Free multi-track audio editor and recorder offering powerful tools in an accessible, timeline-based interface
Free multi-track audio editor and recorder offering powerful tools in an accessible, timeline-based interface
Vote (263 votes)
Program license Free
Developer Audacity
Version 2.0.6
Works under Windows
Vote
(263 votes)
Developer
Audacity
Works under
Windows
Program license
Free
Version
2.0.6
Pros
- Easy software when it comes to audio editing
- Completely free
- A complete arsenal of advanced tools for editing
- Produces good quality sounding audio
Cons
- Complaints of crashing
- Complaints of distortion with some microphones
- Not completely user-friendly
- Is just a beta version
Audacity Beta is a tool for capturing and editing sound on the users' computer. It is great for those who want to mix music or make podcasts because it allows for users to work with multiple audio tracks at once. It is as easy as dragging and dropping audio tracks into place and then cutting and pasting them from there. Just like with video editing software everything appears in a timeline, where users can easily make changes without too much hassle. Users can link their personal microphone directly into the Audacity Beta software and begin editing right away.
It is simple to use, especially compared to other audio editing systems, but it does require a bit of knowledge about computers to be able to get the full use out of it. Editing audio can be difficult and even though Audacity Beta makes it much more approachable it can still be a bit overwhelming.
Audacity Beta is a test version of the software Audacity. Because it is a test version it does have some bugs that will need to be worked out.
Audacity Beta is like having a whole arsenal of advanced sound recording tools right at your fingertips. It is great for those who are just starting with editing audio or those who want to use it recreationally.
In this beta product, there have been some complaints concerning how often the software seems to crash. There have also been some complaints it can cause distortion when using certain kinds of microphones. It is helpful to keep this in mind before downloading Audacity in its beta form.
Audacity Beta is currently offered for Windows and Apple operating systems. It is offered in twenty-six different languages. It has a relatively small download size and doesn't take a lot of time to download. It is completely free.
Pros
- Easy software when it comes to audio editing
- Completely free
- A complete arsenal of advanced tools for editing
- Produces good quality sounding audio
Cons
- Complaints of crashing
- Complaints of distortion with some microphones
- Not completely user-friendly
- Is just a beta version
Pros
- A free Windows tool that still includes professional audio editing features.
- A good introductory tool for the aspiring audio editor.
- Exports audio in a variety of formats, including AIFF, WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, MP2, M4A, AC3, AMR, and WMA.
- The ability to work with numerous tracks at once and overlay multiple audio streams.
- Tools ranging from the simple cut and paste to sophisticated audio manipulation.
- A quick and easy solution to making mash-ups, silencing background noise, and other everyday tasks.
Cons
- Audacity does not have all the features of a professional studio.
Audacity is a free audio editing studio for Windows computers. This software boasts a very easy entry-level audio editing interface while still including some professional audio editing features for the more advanced users. Simply upload an audio file from within the app, and the soundtrack is visualized for you, often with separate streams for the right and left speaker. From here you can select from a menu of simple audio editing features to trim, copy, paste, or even draw audio.
Users can zoom in or out on a selected portion of audio, or specify (by starting and ending time) a portion of audio to fit the window. Once the user has selected the audio portion that they want, there is a host of options they can select, ranging from simple sound effects to professional tuning. From a menu labeled "effect," the user can choose to modify the bass or treble, amplify the sound, change pitch, change speed, change tempo, fade in or out, add echo, remove noise, reverse, reverb, truncate silence, or a multitude of other effects.
Users can also upload multiple different audio tracks, muting and enabling different tracks as they please. The separate audio tracks will display in a queue, and will go dark if they are muted. This allows for the very simple creation of mix tracks, copying and pasting portions from different tracks while adding effects or playing back multiple tracks simultaneously. Different audio tracks can also be set at different relative volumes to one another, allowing some tracks to play in the background and others more dominantly.
Audacity also supports adding audio tracks from microphone input, if the user wants to sing along or add their own sound effects or any variety. The controls feature a large "record" button and the microphone audio is added to the queue as a new track automatically. Both playback volume and microphone sensitivity can be configured from the main controls.
Once all the audio tracks are uploaded and edited, the user can play back their creation from within the app. A visual display shows the balance of audio in the left and right speaker. If the user is pleased with their creation, they can export the resultant audio in a variety of formats, including AIFF, WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, MP2, M4A, AC3, AMR, and WMA. The bit rate and quality can also be selected at the time of export. If users are not ready to export their audio, they can save the entire Audacity project for later and pick up exactly where they left off.
Pros
- A free Windows tool that still includes professional audio editing features.
- A good introductory tool for the aspiring audio editor.
- Exports audio in a variety of formats, including AIFF, WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, MP2, M4A, AC3, AMR, and WMA.
- The ability to work with numerous tracks at once and overlay multiple audio streams.
- Tools ranging from the simple cut and paste to sophisticated audio manipulation.
- A quick and easy solution to making mash-ups, silencing background noise, and other everyday tasks.
Cons
- Audacity does not have all the features of a professional studio.
