There are many occasions when you may want to edit a voice recording. Maybe your video needs some commentary, and you can add it by first recording your voice, editing it, and adding it to your video. In case your video does not already have audio, then you can record a voiceover and get it added to your video to make it more appealing.
- Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows
- Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows
- Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows 7
- Best Vocal Recording Software For Singers
There are countless reasons why people need to edit voice recordings, and there is almost an equal number of software to help you do it. If you are looking for software to edit your voice recordings, you need to make sure you choose the right one as it can make or break your video.
The thing that bothers me is that software companies are so good at brainwashing the public into believing that their software is crucial to the makings of a good record. It F.ing isn't. It doesn't matter whether you use Pro-Tools, Nuendo, Cubase, Sonar Producer, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Live, or any of the other software. Make voice-overs, narration, and commentary with professional audio editor and voice recording software. Record audio with Adobe Audition, a full-featured voice recording app. Add narration to a video in real time or make an audio recording and edit it to fit on-screen action.
Additionally, the Zoom is the lone voice recorder available for properly recording 360-degree 'spatial audio' files that are native to Google's JUMP virtual reality platform and is compatible with YouTube. A line-in jack adds the option of an external microphone for enhanced performance, while the 130-gram weight and 1.68 x 2.66 x 4.5. A Recording Studio for Your PC. There has never been a better time to buy digital audio workstation (DAW) software. Twenty years ago, to record a music album at a professional level, you needed a. The Ableton Live 10 is one of the best-loved pieces of DAW recording software on the market. It has so many plus points, but its best feature is the breadth of options that it gives you. You're able to record on multiple tracks with this industry-standard software, as well as sequence MIDI files.
To help you out with the task, here we have listed some of the best video voice editor software you can use to edit voice recordings on your computers. These have been handpicked by us, so rest assured you are going to get high-quality software to use.
Easiest Windows Free Voice Editor Recommendation: EaseUS Video Editor
When it comes to software choice, Windows users have always been lucky, and they have enjoyed the most number of software no matter the task. For voice recording and editing, you have an amazing software called EaseUS Video Editor to use on your Windows PC.
The software allows you to edit and add voice recordings to your videos. You can record a completely new voice for your video, or you can add one of the existing audio files from your computer. Once you have added a recording to your video, you can edit it using the built-in options in the software. Mac os software.
Pros:
- Record and add voiceover to video in a single click
- Use any existing voice recording for your video
- Edit various audio levels for your recording
- Support for many audio formats
- Multi-track editing
- Safe and secure
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- The free version will put a watermark on your video
As you can see, it is a feature-loaded software to help you edit your voice recordings and add them to your videos.
How to Edit Voice using EaseUS Video Editor:
With this voice editor software, you do not need to go through dozens of steps to add and edit your voice recordings. You can quickly load your video files, record your voice, and get the content ready.
The following shows how you can do it in this software.
Step 1. Select an Aspect Ratio
On the first screen, you will be asked to choose an aspect ratio for your video. Select the ratio that best fits your video file and continue.
Step 2. Add Your Video to the Software
You now need to add your video to the software. To do it, click on 'Import' followed by 'Import file'. Choose the video on your computer and it will be added. Then, right-click on it and choose 'Add to Project' to add it to the timeline for editing.
Step 3. Add a Voiceover to Your Video
If you want to add some commentary to your video, click on the 'Record voiceover' button in the software. It will let you record and add your voice to your video.
Step 4. Edit Your Voice Recording
Right-click on your voiceover and select 'Add to Project' to add it to the timeline. Right-click on it in the timeline and select 'Edit'. You will then be able to adjust various audio levels for your voice recording.
Step 5. Export Your Video with Your Voice Recording
Finally, when you are done editing your voice recording with this best video voice editor, click on 'Export' at the top and choose an output format to save your video file.
Your file should be ready to play on your computer. When you listen to the audio in your file, you will find how crisp and sharp it is, all thanks to the amazing capabilities of EaseUS Video Editor.
What Is the Best Free Voice or Audio Editor? Top 4 Best Free Voice Editors Recommended
If you are looking for more voice editor options, then there are a few more as well to help you edit voice recordings on your computers.
Free Voice Editors for Windows (2 Recommendations)
While there may be several other software to edit voice on a Windows PC, the following are two recommended ones as they offer better features.
Software 1. Audacity
Audacity has been around for decades, and it is one of the free and open-source software that helps you edit and do voice recordings on your computers. It is a cross-platform software meaning it runs on multiple operating systems.
You can use it to create new voice recordings, edit your existing recordings, and perform many other tasks on them. It gives you an entire screen full of tools to edit your audio files.
Pros:
- A plethora of voice editing tools
- Cut and merge voice
- Do voice recordings
Cons:
- Does not look modern
- Has no advanced voice editing features
Software 2. Ocenaudio
Ocenaudio is known to be easy to use yet powerful voice editing software. It works across multiple platforms and allows you to mix your audios, record voice, and edit them however you want on your computer. It comes with features like real-time previews, so you know exactly how your voice recordings are going to sound like.
Pros:
- Powerful voice editor
- Select multiple files at once
- Easily edit large voice recording files
- Comprehensive spectrogram
Cons:
- No multi-track editing
- Only supports mono files
Best Free Voice Editor for Mac (1 Recommendation)
Many voice editor software that is available for Windows also works on Mac but Apple has its software to let you edit voice recordings on your Macs.
Software 1. GarageBand
If you have been using a Mac machine for a long time, you have probably heard of GarageBand. It is Apple's very own software to help you edit audio and voice recordings on your Mac and iOS-based devices. It is a fully-featured program containing all the options you ever need to edit your voice files.
You can simply grab the software off of the official Mac App Store and get started with your voice recordings. You can load your files, record new ones, add effects to your files, and perform many other actions with this software on your machine.
If there is one software to edit all types of audio files on a Mac, it is GarageBand.
Pros:
- Loaded with many features and options
- Exclusively available for Mac and iOS
- Use your instruments with the software
- Support for many drummer styles
Cons:
- Only two layers of effects for each track
- Resource-intensive
Free Online Voice Editor App (1 Recommendation) Dragon slots games online.
If you do not do a lot of voice editing on your computer and it is an occasional task for you, it might be a good idea to use one of the online video voice editor tools to do the task. It will save you from downloading and installing any software on your computer, and you can use the tool without using many resources on your machine.
Tool 1. TwistedWave
TwistedWave is an online voice editor tool that allows you to upload your voice recordings and start editing them from within your browser. You do not need to download or install anything to use the tool. Simply access the tool website, and you can use the tool and its various features in your browser.
On the main interface, you are going to find your tracks and the features to edit your file. The top menu bar has options like adding markers, adding effects, and looping and recording new files.
Pros:
- Completely web-based tool
- Various editing tools
- Edit existing voice recordings
- Make new voice recordings
- Drag and drop support
Cons:
- Limited options
- Need to upload and download files for each editing
Top 5 Best Voice Editors for Professionals
If you have reached a certain stage where you need a professional-level software to do voice editing, then you are going to like some of the following options. These software options have been developed keeping pro-level users in mind, and you are not going to be disappointed by them.
Software 1. Adobe Audition
Best music recording software for macbook. Adobe Audition is one of the most used software for professional-level audio and voice editing. It comes with a full suite of tools to help you do pretty much everything you want to your audio files. You can use it to record new voices, edit your saved voice recordings, and even integrate audio files from various sources.
It can be used to remix your voice recordings as well to give that extra boost to your already-great voice recordings. In case there is an issue with your recordings, the software allows you to fix them as well.
Pros:
- All professional tools to do voice editing
- Record new voices and edit existing ones
- Fix broken audio files
- Easily create a podcast
Cons:
- Expensive
- Less customizable
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 2. Acoustica
Acoustica is an award-winning software for professionals to edit and remix audio files. It is a perfect choice for some expert-level voice editing on your computers. You can use it to record crispy voiceovers for your videos and then edit them to enhance your audios even further.
It offers many features to its users, including phono filter, high-quality audio editing, restoring your audio, and a spectral for your files. You also get the multi-track editing feature, so multiple of your files can be edited at the same time.
Pros:
- Extend features with plugins
- Remove background noise from your voice recordings
- Multiple track editing
- Easy to learn and use
Cons: https://switch-software.mystrikingly.com/blog/ms-word-free-download.
- Occasional crashes
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 3. Reaper
Reaper promises to help you produce and edit music without any limits. When you install the software and start using it, you get to realize what it says is indeed the truth. It allows for more creative freedom where you can do whatever you want with your voice recordings.
It offers powerful multichannel routing for MIDI and audio files. You can use it to edit your voice recordings without being concerned about the bit depth and sample rate. You can automatically stretch the timebase if you want to do it.
Pros:
- Embed plugins into the software
- Diagrams for routing
- Hundreds of effects to add to voice recordings
- Automate tasks
Cons:
- No support for LV2 plugin standard
- Dropdown menus are too lengthy
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Software 4. Sound Forge
Sound Forge enables you to record, edit, and master voice recordings on your computers. It also helps you to fix any recordings that may not have done very well in the first stage. You can use the cleaning feature to clean-up redundant items in your files.
What the software mainly focuses on is precise editing. You can edit your voice recordings very precisely and to the point you want. It is something that is not offered by other software.
Pros:
- Quickly access essential tools
- Windows context menu support
- Color-code your sound waves
- Modern spectroscope
Cons:
- It does not save your last used effects in presets
- Takes too long to load large files
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 5. Logic Pro
If you are a Mac user who wants to do professional-level voice editing, Logic Pro should be your natural choice. It is a software developed by Apple to allow Mac users to create some amazing sound and voice recordings on their machines.
It comes with features like smart tempo that automatically match the timing of your tracks. It comes preloaded with drum kits to help you add root and jazz to your music files. It even pairs with your iOS-based devices and lets you use them as remotes for the software.
Pros:
- A large collection of effects and instruments
- Thousands of royalty-free music files included
- Quickly load and edit voice recordings
- Keep your voice recordings in track with Smart Tempo
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not supported on Windows
Supported OS: Mac
Conclusion
There are dozens of voice editor software available in the market, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. However, our list above should help you pick the right software for your particular voice editing tasks.
If you want to pick one for your Windows PC, EaseUS Video Editor can be a great choice. Mac users can go for GarageBand as it is exclusively built for them. Online users can use TwistedWave as it is and more convenient to use. For extremely professional-level editing, Adobe Audition could be a good software for you.
If you're a serious musician, podcaster, or budding audio engineer, you care about the quality of your recordings–or you should. And that's why the audio recording programs you use matter.
However, I'd like to add that it's not the software that makes the music. It's your skills as an audio engineer.
To illustrate, I'd like to tell you a story of an interesting email thread a while back. This guy was looking for a home studio, and he was asking around for where to go.
An acquaintance of mine chimed in with his answer, with some details about studios and such but there was one comment that infuriated me:
'You might want to have someone who's recording onto protools. (sic)'
Ugh…
Now, I know that not all musicians are engineers so I should let that slide. And this person is a great musician, but he's a little off in what makes up a great studio.
The thing that bothers me is that software companies are so good at brainwashing the public into believing that their software is crucial to the makings of a good record.
It REALLY isn't.
It doesn't matter whether you use Pro-Tools, Nuendo, Cubase, Sonar Producer, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Live, or any of the other software that's for sale out there.
It's the least important thing in the grand scheme of:
'hey I want to know how to record my songs or have someone do it for me….what should I buy first?'
The software isn't going to tell you what sounds good. It's not a robot that knows how to engineer a great guitar sound. It can't tell you if you're overcompressing your drums or flooding your vocals with reverb. This is something that the engineer needs to know. This is the skill of the engineer, regardless of what software he's using.
Pro-Tools is not going to make your music sound any better.
Ask yourself:
If you install [insert preferred software here] onto your computer, is it going to make the acoustics in your room any better?
Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows
No.
Is it going to make the sound of your pre-amps any better?
No.
Will it walk out of the computer, look at your monitors and say, 'Gee, maybe you should space those monitors a little further apart for better imaging.'
No, it's not some mega nerdy Cylon engineer.
It'll just do what you tell it to do. And if you feed it garbage it will give you trash.
Skills Make Sounds – Not Software
So think more about what skills you need to record a great sound than the software that 'they' tell you that you desperately need to get.
Yes, you need software. But any software is great if you, or the engineer you hire, is excellent at using it. I use Logic. Do I recommend Logic to everybody. Not really.
My philosophy is that any software that you're comfortable using is the best software for your situation. The skills and knowledge of engineering are infinitely more important than any audio recording software that's out there.
Now that we've got that rant out of the way let's talk about what software solutions you have available, both free and paid.
A quick search on Amazon will show you a lot of different options that will give you decision anxiety, so we've compiled a list for you to reduce your hyperventilating so that you can go back to what you set out to do before, make music.
- Powerful voice editor
- Select multiple files at once
- Easily edit large voice recording files
- Comprehensive spectrogram
Cons:
- No multi-track editing
- Only supports mono files
Best Free Voice Editor for Mac (1 Recommendation)
Many voice editor software that is available for Windows also works on Mac but Apple has its software to let you edit voice recordings on your Macs.
Software 1. GarageBand
If you have been using a Mac machine for a long time, you have probably heard of GarageBand. It is Apple's very own software to help you edit audio and voice recordings on your Mac and iOS-based devices. It is a fully-featured program containing all the options you ever need to edit your voice files.
You can simply grab the software off of the official Mac App Store and get started with your voice recordings. You can load your files, record new ones, add effects to your files, and perform many other actions with this software on your machine.
If there is one software to edit all types of audio files on a Mac, it is GarageBand.
Pros:
- Loaded with many features and options
- Exclusively available for Mac and iOS
- Use your instruments with the software
- Support for many drummer styles
Cons:
- Only two layers of effects for each track
- Resource-intensive
Free Online Voice Editor App (1 Recommendation) Dragon slots games online.
If you do not do a lot of voice editing on your computer and it is an occasional task for you, it might be a good idea to use one of the online video voice editor tools to do the task. It will save you from downloading and installing any software on your computer, and you can use the tool without using many resources on your machine.
Tool 1. TwistedWave
TwistedWave is an online voice editor tool that allows you to upload your voice recordings and start editing them from within your browser. You do not need to download or install anything to use the tool. Simply access the tool website, and you can use the tool and its various features in your browser.
On the main interface, you are going to find your tracks and the features to edit your file. The top menu bar has options like adding markers, adding effects, and looping and recording new files.
Pros:
- Completely web-based tool
- Various editing tools
- Edit existing voice recordings
- Make new voice recordings
- Drag and drop support
Cons:
- Limited options
- Need to upload and download files for each editing
Top 5 Best Voice Editors for Professionals
If you have reached a certain stage where you need a professional-level software to do voice editing, then you are going to like some of the following options. These software options have been developed keeping pro-level users in mind, and you are not going to be disappointed by them.
Software 1. Adobe Audition
Best music recording software for macbook. Adobe Audition is one of the most used software for professional-level audio and voice editing. It comes with a full suite of tools to help you do pretty much everything you want to your audio files. You can use it to record new voices, edit your saved voice recordings, and even integrate audio files from various sources.
It can be used to remix your voice recordings as well to give that extra boost to your already-great voice recordings. In case there is an issue with your recordings, the software allows you to fix them as well.
Pros:
- All professional tools to do voice editing
- Record new voices and edit existing ones
- Fix broken audio files
- Easily create a podcast
Cons:
- Expensive
- Less customizable
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 2. Acoustica
Acoustica is an award-winning software for professionals to edit and remix audio files. It is a perfect choice for some expert-level voice editing on your computers. You can use it to record crispy voiceovers for your videos and then edit them to enhance your audios even further.
It offers many features to its users, including phono filter, high-quality audio editing, restoring your audio, and a spectral for your files. You also get the multi-track editing feature, so multiple of your files can be edited at the same time.
Pros:
- Extend features with plugins
- Remove background noise from your voice recordings
- Multiple track editing
- Easy to learn and use
Cons: https://switch-software.mystrikingly.com/blog/ms-word-free-download.
- Occasional crashes
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 3. Reaper
Reaper promises to help you produce and edit music without any limits. When you install the software and start using it, you get to realize what it says is indeed the truth. It allows for more creative freedom where you can do whatever you want with your voice recordings.
It offers powerful multichannel routing for MIDI and audio files. You can use it to edit your voice recordings without being concerned about the bit depth and sample rate. You can automatically stretch the timebase if you want to do it.
Pros:
- Embed plugins into the software
- Diagrams for routing
- Hundreds of effects to add to voice recordings
- Automate tasks
Cons:
- No support for LV2 plugin standard
- Dropdown menus are too lengthy
Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Software 4. Sound Forge
Sound Forge enables you to record, edit, and master voice recordings on your computers. It also helps you to fix any recordings that may not have done very well in the first stage. You can use the cleaning feature to clean-up redundant items in your files.
What the software mainly focuses on is precise editing. You can edit your voice recordings very precisely and to the point you want. It is something that is not offered by other software.
Pros:
- Quickly access essential tools
- Windows context menu support
- Color-code your sound waves
- Modern spectroscope
Cons:
- It does not save your last used effects in presets
- Takes too long to load large files
Supported OS: Windows, Mac
Software 5. Logic Pro
If you are a Mac user who wants to do professional-level voice editing, Logic Pro should be your natural choice. It is a software developed by Apple to allow Mac users to create some amazing sound and voice recordings on their machines.
It comes with features like smart tempo that automatically match the timing of your tracks. It comes preloaded with drum kits to help you add root and jazz to your music files. It even pairs with your iOS-based devices and lets you use them as remotes for the software.
Pros:
- A large collection of effects and instruments
- Thousands of royalty-free music files included
- Quickly load and edit voice recordings
- Keep your voice recordings in track with Smart Tempo
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not supported on Windows
Supported OS: Mac
Conclusion
There are dozens of voice editor software available in the market, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. However, our list above should help you pick the right software for your particular voice editing tasks.
If you want to pick one for your Windows PC, EaseUS Video Editor can be a great choice. Mac users can go for GarageBand as it is exclusively built for them. Online users can use TwistedWave as it is and more convenient to use. For extremely professional-level editing, Adobe Audition could be a good software for you.
If you're a serious musician, podcaster, or budding audio engineer, you care about the quality of your recordings–or you should. And that's why the audio recording programs you use matter.
However, I'd like to add that it's not the software that makes the music. It's your skills as an audio engineer.
To illustrate, I'd like to tell you a story of an interesting email thread a while back. This guy was looking for a home studio, and he was asking around for where to go.
An acquaintance of mine chimed in with his answer, with some details about studios and such but there was one comment that infuriated me:
'You might want to have someone who's recording onto protools. (sic)'
Ugh…
Now, I know that not all musicians are engineers so I should let that slide. And this person is a great musician, but he's a little off in what makes up a great studio.
The thing that bothers me is that software companies are so good at brainwashing the public into believing that their software is crucial to the makings of a good record.
It REALLY isn't.
It doesn't matter whether you use Pro-Tools, Nuendo, Cubase, Sonar Producer, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, GarageBand, Live, or any of the other software that's for sale out there.
It's the least important thing in the grand scheme of:
'hey I want to know how to record my songs or have someone do it for me….what should I buy first?'
The software isn't going to tell you what sounds good. It's not a robot that knows how to engineer a great guitar sound. It can't tell you if you're overcompressing your drums or flooding your vocals with reverb. This is something that the engineer needs to know. This is the skill of the engineer, regardless of what software he's using.
Pro-Tools is not going to make your music sound any better.
Ask yourself:
If you install [insert preferred software here] onto your computer, is it going to make the acoustics in your room any better?
Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows
No.
Is it going to make the sound of your pre-amps any better?
No.
Will it walk out of the computer, look at your monitors and say, 'Gee, maybe you should space those monitors a little further apart for better imaging.'
No, it's not some mega nerdy Cylon engineer.
It'll just do what you tell it to do. And if you feed it garbage it will give you trash.
Skills Make Sounds – Not Software
So think more about what skills you need to record a great sound than the software that 'they' tell you that you desperately need to get.
Yes, you need software. But any software is great if you, or the engineer you hire, is excellent at using it. I use Logic. Do I recommend Logic to everybody. Not really.
My philosophy is that any software that you're comfortable using is the best software for your situation. The skills and knowledge of engineering are infinitely more important than any audio recording software that's out there.
Now that we've got that rant out of the way let's talk about what software solutions you have available, both free and paid.
A quick search on Amazon will show you a lot of different options that will give you decision anxiety, so we've compiled a list for you to reduce your hyperventilating so that you can go back to what you set out to do before, make music.
71 Free Shortcuts to Easy Separation and Balance in Your Mixes
Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows
If you've been struggling to hear all the instruments in a mix, my EQ cheatsheet will help you out.
Best Vocal Recording Software For Windows 7
- Learn to clean up your low-end, reduce bleed in your drums and eliminate annoying resonant frequencies from your recordings.
- Get rid of muddiness in your low-mids, tame the harshness in your mix, and get rid of your boxy sounding drums.
- Learn where to add presence to your vocals, brilliance to your acoustic guitars, thickness to your keyboards or weight to your bass. These tips are broken down by instrument and help you fix your frequency problems with simple solutions that you can use right away.
Top 5 Free Audio Recording Programs
Most run-of-the-mill, audio recording apps that come pre-installed on your computer just won't cut it (with the possible exception of GarageBand for Macs, a reasonably high-quality recorder for simple projects), and you also may not be willing or able to spend an arm and a leg for professional grade software.
However, you're in luck. There are some great free tools that actually don't suck and can produce the kind of quality recording that will make anybody who listens to your works of art — or wit if you're a podcaster — it up and take note of what you have to offer.
Here are some of the very best, completely free recording tools that will help bring your sounds to life.
1. Audacity
Available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
Audacity is the go-to open-source audio recording application, and as long as your goals aren't overly ambitious, it puts an enormous amount of power in your hands. It can record just about anything you throw at it, whether it's from a microphone, through the line-in jack, or live streaming audio (if supported by your sound card), all in a lightweight and clean interface. Many recording enthusiasts, especially podcasters, appreciate Audacity's uncomplicated user experience and ease of use.
Audacity supports recording in sample rates from 44.1 to an excessive 192 kHz, which sets the stage for studio-caliber and even ultrasonic recordings if you have the hardware to handle it. Also included is support for 32-bit floating point, providing ample headroom for your recorded signal.
It comes with effects such as an equalizer with helpful presets, pitch, speed and tempo controls, delay, reverb, compressor, fade in/out, and a noise remover. You can expand this palette thanks to Audacity's generous support of VST, LADSPA, Nyquist and Audio Unit plugins.
Audacity's strength is its simplicity. While you can make it do multi-track recording if you're so inclined, it will never gain centerpiece status in a true recording studio. However, it is beginner-friendly, easy to use for quick edits you need to make on the fly (whether that means filtering out unwanted noise, boosting vocals or other frequencies through equalization, or just cutting and pasting), and extremely well-suited for hobbyist and podcast recording applications.
2. Garageband
Available for Mac OS only
Garageband comes free with any Mac computer and is pretty legit for most recording needs.
Although it can't do major processing like its big brother Logic, it's more than able to do any multi-track recording and minor mixing work.
Highly recommend for the bedroom recordist that's just starting out and needs a simple solution to lay down some demos.
3. Traverso
Available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
Traverso, another fully featured DAW that's sure to meet common recording needs, is all about convenience.
This program eschews a traditional 'menu' structure in favor of innovative keyboard and mouse shortcuts, which brings a crisp immediacy to recording tasks. There's no doubt about it–there will be a bit of a learning curve–but the developers claim to have integrated input and execution so seamlessly that you practically learn how to do things as you go along. Furthermore, users have an array of options that make recording demo CDs a snap. You can create tables of contents and burn discs without ever leaving Traverso.
Other features that dovetail nicely with the 'stay out of the way' philosophy behind Traverso include non-destructive editing, or the ability to use plugins and make edits without changing the actual sample, and lockless real-time audio processing, which reduces latency and streamlines performance. Traverso's commitment to intuitive recording and mastering controls makes the program stand out among its similarly free counterparts.
4. Ardour DAW
Available for Mac OS and Linux
Ardour is yet another great free DAW: one that is taking aim at cream-of-the-crop professional software and is promising for real studios with low budgets.
It features non-destructive editing, 32-bit float, supports unlimited tracks, and has extremely flexible routing capabilities. With support for LADSPA, LV2, and VST plugins, you'll be able to make your favorite customizations without a hassle. Synchronization with video is supported, and full handling of MIDI recording, playback and editing are expected with the highly-anticipated release of the third edition of Ardour.
The thing that sets Ardour apart from the rest of the pack is what's under the hood. It runs on JACK, an underlying sound server that facilitates low-latency audio recording and communication among various programs. Although Ardour itself only runs on Mac OS and Linux at present, a Windows port has been conceptualized, and efforts towards building one are in full swing as of June 2012, and JACK is already a true cross-platform utility that runs on the aforementioned systems as well as Windows. JACK is excellent at handling MIDI so that Ardour will take full advantage of that upon the release of the third edition.
Ardour is complex and certainly not for newbies. Some have complained about the potentially confusing graphical user interface (GUI), which is quite inaccessible to someone who's never seen or seriously worked with a DAW before. But if you're an audio engineer of any level of experience and strapped for cash, you may find that Ardour fits the bill for your projects quite nicely.
5. Jokosher
Available for Windows and Linux
Jokosher is billed as the 'musician's DAW' and the Linux alternative to GarageBand, the standard, pre-installed, easy-to-use workstation for Macs. Here, you won't find advanced editing and mastering tools by the names that most engineers know: it's a program that speaks in a music maker's language.
While not as heavyweight as its counterparts, Jokosher takes a lot of the guesswork out of the recording process for people who are new to it. All of the basic, expected editing tools are at the user's disposal. Startup is fast, easy and straightforward. Tracks are called 'instruments,' and you can set them up based on the type of instrument you intend to record. If it's an acoustic guitar for example, simply select 'Acoustic Guitar,' and the track will be clearly labeled as such with a cute picture to boot, providing an excellent visual layout of instruments used in the mix.
Jokosher supports LADSPA plugins only, and as of June 2012 it's still in its early development stages. But for musicians and podcasters who want to record simple products and get a first taste of manipulating tracks in a DAW, this simple program is hard to beat.
Alternative to Pro-Tools That Won't Break the Bank
Most of the big pro studios are using Avid Pro Tools to make all the records going to the radio these days, but it's slowly losing its status as an industry standard due to the quality of its competitors. There are plenty of lower-cost DAWs and a wealth of free and inexpensive plug-ins that bring professional studio sound right to your computer.
Even though Pro Tools is the premier name in the industry, there is really no special voodoo under the hood. It is simply a graphical user interface that lets you move some bits (and thus sounds) around inside your computer. There is no difference in the way Pro Tools sounds and the way any of its competitors sound, period.
So you can comfortably make a foray into saving money by purchasing one of the many alternatives to Pro Tools –none of which will cause even your fans to hear a difference.
Best Vocal Recording Software For Singers
1. Steinberg Cubase
There is the perennially popular Steinberg Cubase, which is perhaps the granddaddy of them all so to speak. The German-engineered application is perhaps the Mercedes-Benz of DAWs, offering pioneering technology and reliable performance.
And if you need a guide to Cubase, my buddy Chris Selim over at Mixdown Online has just the training you need. (affiliate link)
2. Logic Pro X
Apple has two DAWs in its stable: Garageband, a veritable staple discussed before, and Logic Pro. In both cases, the quality of these programs is very high and both will work with a wide assortment of audio hardware.
3. Cockos Reaper
Perhaps the best-kept secret in the world of DAWs is Reaper. Reaper is a heads-on contender for any other DAW on the list, including Pro Tools. The best part is that Reaper is not only among the best, it is also one of the least expensive, coming in at only $60 for the discounted license. All the features are there: real-time recording and editing, unlimited track count, VST and DX plug-in support, and more.
4. Studio One
Presonus's Studio One is a great option as well. It contains everything you need to produce music and seems very intuitive and easy to use.
In fact, it's probably the only DAW that might make me switch from Logic. A lot of my producer and engineer friends use it, and they swear by it, citing its ease of use, sound quality, and simplicity with production.
There is nothing wrong with using Pro Tools, of course. But if you can't afford to shell out the big dollars for the industry's biggest name, you still get the great results with the above applications.
Audio Recording Programs for Any Situation
All of the above are solid apps with unique feature sets and strengths, dedicated fan bases, and active support and development teams. The free DAWs don't have the advanced functionality of much more expensive, industry-standard solutions, but depending on your needs I'm sure you'll find something that works for you.
Try them out and decide which combination of user experience and specific features works best for you.
Happy recording!
Parts of this post were contributed by Daniel Kimbrel and Jessica Josh. If you would like to submit a guest post, check out the guidelines here.
Daniel is a movie buff and freelance writer. He contributes to a number of music sites online. Jessica Josh is an Australian freelance writer and blogger. Since 2007 she has been writing about weddings, fashion, and music.
Image by: Shawn Econo
