Author: Anatoly Stepanov
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Want to record audio from your computer? In addition to having a high-quality microphone and headphones, choosing the right software is equally important. Many audio recording programs allow you not only to capture audio, but also have many built-in tools for processing and bringing the result to perfection.
No matter for what purpose you want to make an audio recording, choosing the right program to record voice from a microphone is critical. In this article, we'll look at the best professional and amateur audio capture apps.
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Steinberg Cubase
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: from 100 euros, there is a free 30-day trial version.
A virtual studio that is considered one of the most powerful today. This is a product aimed at professionals, but thanks to its logical interface, amateurs and musicians who want to improve the sound of their own compositions can also find success in Cubase.
The studio provides all the advanced tools for sound editing at different stages: during the recording process, during mixing and mastering. Cubase supports modern audio formats, including 5.1 and 7.1 audio, allowing you to achieve exceptional stereo effects.
The studio works with VST and VSTi plugins. There are convenient project templates, a multi-track editor, tools for working with notes, sets of filters, effects and a built-in mixer. In the environment you can compose beats, loops, edit and synthesize new sounds.
WavePad
WavePad is one of the best and most used audio recording software. This software supports working with most formats. The functionality has many options for processing tracks, including amplifying the sound, adding effects and trimming unnecessary fragments. Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting that the application shows poor performance when working with MP3 files.
Pros:
- wide support for various audio formats;
- Auto audio quality enhancement functions.
Minuses:
- problems working with MP3 files.
WavePad program interface
Adobe Audition
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: Starts at $20.99 per month, with a free 7-day trial.
Like Photoshop, only for working with sound. Adobe Audition is a functional audio editor that allows you to create masterpieces and edit compositions of any complexity. A very serious set of tools is available here, but to fully master them at a professional level, you will have to spend many hours. However, even a beginner can easily figure out basic sound processing - the interface is intuitive and highly customizable.
In Adobe Audition, you can correct and restore sound, create and customize sound effects. The studio is suitable not only for musicians, but also for podcasters: it has simple tools for recording, mixing and exporting materials.
Adobe Audition is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. If you work with video in Adobe Premier, you will be especially comfortable using this program to edit audio tracks.
Reaper
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: from $60, there is a free 60-day trial.
A full-fledged virtual studio created by the developers of the legendary Winamp player. One of the few such programs that can be run on Linux - however, the versions are still experimental.
Reaper runs successfully on relatively weak computers. It allows you to comfortably record, mix, master, and the output is exceptionally high-quality sound. It is very convenient here to edit files from multiple tracks, create mixes and arrangements, and achieve a unique sound for compositions.
Reaper has a built-in converter, as well as tools for syncing with Sound Forge Pro and Adobe Audition. You can connect VST plugins or hardware devices to the program for direct data capture and processing. ASIO, DirectSound and WaveOut protocols are supported.
Sound Forge Pro
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: from 299 euros, there is a free 30-day trial version.
A virtual studio that has consistently been included in The Best Music Editors & Audio Editing Software 2022 lists of the best in its field for over 20 years. It is suitable for studio recording and audio processing, professional mixing and mastering, checking loops and editing samples, and includes a wide range of built-in instruments and plug-ins.
Sound Forge Pro displays all key sound parameters very clearly, so it is comfortable to work, for example, with low and high frequency equalizers. In addition, the “large” program works surprisingly quickly thanks to deep internal optimization and produces results without loss of quality.
Sound Forge Pro's built-in DeNoiser audio restoration engine is considered one of the best on the market. It cancels out virtually any noise, so whether you're recording in a city or a crowded room, you can achieve inspiring results.
Ableton Live
- Platforms: Windows, macOS.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: Starts at $199, with a free 90-day trial.
This program is used by many DJs. Ableton Live makes it easy to create, edit and play music in real time, and write grooves right at the party. A user-friendly interface, a universal set of instruments, sounds, samples and loops - everything you need for a comfortable creative process.
The Ableton Live library includes 13 different instruments and 56 effects for processing audio and MIDI tracks: Echo, Pedal, Beat Repeat, Amp, Vocoder, Glue and others. The program automatically recognizes MIDI keyboards and other controllers and, by the way, sometimes a license for Ableton Live can be found in the box with such devices.
One of the studio's most interesting built-in tools is Wavetable. This is an updated synthesizer that allows you to flexibly transform sound using wave tables. They were compiled by analyzing the sound from real synthesizers and other analog instruments. To synthesize sound in Ableton, no deep knowledge of physics is required - just change the waveform with the mouse and listen to the result.
Mixcraft
- Platforms: Windows.
- Purpose: recording, mixing, mastering.
- Cost: from 5,200 rubles, there is a free 14-day trial version.
The main advantage of this virtual studio is the high quality of the built-in effects. Here you will find a variety of virtual instruments, samples and filters that will allow you to work with sound at a professional level, make effective remixes and arrangements. A convenient step sequencer will help you bring your composition to perfection.
The library contains more than a dozen VST plugins, over 8 thousand loops and samples. You can also import loop libraries, particularly from Apple GarageBand and ACID studios.
Another feature of Mixcraft is the ability to work with video. This includes voice acting, editing of original tracks, and basic tools for video sequences: cutting, pasting and more.
Why is vinyl better than CD?
This question will be answered by two pictures below, taken with a digital microscope:
On the first are the tracks of the record; thanks to the magnification, it is easy to see their living essence, that very wave-like continuity inherent only in live sound. I think so
