Periodically, the topic of which audio editor do you prefer (Adobe Audition for Windows or Pro-Tools for the Mac) comes up.

Adobe has a new (beta) audio editor called Soundbooth. It doesn't look as powerful as Audition, but it runs on Intel-based Macs (OS X 10.4.3 or greater) or Windows (XP SP2). You can download and use the current beta version through 2/28/07.

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/soundbooth/

protools ftw. no question. except that audition has all of the effect for free, if you know how to really work it.

but if i could have a devise that was halfway between audicy and the mac voxpro, i would be a production god... well, more of one ;D

Looks like Cool Edit 2000 has been updated for 2006. If Adobe prices it the same as CE2K was ($69 IIRC) they'll sell a ton of 'em.

Audition has a big learning curve (doesn't all Adobe products?), but works extremely well, especially for multi-track editing.

Looking at the product page for Soundbooth, it is definitly more directed toward simple audio projects, podcasts, radio commercials, etc. Where Audition is more for complete multi-track projects. I will definitely be giving Soundbooth a try.

If your looking for something inexpensive (free?) I would suggest checking out Audacity:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

To date, Audacity has proven all I need, and more. I switched from Cool Edit 2000 and 96 before that. And have never looked back.

The big thing that made me change was Cool Edit's limit of 2 tracks in the standard version. I find Audacity's infinite number of tracks a very good way to isolate each element in a way that allows minimal effort if you want to tighten up an element or tighten up the segue between two adjacent elements.

I was mere minutes from shelling out $169 for Adobe Audition when I heard about Audacity.

For extremely simple editting (video or audio), be sure to check out the software that came with your CD-RW or DVD-RW drive. It may do the trick. Or it may drive you crazy....

I use a program called Mixmeister for my internet broadcast. Now, not having any experience with Pro Tools or Cool Edit, I don't know this - but I'm curious about a few things;

#1. With what programs can you create single, large files with mutiple tracks? A " show " let's say.

#2. With what programs can you export in MP3 form? ( Mixmeister only exports your creation as a .wav file - for a lot of reasons, that isn't what I would prefer ).

#3. With what programs can you " beat mix "?

I poking around with the suggestions named in this thread - but I'm curious if anyone has any experience with the applications I've mentioned.

Oh - and - what program knowledge looks best on a resume'?

Protools, I think, is the BEST audio editor available today. However, it's outrageously expensive and difficult to learn. Adobe Audition is neither of those things, and equally as powerful when used correctly...

Some award-winning production guy once told me, in order to make any REAL money doing radio production, I'd need to learn protools and move to a bigger market -- I'm pretty sure he's right.

For most simple projects and straight voice work I use a program called FastEdit by Minnetonka software. Its about $100. The great thing about FastEdit is that its non-destructive editing. Unless you rename your working file the same as your source, the source stays unchanged. I used FastEdit in news at both KEX and KPAM and was able to do some pretty complex things. Now I use Audition only to rip CDs or change files from, say wav to aif or mp3.

I'm an ex sound forge user, now using Audacity. Great little editor. The FFT filters are a little goofy, but other than that I'm extremely happy with it.

For CD rips & wave to mp3, there is only one encoder worth using. LAME beats anything commercial by a mile. Google how to install it, you will be very glad you did!

Exact Audio Copy (EAC) http://www.exactaudiocopy.org is free and recommended for Digital Audio Extraction from music CDs everywhere I've read and by everyone I've talked to. LAME can be added to it.

EAC is pretty smart, preventing the CD/DVD drive from automatically and sometimes incorrectly correcting read errors, and also double-checking a lot.

Only trick applies to non-Admin IDs in Win 2000 and XP: install (with an Admin ID) it to My Docs on each non-Admin ID you want to use it on.

Agree with that post totally if one is running win32.

Me? I've an SGI. The CD player application plays the audio digitally right into a DSP. I can just choose save track as or save portion of track as right off the menu!

(Sorry, I just love those computers --expensive in their day, but just killer machines.)

I like Cool edit and audacity.... both are easy to self teach and have more features than most people will use.... so many production people are buried in work that it is more personal choice and what the station has on hand..... It all sounds good if iyou use it right.

I'm on the verge of updating my Final Cut Pro to Final Cut Studio which comes with Soundtrack, the Apple software which the majority of articles seem to indicate Soundbooth is aimed to compete with. I'll report on that later. As previously stated, they aren't really aimed at a broadcast or studio audio major leaguer.

There are a lot of multimedia developers that need better audio software, especially apps that integrate well with the video editor. When I first got FCP it came with Bias Peak barebones which I upgraded to LE and it has served me well, but it ain't no Pro Tools or Logic Pro.

Logic Pro is another app I am considering, but don't really have the need for at this time. Maybe the Logic Express app, but you can also get the Pro Tools M Powered software at that price range. A lot of it depends on the hardware you use ... specifically, how the console integrates with the software. Mackie Traction 2 is another app I'm curious about.

anybody running windows on a mac yet? I'm wondering how seamless it is to drag an audio file from windows application to a mac application . . .

Interestingly, last night's episode of "Cold Case" (about a '50s DJ who was murdered) featured Final Cut Pro. The guy doing the editing mumbled something about "recording the tape into M-Audio them leveraging the throughput of the PCI bus". Uh-huh.

As far as what looks good on a resume - most radio stations recognize Cool Edit/Audition or ProTools. Learn other programs if you want - but those two are the most popular for radio work.

And for the Mixmeister user - if you want to stick with that app, download dbPowerAmp. It's the Swiss Army Knife of audio encoding/decoding. http://dbpoweramp.com

I've grown to love Adobe Audition.

It's light years ahead of older versions of Cool Edit, especially Cool Edit 2000.

I've done some very complicated pieces of production with Adobe and had excellent results.

1lossir: Where did you see that about CE2K being revived? Thanks.

>>Where did you see that about CE2K being revived? Thanks.<<

From the Soundbooth description:

"Soundbooth is a brand new application built in the spirit of Sound Edit 16 and Cool Edit that provides the tools video editors, designers, and others who do not specialize in audio need to accomplish their everyday work..."

That's true in that Soundbooth is a non-multitrack editor with some DSP functionality built-in.

-Rob

Thanks. Having the name, I was able to locate a (date-limited?) beta avail at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/soundbooth/

Now we have come full circle.
That is the same link that Steve posted at the top of this thread. You didn't need the name or to go searching and locating. All you had to do was read the first entry into this thread and follow the link.