Audio Editing Tool For Mac

Whether you work with sound files on a weekly basis or only a couple of times a year, a great free audio editor will save you valuable time and effort.

  1. Audio Editing Software For Mac
  2. Audio Editing Software For Mac

The complexity of some audio editing softwaremight scare you away if you're a new user, but it's more likely to be the price tag that sends you running. Never fear, though – there are free tools that pack professional-level audio editing tools in a user-friendly interface that you can master in minutes.

This is Apple’s free video editing software, and it runs on both Mac OS and iOS platforms, so you can do you video editing just about wherever you go. For hobbyist and amateur filmmakers, Apple iMovie will have approachable tools to help you easily take your footage and edit a video with a clear flow. Audio Editing Mac Informer. Featured Audio Editing free downloads and reviews. Latest updates on everything Audio Editing Software related. WaveLab is an audio tool for mastering, audio editing and restoration. Main features - Leading. WaveLab is an audio tool for mastering, audio editing and restoration. The market for audio-editing tools feels like a maze filled with dead-ends. The market is saturated with programs that either cost a ton of money—think, for example, of Adobe Audition—or programs that haven't been maintained in many years. This audio editing software is a full-featured professional audio and music editor for Windows and Mac. It lets you record and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files, you can cut, copy and paste parts of recordings, and then add effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction. WavePad works as a wav or mp3 editor, but it also supports a number of other file.

Whether you're looking for a tool to help create a soundtrack for your home movies or something to help you convert your old record and cassette collection into MP3 format while removing background static, there's a free audio editor out there for you.

1. Audacity

Flexible and powerful – the very best free audio editor available

Audacity
Advanced editing tools
Packed with effects

Available for any desktop platform you care to mention, Audacity is our first choice free audio editor. It has a huge following, and it's one that is entirely justified. It's a powerful tool that would put some paid-for product to shame, and although the interface might initially seem slightly intimidating, it's actually surprisingly approachable even for beginners.

Audacity is equipped with an extensive suite of built-in tools, enabling you to edit pre-recorded files, capture sound through an attached microphone, or even stream music and podcasts. There's support for a wide range of audio formats for both importing and exporting, and the range of built-in effect is impressive.

There's also a great selection of third-party plug-ins to make it even more versatile (one of our favourites is autotune add-on Gsnap, for that Drake§ effect), and a comprehensive manual is available to help you to get to grips with the more complicated aspects of the program.

Its sheer power and incredible set of features make Audacity the best free audio editor you can download today.

2. Ocenaudio

Another powerful audio editor, but easier to master than Audacity

Great selection of filters
No effect stacking

Like Audacity, Ocenaudio is available for multiple platforms (Windows, Linux and Mac). While not bursting with features, it's a great tool for everyday audio editing. Real-time effect previewing should help to speed up your work as there's no need to apply a change just to try it out, and a highly precise selection tool makes it easy to apply the same effect to multiple sections of a file.

Tool

You can use Ocenaudio to work with locally stored files, or even open those hosted online. The audio editor's somewhat sparse interface quickly becomes a joy to use, and if you spend a little time familiarizing yourself with the keyboard shortcuts, you should fly through common tasks in no time.

Ocenaudio offers good range of effects, with more available as plugins, and there's even the option of exporting your creations as a ringtone for your iPhone.

3. Free Audio Editor

A pared-back tool that makes editing as simple as possible

Well designed interface
No creative filters

There are several programs named Free Audio Editor, which is understandable (developers want their software to rank well on Google, after all), but not particularly helpful for users. Here we're referring to the software created by the media experts at DVDVideoSoft rather than the tool by FAEMedia.

Unlike Audacity, this software won't help you create and master note-perfect recordings or eliminate background noise – but that's not what it's designed for. Free Audio Editor makes trimming and converting sound files as straightforward as possible – even for people who have never used a similar program before.

Free Audio Editor's interface is a simple icon-driven affair, with no potentially confusing menus and drop-down lists. The main attraction is a simple cutting tool, but Free Audio Editor also includes an excellent metadata editor for music files (complete with cover art), and a great selection of export formats so you can store tracks in a format suitable for your playback device of choice.

4. Ashampoo Music Studio 2018

Not just an audio editor – Music Studio is a full media player

Includes media management tools

The first thing you'll notice about Ashampoo Music Studio 2018 is that it looks great (the only indication that it’s free software is a tiny ad at the bottom of the interface for Ashampoo Music Studio 7) and is extremely easy to use.

The editor itself is simpler than Audacity's – not least because it only offers a single track – but it’s ideal for smaller tasks like splitting a file, trimming it, or normalizing its volume. Ashampoo Music Studio 2018 includes cut, copy and paste tools, and although there are no advanced noise-reduction tools or other corrective filters, it has everything you need for basic editing.

As the name suggests, this software is designed with music in mind, and includes several additional tools for playing and managing your songs.

You can build playlists by importing individual tracks or whole folders, and rip audio from videos (though only if they’re already stored on your PC – there’s no facility for downloading them). Music Studio 2018 can also edit metadata tags, convert between common formats, and check files for missing or corrupt metadata

There’s a tool for creating CD labels and jewel case covers (something you’re not too likely to use these days), but the built-in disc ripping and burning tools are welcome additions.

5. Acoustica Basic Edition

A more advanced editor, offering mastering with effect layering

Non-destructive editing
Free version in limbo

Acoustica Basic Edition is a particularly great audio editor if you're looking for a tool for producing music. Not only can you make your own recordings and open files from your PC, you can also import tracks straight from CDs, edit them, and export them in the format of your choice.

Unfortunately there's no free edition of Acoustica 7; the most recent version of Acoustica Basic is version 6, which you'll find on Acon Digital's site under 'Old versions and discontinued products'. It's a shame the company has decided not to continue the free product, and if you're looking for a free audio editor with room to grow, you might want to look elsewhere.

Opting for the free version means missing out on options such as a multi-track editor and support for 7.1 surround sound, but you still get a lot to play with. It has a very professional look and feel, and the Effect Chain – an area where you can build up and play with a layered series of filters – is a particular highlight.

There's support for DirectX and VST plug-ins, so you can easily expand the program's repertoire. If you want to get a taste for music editing with the freedom to move beyond the basics when you feel ready, Acoustica Basic Edition is an excellent starting point.

It's just a shame that the software is only available for Windows for now.

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A solid audio editor might not seem to belong at the top of your must-have list. It is, however, a tool that can go a long way toward helping you with your business. How? With an audio editor, you can add audio to your business website, create and edit a podcast to help promote your service or product, record and submit audio for radio ads, and more. But what software titles are available from the open source community? Believe it or not, some of the finest audio editors available are open source and offer power and options you might expect only in costly, proprietary software.

Let's take a look at five open source audio editors and see if there's one that will fit your bill.

Note: This article is also available as an image gallery.

1: Audacity

Audacity (Figure A) is the software I've been using for years to record Zombie Radio. It's a powerful multi-track recording app, and it's easy to use. Audacity allows you to record live audio, record from your desktop, convert old tapes/records, edit various formats, cut/copy/splice/mix audio, add effects, change speed/pitch, and much more. At first blush, you might think Audacity is an out-of-date application. But do not let appearances fool you. Audacity is one of the single best recording apps I've ever used. For features and ease of use, you can't beat this recording tool. Audacity is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Figure A

2: Ardour

Now we're talking real recording power. Ardour (Figure B) is a digital audio workstation that isn't for the faint of heart. It is to musicians, engineers, soundtrack editors, and composers what Audacity is to podcasters — the best tool for the job. Not only can you record audio from multiple inputs, you can cut, move, stretch, copy, paste, delete, align, trim, crossfade, rename, snapshot, zoom, transpose, quantize, swing, drag, and drop. The caveat to all of this power is that Ardour comes with a steep learning curve, and It's overkill for podcasters and those wanting to create simple sound recordings.

Figure B

Hundreds of plugins are available for this amazing piece of software. The best way to experience Ardour is by downloading and installing Ubuntu Studio or installing on OS X.

3: Traverso

Traverso (Figure C) leans more toward Audacity, but it relies upon the same underlying system that Ardour does: Jack. So although the interface is vastly easier to use than Ardour's, the foundation for connecting to devices (mics, instruments, etc.) is far more complex than Audacity.

Figure C

You can use Traverso for a small scale recording session on a netbook or scale up to recording a full-blown orchestra. One outstanding feature that's built into Traverso is the ability to burn your recording straight to CD from within the UI itself. Once you're finished with a project, just burn it and you're done. Traverso is available only for Linux.

4: QTractor

QTractor (Figure D) is another digital audio workstation that requires the Jack Audio Connection Kit. QTractor is a multi-track audio and MIDI sequencing and recording studio. It requires a much better understanding of Jack than Traverso does. But it also delivers a level of power you won't find with lesser applications.

Figure D

QTractor lets you drag, move, drop, cut, copy, paste, paste-repeat, delete, split, and merge. It offers unlimited undo/redo, has a built-in patch bay, and much more. QTractor is a great solution for anyone who wants the power of Jack but not the massive complexity (or flexibility and feature set) of Ardour. QTractor is available only for Linux.

5: Linux Multimedia Studio (LMMS)

Linux Multimedia Studio (Figure E) is geared toward songwriters, offering a beat editor and an FX mixer. LMMS includes an incredible array of effects and an impressive number of instruments. With LMMS you can compose entire songs without plugging in a single instrument. Just drag and drop an instrument plug-in to the song editor and you're good to go.

Figure E

LMMS does have a fairly steep learning curve, so be prepared to spend some time getting up to speed with the interface and tools. The name Linux Multimedia Studio a bit misleading, as it is actually available for both Linux and Windows.

Audio tasks?

If you're looking for an audio editor, and you don't want to shell out the money for proprietary software, you don't have to worry about losing features or power. The five editors listed here will get your job done and done right.

Audio Editing Software For Mac

How do you make use of audio? Do you use it for training, marketing, PR? Or is audio yet to make its way into your business plan?

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