VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[tombrom]

Hi,
I am new to this forum, I just need a bit of advice.

I am not into the home recording in a big way but I would like to "edit" bits I have recorded at other studios to produce short relevant reels.

I have a Rode NT2000 and a Lexicon Omega (like an mbox).
The box is great - apart from a few plug and play issues.

My query is about the software that came with it - Pro Tracks.
My opinion is that it is not very user friendly.
Has anyone else switched from pro tracks to something better?
Can you recommend something better?
Someone lent me their copy of CuBase but I haven't tried it yet.

Also, is there any other piece of equipment I should consider using?

Many Thanks,
_________________
Thomas Bromhead
www.tombrom.com
tombrom@gmail.com

[billelder]

Audacity is a great program to use for just simply recording and editing one track. Its simple, straight forward and powerfull. The price is right as it is FREE! So, no harm in giving it a try. Hope this helps.

[dhouston67]

Tom,

You might also look at Digital Sound Planet. Their freeware programs are not bad at all, and they don't "time out" after 30 days or whatever (only a few advanced functions are left out); plus, the paid versions are inexpensive.
_________________
Great Voice. Great Choice. For Voice Talking and stuff.
http://davidhoustonvoice.com
Do That Voice! - The DHV Blog

[Frank F]

Dittos on the Audicity DAW... not a bad little program for FREE. Then there is the paid types... Adobe Audition, SoundForge, Sony Vegas, ProFools -er-ProTools, and so many others I cannot count..

Your choice will depend on so many issues, that it will take more space than is allowed on any forum to discuss...

Find what you like, if you have to - try them all... they all work... it's just how you work with them that counts.

Frank F

another shameless plug:
Watch for iSpeek, on a computer near you, soon...

FF[/i]

[donrandall]

Well, here we go again!

I have three different programs to choose from, I like Goldwave the best. I have been disappointed in the others.

www.goldwave.com You can download and use it for free - for a limited number of mouseclicks, quite sufficient to decide whether or not you like it - and you will.

For the dough, it has the most features - features that actually work instead of confuse and disappoint and discourage. It is very user friendly, I like programs that are "intuitive". I hate it when I have to waste vast quantities of my time reading stuff from the "Help" drop down that just causes more confusion! Goldwave is very intuitive - you can learn it in short order without a lot of brain damage. They also have a very useful and usable forum where you can go to pick up some tips from some sharp users - and the owner of the company shows up frequently to join in and hear suggestions and give advice.

For less than $50, you just can not do better.

[CWToo]

[Deirdre]

Heh--I think appreciation of Pro Tools is something akin to appreciation of Apple products.

There's a certain amount of love associated with it.

Or hate.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

[Mike]

[Tom Greenlee]

I use Adobe Audition 2 and love it. I did use Goldwave and love it too. Goldwave has that cool left mouse button click to mark start of selection and right mouse button to mark end of selection....very quick and precise....Audition doesn't have that function, which I really miss....you have to drag and highlight your selection....if you over shoot or undershoot the correct ending spot, you have to start over again. I don't like that. However Audition 2 is just a fabulous program all the way around and it supports multitrack, where as Goldwave doesn't. But Goldwave has a ton of built in features...effects etc and supports plugins. and it's about 50 bucks as already mentioned......I would say if you don't have need of the multi-track functionality, that of all the products in the lower price range, Goldwave is probably the best, most feature rich recording/editing program......My own opinion of course......Audition 2 on the other hand is about 350 dollars. I think it's worth the money, but again it's my own opinion....everyone has their own favorites.
_________________
TG2

"Communication without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communication is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps

[nick reed]

Any of the audio editing programs will work but some will be more tailored to your needs. I am not an expert on this, so my infomation may be littered with mis-information, please verify everything before proceeding.

I have Cubase, only because I had it for some Midi stuff before I got into VO. If you want to do any type of Midi work, Cubase is a combined Audio/Midi application and I would recommed it. However, if you do not plan to use it for Midi, I wouldn't bother. There are a couple of other programs that I would recommend over Cubase, for good reasons.

ProTools is apparently ubiquitous in studios around America, so if you want to neatly mesh with other people, this may be the route to go, however there are some caveats.

Personally, I do not want a program that records only two tracks, making it necessary to bounce things around. I want mutiple tracks, so that I can do a number of takes, one after the other and then go back and compare them and keep the one that I want. If I remember correctly... Audacity, Gold Wave and Sony Sound Forge products are two-track only... but this may be completely wrong. Someone please chime in on this.

If the above information is correct and I were to start over, there would be only two programs on my short list; ProTools (for its universal element) and Adobe Audition. Adobe Audition allows multi-tracking and has a great noise reduction feature. Audition is also about as easy to use as an editing program could be.

Another consideration is that ProTools requires compatible hardware. You would have to replace your Lexicon Omega with an M-Audio soundcard or one of the Digidesign audio interfaces... Mbox or Digi 002.

If ProTools has noise reduction (someone please verify if it does or not), that would seal the deal for me. If not, I would probably have to go with Audition, with its excellent built-in noise reduction and ease of use.

Again, all of this information must be verified...

Added later: I would recommed getting a popular program because historically, I have always needed help at some point with any program. If you get a program which has scant distribution, support may be relatively non-existant. So, from that, I would would suggest this as your beginning short list. I don't think that there are any lesser known programs which would offer any advantage over these. Of course, this is just one persons's opinion...

Popular freeware programs: Audacity or Gold Wave

Popular commercial programs: Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, Sony Sound Forge

Nick

[Charlie Channel]

[allensco]

Sound Forge Audio Studio 8 is a bargain at around $70.00. It's a two track editor and has plenty of effects and tools. I use it all the time. The best features to me are the "marker" and "regions" functions. You can drop markers where you want (to mark edit or drop-in points), then add text information to that particular marked region (like a label).
Edit: SF also works with the ASIO driver. I believe Audition does too.

For plugins, I like the Voxengo Voxformer plugin for vocals. Lot of nice presets and fully adjustable for your own preferences. http://www.voxengo.com

As far as Audition goes, I've tried it and didn't like it. I still use the older Cool Edit Pro for multitracking when I need it. Like the Goldwave editor, CEP lets you use the left and right mouse keys mark the start and end of a selection for editing. Plus its got some great effects. It's much cleaner looking than Audition and runs smoothly, even on low resource machines.. Leave it to Adobe to clutter up the screen and turn a slick program into a resource hog, such shame.

Never tried Pro Tools, maybe one day when I can get a Mac. For now, Sound Forge is my choice I have tried Audacity and it was a great editor! Can't beat the price (FREE) either. I have not tried Goldwave in several years. I may have to grab a copy and try it out again.

[Doc]

Ya know, in deference to Allen's opinion of Audition, I used CEP until Audition took over. In fact, I still have BOTH installed. But, seems I never use CEP any more.

I very much like Audition, however it is overkill for the most part for us V.O. types. But, then again, so was CEP.

I haven't found a mouse operation for cue points, but you can use the Function key F8 (default) to mark cue points.

Pro Tools is WAY too proprietary for me, personally.

And, as always, to each their own.

[tombrom]

Thank you all for so much advice and information. You are all a very generous bunch.

I think as someone mentioned above that I will have compatibility probs with Pro Tools/Lexicon Omega and I am glad I am not Robinson Crusoe on the editing side of things. Maybe the programmers should ask us how to make a program user friendly. Sounds like Adobe Audition and Goldwave are worth investigating for my specific needs. Had anyone heard of Pro Tracks?? Maybe I am the only sucker using it.

I will only be recording my voice yes, so midi not really relevant. (all those poor inputs going to waste!)

The Omega works on a USB patch system in case you're wondering.
Once again, thanks everyone. I would reply to each of you in person but I didn't expect so many answers! WOW! I also love all your funny pictures....adds a nice touch.

Cheers,
_________________
Thomas Bromhead
www.tombrom.com
tombrom@gmail.com

[Bill]

I've heard of Pro Tracks that's from PG Music right, sounds like a great program for dealing with midi and audio.

I've used goldwave since I started on a 386, and it's great for some functions. I still have it around.

I have used Audacity which has some very nice features as well (not the least of which is the price) but for my music I have found it quirky. It does multi-track,(each time you hit record it starts a new track) but I find once I record say the backing tracks, I have to export that as a wav, then record my sax track, export that as a wav and then I can add effects etc, once the effects are put on a track you can un do it, until you close the program. Upon export you also have to select the tracks you want mixed down, The mute buttom will only affect playback of the track in the project, not on mixdown (all those flat notes wound up in the mix!) that is poor workflow for me, and I get frustrated with the program and leave it alone for long periods of time.

I find myself using Audition 1.5 much more these days, put the effects etc on the tracks and they are added in realtime as it plays, versus destructively editing the wav file. I can also import midi, record that to wav and incorporate that nicely. Mute works as one would suspect, and I can go back in days, weeks or months later and change the reverb etc on an individual track.

I use it mainly for music, not so much for VO. goldwave, Audacity or an old version of Wavelab for VO.