Author Topic: Audio editing, Sweet ( :-\ )  (Read 3906 times)

Storris

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Just a quick question, bin it if it's out of bounds/off-topic/irrelevant.

I'm looking for a sound editing suite.  I currently have an option on Ableton Live Lite, but it's a bit professional for what I want to do, which is rip music from sources.  I was thinking of going the free route instead with Audacity, but that appears to be as cumbersome as Ableton.  I have stumbled across a small program called Wavosaur, which is tiny and appears relatively simple.

My soundcard is a USB powered Toneport UX2, or the on-board x64 Sigmatel HD Audio Codec, depending on test results.

Has anyone tried any of these programs or any others that they would recommend?

Pingaware

  • Sr. Member
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Assuming that by "rip music from sources", you mean "listen to the music in your computer and record it at the same time", I'd suggest Audacity. I use it for that occasionally and it's a very simple process.
Bold words in my posts are links unless expressly stated otherwise.

Storris

  • Guest
Assuming that by "rip music from sources", you mean "listen to the music in your computer and record it at the same time",

That is exactly what I meant.  I tried Wavosaur because it was just a 300Kb .exe with no install.  But it and its community of users seems to be a bit small and outdated.

I went for an install of Ableton which is 1GB.  It includes a lot of helpful lessons which have helped me set-up live monitoring and recording.

I also binned the Toneport UX2.  The ASIO driver it comes with only operates at 16bit, 48K compared to 32bit 192K for the on-board Sigmatel driver, which also apparently has a Roland MIDI driver/control interface or something, which I'm about to investigate.

quisquis

  • Guest
To simply rip music you could use EAC(Exact Audio Copy / www.exactaudiocopy.de )--you couldn't get any better than that. Also it's free. It has a nice tagging interface, so you'll have littler fussing about with manual tagging.

For audio editing, both Sound Forge and Audition are nice. I prefer Sound Forge, as it's superior for precise audio manipulation, but Audition is also excellent. Both can rip CDs fine. Sound Forge doesn't do multitrack mixing, but Audition does. The Sound Forge Audio Studio (low-end version) will cost you about $10-30 (I see a used copy on Amazon for $8). Sound Forge really hasn't changed much in the last 15 years, so going with a somewhat older version probably won't have much impact. Both take advantage of ASIO, and at least with Sound Forge, it makes a hefty difference with a nice sound card. Audition is like $20/month. Not exactly a bargain.

** After re-reading your post I guess you meant a multitrack recording software? REAPER is nice, and only costs $60. It has no waveform editor, if that matters to you, but otherwise is a complete recording, mixing, and mastering software.

"I also binned the Toneport UX2.  The ASIO driver it comes with only operates at 16bit, 48K compared to 32bit 192K for the on-board Sigmatel driver"

The Toneport UX2 should work fine up to 24bit/96khz (and should have no problem running at 24bit/44.1khz). You must have a driver issue, as the hardware is supposedly quite capable. Also, it will be *far far far* better than your Sigmatell onboard audio, regardless of what bit and sampling rates it offers. The Sigmatel is a no good. Don't bin the Toneport, just troubleshoot!

"also apparently has a Roland MIDI driver/control interface or something, which I'm about to investigate."

The MIDI controller on the Toneport UX2 is going to be far superior to the Sigmatel. It actually has a physical interface, whereas the Sigmatel is probably just some software synth crap.

There is also the benefit that using the Toneport will provide to your audio studio needs and stuffs: the lower latency of the ASIO driver, and the benefits it provides to VST & VSTi stuff is a big deal, for sure.
Last Edit: September 04, 2014, 06:01:52 PM by quisquis

Storris

  • Guest
Thanks for the info quisquis.

I don't *need* multitrack.  I bought the Toneport a few years ago when I had dreams of making it big in the music scene!  These days, not so much.

I thought too that the on-board would be useless in comparison to the Toneport, but I don't have any 1/4" stereo-phone leads and have been making do with 1/4" mono-phone leads, an 1/8" stereo-phone lead and some 1/4"-1/8" adaptors.  This may have been part of the reason that I had trouble setting up the Toneport; whilst recording input/live audio, the sound kept dropping out and producing very loud noise.  I'll need some more patience, and more 1/4" stereo leads to test it properly.  Also, the USB connection is a bit loose, which obviously isn't ideal and may have played its part in the problems. 

The onboard set-up on the other hand was painless, I have plenty of the correct sized leads and plugs (1).  I can also choose bit rates up to 32bit 192KHz while recording, compared to the 24bit 44.1KHz of the Toneport.

I've had a go on Audacity and think I'll keep it.  It's much lighter than Ableton and does everything I need.  I've exported a test track and although this obviously isn't indicative of the track's actual quality, being a recording of a recording of a recording (etc...), it's playing now on MB at over 6000Kbps, which can't be bad.

I might come back to the TonePort and have a go at a different audio suite at some point but to be honest, unless someone develops an Audacity like plug-in, I think I'm set.

If anyone is thinking about such a plug-in, the Wavosaur might be a good place to start.  It isn't exactly fully featured, but it is very small.
Last Edit: September 04, 2014, 07:38:32 PM by Storris

Storris

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I thought I should also mention Wavosaur's even littler brother, Streamosaur.  It's a 60Kb .exe that doesn't do a thing, other than record live audio, exporting directly to .wav or .mp3 @ 16bit & 44.1Khz.

Storris

  • Guest
Does anyone have any information about or experience with WASAPI?

I've noticed that I can use it as the Output Device in 'MB > File > Edit > Preferences > Player > Audio Player', and also as the output whilst using Audacity, giving me access to 32bit, 384KHz Sample rate!  I've no idea where it came from, although I'm guessing it came packaged with one of the Audio Programs I've downloaded.  I know it wasn't there when I set-up MB on Sunday night.

I don't really need that level of fidelity of course, but it's good to know it's there.

Ignore this ^^^^^^^^^ I've read the forum & Google!
Last Edit: September 05, 2014, 06:51:45 AM by Storris