Digital audio editor

Digital audio editor

Contents

A digital audio editor is a computer application for audio editing, i.e. manipulating digital audio. Digital audio editors are the main software component of a digital audio workstation.

For use with music

Editors designed for use with music typically allow the user to do the following:

  • Record audio from one or more inputs and store recordings in the computer's memory as digital audio
  • Edit the start time, stop time, and duration of any sound on the audio timeline
  • Fade into or out of a clip (e.g. an S-fade out during applause after a performance), or between clips (e.g. crossfading between takes)
  • Mix multiple sound sources/tracks, combine them at various volume levels and pan from channel to channel to one or more output tracks
  • Apply simple or advanced effects or filters, including compression, expansion, flanging, reverb, audio noise reduction and equalization to change the audio
  • Playback sound (often after being mixed) that can be sent to one or more outputs, such as speakers, additional processors, or a recording medium
  • Conversion between different audio file formats, or between different sound quality levels

Typically these tasks can be performed in a manner that is both non-linear and non-destructive.

For use with speech

Editors designed for use in speech research add the ability to make measurements and perform acoustic analyses such as extracting and displaying a fundamental frequency contour or spectrogram. They typically lack most or all of the effects of interest to musicians.

Table of audio editing software

Name Creator Linux Mac OS X Unix Windows Free Software Note
Acoustica Acon Digital Media No No No Yes No
Amadeus Pro HairerSoft No Yes No No No
Ardour Paul Davis Yes Yes Yes No Yes DAW
Audacity Dominic Mazzoni Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Audiobook Cutter Free Edition No No No Yes Yes MP3 audiobook splitter
Audio Dementia Holladay Audio No No No Yes No
Audition Adobe Systems No Yes No Yes No Previously known as CoolEdit
BIAS Peak BIAS No Yes No No No
Creative Wavestudio Creative Technology No No No Yes No
Diamond Cut DC7 Enhancedaudio.com, Inc. No No No Yes No
Ecasound Kai Vehmanen Yes Yes Yes No Yes DAW
Eko Peter Semiletov Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Freecycle Yes No No Yes beat slicer
Fast Edit Minnetonka audio No No No Yes No
Fission Rogue Amoeba No Yes No No No
FlexiMusic Wave Editor FlexiMusic No No No Yes No
Goldwave Goldwave Inc. No No No Yes No
Jokosher Jokosher community Yes No Yes Yes Yes DAW
LMMS Tobias Doerffel Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Aims to be similar to Fruity Loops
Logic Pro Apple No Yes No No No DAW
MAGIX Music Maker MAGIX No No No Yes No
Media Digitalizer Digitope No No No Yes No Intended to facilitate recording cassette tapes to digital formats
mp3DirectCut Yes (WINE) No Yes Yes lossless MP3 editing
MP3 Stream Editor 3delite No No No Yes No
MusE Yes No No Yes DAW
n-Track Studio FAsoft No No No Yes No
NU-Tech Leaff Engineering No No No Yes No
Pro Tools Avid No Yes No Yes No DAW
Pyramix Merging Technologies No No No Yes No DAW
Qtractor Rui Nuno Capela Yes No No Yes DAW
QuickAudio Sion Software No No No Yes No
Reaper Cockos / Justin Frankel No Yes No Yes No DAW, Unlimited Free Trial
ReZound Davy Durham Yes No No No Yes
Rosegarden Yes No No Yes DAW
SADiE SADiE No No No Yes No DAW
Sample Wrench dissidents No No No Yes No
Samplitude MAGIX No No No Yes No DAW
Sequoia MAGIX No No No Yes No DAW
Snd Bill Schottstaedt Yes Yes No Yes
SndBite Bill Poser Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sound Forge Sony No No No Yes No Formerly from Sonic Foundry
Soundbooth Adobe Systems No Yes No Yes No Intel only
Soundscape 32 Solid State Logic No No No Yes No formerly from Soundscape Digital Technology
SoX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes CLI
Sweep Conrad Parker Yes No Yes No Yes
Total Recorder HighCriteria No No No Yes No
Traverso Remon Sijrier Yes Yes Yes Yes DAW
Virtual DJ Atomix Productions No Yes Yes Yes No
WaveLab Steinberg No No No Yes No
Wavosaur Wavosaur Team No No No Yes No
WavePad NCH Software No Yes No Yes No
WaveSurfer Centre for Speech Technology at KTH Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
XO Wave XO Audio Yes Yes No No No

See also

An audio production facility at An-Najah National University



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