Any recommendations for sound editing software?

Factual Questions
1

My primary application is to transfer old analog tapes to the computer, remove the tape hiss, insert cd track markers without interrupting the audio (no break between tracks), then burn the result onto cd. If you know the best software to do this, I’d really appreciate the recommendation.

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      • Sound editing: I like Soundprobe 2, but Cool Edit Pro probably gets the most mentions.
  • CD track intervals: you need to get burning software that allows you to set each track interval manually–I think Nero Burning ROM is one that does…? - http://www.cdrfaq.org/
  • By the by, audio-editing and CD-burning software are two different things.
    ~
3

Not necessarily, DougC. I am using Cakewalk Pyro at the moment and it has all the features the OP asks for in one package

It’s audio editing seems to work well. I understand that it would be regarded as rather simple and limited by expert standards, but I assume the OP isn’t an expert.

On the downside, I have found the manual to be pretty simplistic, and I have found it rather unstable. However, I bought it after a recommendation from two different people, and they have had no instability at all. I run Win98 and they run XP, so that may be the difference.

4

Another vote for Cool Edit Pro

5

Cakewalk Pro does everything the OP wants? Can Cakewalk Pro (or Cool Edit Pro / Cool Edit 2000, which is what I use) remove tape hiss, along the lines of Dolby Noise Reduction technology? I’ve been trying to find a package that would remove hiss, but so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Maybe I’ve just missed this feature?

6

I haven’t tried Cakewalk, but I know Cool Edit can do it, at least. Not sure about the tape hiss, but you might be able to do that with EQ, or find a plugin.

[minor hijack]Does anyone know an auto-tune plugin for Cool Edit? Couldn’t find one.[/hijohn]

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      • I even own Pyro and I just never burned a CD with it… It does have “effects” that you can “process files” with, but none are titled anything like “noise reduction”. I learned to use Nero first because it came with my burner, and is known for allowing a lot of audio CD options. For me Pyro has worked fine in both 98 and XP…
        ~
8

Are we in parallel universes? Right between the de-click and the EQ button in Cakewalk Pyro is the noise reduction button. Am I missing something here?

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Thank you very much for these suggestions, I will check these out as a starting point.

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Cool edit is really good for multi track recording, but if you need a really good program for editing try Sound Forge…it is my personal favorite

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Yep, another vote for SoundForge.

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      • Okay, my version (1.5) of Pyro is a year or so old, the new version does have other audio-processing stuff.
        ~
13

Is Cakewalk Pyro a different product from Cakewalk Sonar, or is it just a different version or something? I used to have Cakewalk Professional back when it was a DOS program, and recently upgraded to Cakewalk Sonar, but haven’t installed it yet.

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Sonar and Pyro are two different programs. I have not used Pyro ever, but I use Sonar all the time. It is extreme overkill if all you want to do is convert audio tape to digital format, but because I use it in my home studio, I also use it to convert records and tapes. It works fine for me.
I haven’t found a noise reduction plugin, but I also haven’t looked real hard. I normally do some EQing to help with the noise.

Steven

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I’d really like to find something that removes the tape hiss in a way that doesn’t degrade the music - something on the order of what professional studios use when remastering albums for cd release. However, I don’t see the need to spend $500.00 or more if there is software in the $40 range that does the same thing.

I visited my local Circuit City and they had about 20 different pieces of software in this category, and none of the packaging was too terribly clear on the capabilities. The ones that looked the most promising were Voyetra Audio Surgeon, Magix Audio Cleaning Lab, and Cakewalk Pyro 2003, all three sell for 39.99. All three seem as though they can remove hiss, and allow insertion of track markers. Beyond the above comments, has anyone else had any experience with any of these products? I am most grateful for all the advice.

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I just bought Cakewalk Pyro 2003 for $25.

It doesn’t insert track markers. You have to do that manually. The blurb makes it sound like it does, but it doesn’t.

It does remove hiss, but I am learning that you have to have a very light touch on the sensitivity, and it does tend to degrade the sound somewhat.

Whether this is inherent, or a feature of CP I don’t know.

17

Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge!

They also make a NR plug-in that samples the noise and removes that sound from the track. It is quite effective.

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Watcher of the Skies, you should try out whatever software you’re thinking of buying first. I use groovemechanic. I tried it and several others out first (they would typically let you remove 2 minutes of hiss), removing hiss from the same track and comparing them. Some of the codes I tried gave an “electronic” sound to some parts of the music. Cymbal crashes in particular were affected a lot.

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      • Many of these programs have trial versions available that are save-disabled or time-limited, so you can try them out in some fashion. The thing about trying to decide which removes static well is that some programs will be save-disabled, so the only way to hear the results is to play it through your computer’s soundcard… -and if you’ve got a cheaper soundcard, it’s going to add quite a bit of static on its own–so you may have a hard time hearing any differences, particularly between different programs.
        ~
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Nobody mentioned Cubase. ;( :smiley: