, however, cheap with an educational discount	File formats	10
	Native audio file format	.aif
	Full editing features	Yes, highly advanced
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multichannel recording	Yes, including extensive 'comping' features
	Video support	Yes
	Mixer	Yes, with good routing features
	Production features	Lots. V. good quality
	Plug-in support	Audio Unit, TDM
	Restoration tools	Some
	Analysis tools	LTAS Spectrum, Correlation meter, Spectrum analyser
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	In bundled applications
	Surround sound features	Yes
	File management system	Yes

 

Traverso 0.42.0 - http://traverso-daw.org
A handy multi-track editor, mixer and recorder with a nice interface providing basic editing and production tools. Navigation is provided with a unique mouse-keyboard shortcut control which although takes a while to master can save time fiddling with menus in the long run. Platforms - Mac OSX, Windows, Unix, Linux Cost - Free, open source	File formats	6
	Native format	WAV
	Full editing features	Limited
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multichannel recording	Yes
	Video support	No
	Mixer	No
	Production features	Limited
	Plug-in support	LV2 (uncommon format)
	Restoration tools	No
	Analysis Tools	Correlation meter, basic FFt spectrum
	Export as mp3	No
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround features	No
	File management system	No

 

Pro Tools 8 LE - hhtp://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid+28&langid=51&
The light edition of the industry standard audio package speaks for itself. Exceptional user friendly editing and mixing environments based on analogue counterparts, chances are all of your music CD's from the last 10 were recorded and mixed in ProTools. The downside is that PT only runs with a compatible interface. Platforms - Mac OSX, Windows Cost - Expensive. However, comes bundled with compatible interface.	File formats	5+
	Native audio file format	SDII
	Full editing features	Yes. Very good
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Yes, up to 64 channels
	Video support	Yes
	Mixer	Yes, with advanced routing features
	Production features	Extensive and v. good quality
	Plug-in support	RTAS, TDM
	Restoration tools	Same
	Analysis tools	Yes
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround features	Yes
	File management system	Yes

 

Steinberg Wavelab 6 - http://www.steinberg.net/en/home.html
An exemplary package for editing, mastering and restoration which is used in extensively professional studios and archives. Platforms - Mac OSX, Windows Cost - Expensive	File formats	Lots
	Native format
	Full editing features	Yes. Very good
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Only 2 channel
	Video support	No
	Mixer	No
	Production features	Production is geared towards editing, restoration and mastering
	Plug-in support	VST
	Restoration tools	Yes. Very good
	Analysis tools	Yes, extensive and very good quality
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	Yes. V good features
	Surround features	Yes. V good
	File management system	Yes. V. good

 

Reaper v.2.53 - http://www.cockos.com/reaper
A remarkable tool for your money. Reaper is a simple multi-track recorder, editor and mixing package with a smooth looking interface which is very easy to use. Perfect for the beginner. Platforms - Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/WINE Cost - Cheap, plus the evaluation version has no restrictions	File formats	8+
	Native audio file format	WAV
	Full editing features	Good but simple
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Video support	No
	Mixer	Yes, basic
	Production features	Moderate level but good quality
	Plug-in support	VST/VSTi, DX/DXi
	Restoration tools	No
	Analysis tools	No
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround features	No
	File management system	No

 

Ardour - http://www.ardour.org
The latest version of this free software has been sponsored by SAE and is therefore aimed at the recording engineer/ producer looking for a free alternative to similar proprietary systems. Platforms - Mac OSX, Linux Cost - Free, open source	File formats	14+
	Native audio file format	WAV of BWAV
	Full editing features	Yes
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Yes
	Video support	Video sync with MIDI time code
	Mixer	Yes
	Production features	Good
	Plug-in support	LADSPA, LV2
	Restoration tools	None
	Analysis tools	None
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround features	No
	File management system	No

 

Mackie Tracktion 3 - http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion3/index.html
One of the lower priced ‘semi-pro' software packages, Tracktion has a wide range of recording, editing and mixing features at a competitive price compared to the higher end packages. Platforms - Mac OSX, Windows XP Cost - Reasonable	File formats	6+
	Native audio file format
	Full editing features	Yes
	Multiple 'undo'	Yes
	Multi-channel recording	Yes
	Video support	No
	Mixer	Yes
	Production features	Good
	Plug-in support	VST, RTAS
	Restoration tools	None
	Analysis tools	None
	Export as mp3	Yes
	Batch rendering	No
	Surround sound features	No
	File management system	Loop browser

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