Audio Editors

[Saracen999]

I'm contemplating a change in audio editor. I used to use CoolEdit Pro (but it got Adobied). More recently, Audacity, but I'm not terribly happy about the way things have been going since Muse took over. Firstly, the attempt at sticking "telemetry" in it, and then the exact wording of their "changing our mind" statements which, taken with changes to their privacy policy, and the licence-grab with the contributors licence, and their history with other products, strongly suggests that even though they (apparently) backed off on telemetry for now, are likely to come back to it, possibly more stealthily, and overall it leaves me with very dented trust.

And trust is the issue. Somewhere along the line, it'll come down to trust, with any software. Trouble is, I don't trust Muse/Audacty any longer.

So .... anyone else having the same issue? If so, what are you doing about it?

What I really am after is a good audio editor. I don't really need (and already have) some fairly powerful DAW software, but all I really need is a relatively simple (if very good) editor, with a decent set of audio processing plug-ins (normallise, compression, EQ, etc) but not virtual instruments, and MIDI support, notation tools and so on.

I'm also drawing the line at expensive DAW-type tools. Paid-for, maybe, but only up to a point. Hundreds of pounds? No.

My currently considered options include :-

- stick with Audacity, but not beyond 3.0.2, or even maybe 2.4.x (current version I have). i.e. pre-Muse

- a fork, when available. Tenacity, maybe, looks promising

- something like Reaper but the simple paid licence (still probably over-kill)

- just use Performe Lite/Ableton Live Lite that cme with the MOTU audio i/face.

Thoughts?

I'm building my new system, and would rather switch now, if I'm going to, than install complex softare then switch in a few months.

[g8ina]

I'm still using CEP !

I know that dont help....

[Saracen999]

It doesn't, but y'know, it is an option. It might be ... ahem .... 20 years (and some, I think) old but, it still works. And one thing is sure - it ain't stuffed to the teeth with telemetry.

But if you really want a laugh, take a look at the capability and especially configurabilty of Reaper. It's a bit like comparing my old balsa wood clip-together glider with a space shuttle. Or a light switch with the flight deck of Concorde. Talk about learning curve.

But really, probably all I need of an editor is that balsa wood grade.

[spacein_vader]

I'm personally sticking with a pre muse build of Audactiy till one of the forks becomes the one most of the community rallies behindx then I'll join thst. I'm not in a rush, the old version does all I need for now.

[Unique]

soundforge is what i've been using since the 90s. you can often get cheap copies with humble bundle type deals where you get the previous or 2 versions old for £20 or something for the pro version and there's lighter versions that are sometimes cheaper. i've also used ACID (a type of DAW) and vegas (the video editor) for years, which have similar setup and play nice with soundforge and again you can get cheap on humble bundle type deals. acid and vegas are pointless for audio editing specifically. audacity is free and all but since the old days soundforge has been the one for me and easy to use. i never got on with the adobe stuff. the options where overwhelming

[Saracen999]

There's some blasts from the pat coming out here. Yeah, Soundforge. I still have a boxed version dating from the Cooledit Pro days (also boxed). Very good, but I just kinda .... 'jelled' more with CE-Pro. Same for ACID. I think the version I have is probably v1, but certainly very old. For that matter, CuBase too (was that Steinberg-owned??). Either that one was early windows (CE-Pro being DOS) or I have a Win version of CuBase too.

I was more thinking of a current product, with on-going development but, all this notalgia is making me think - what is it that I need that I couldn't do either with CE-Pro, or just sticking with pre-Muse Audacity? After all, on Audacity, as I understand it, up to 3.0.2 is pre-Muse, and I'm still on 2.4.2 so I'm not desperate even for the latest pre-Muse version.

CE-Pro would do all I need. I guess I use Audacity just 'cos I get on well with it, it does everything without being Reaper-level complex .... and Reaper is great, and great fun, but way more than I actually need.

I suspected I'd do as spacein says, stick with pre-Muse then switchto a fork as the best route becomes clear. Nothing else seems to present a tempting enough alternative to induce a wholesale change, including learning curve, but I thought you lot might point out something I'd missed.

Even a Muse version might be okay .... for now. They certainly seem to have backed off on the obnoxiousness ... for now. I think the community reaction scared the effluent out of them. Maybe they misunderstood the nature of that kind of project, and the mindset of those using it. But the .... smell ... of Muse but makes me edgy. What if they sneak in something without mentioning it. Do I trust them on 'stealth' changes? i.e. something currently in the code that they can turn on quietly, when they feel like it? And the answer is "no, I don't".

Also, part of me also says with all the data gathering going with Windows, various browsers, websites, etc, the horse has already not just bolted but run away, hada family, retired, left the country and died of old age.

However, I've spent more than a little time and effort minimising the damage from both Windows and browsing, and I'm damned if I want to start second-guessing devousness from Muse too. It's far easier to just ditch them entirely. And that, BTW, is why I feel they've already totally and pobably screwed the Audacity pooch by trying this garbage at all. Wrong type of user to pull it on. Sure, not all Audacity users are totally on it, but my bet is those actively supporting the whole project are, and sooner or later, as spacein said, will migrate to a fork. It's hardly the first time that kind of thing has happened, and Muse completely contradicts the project's whole ethos.

[Saracen999]

The other thing that surprises me still is what all that software (like CoolEdit Pro, Cubasee, etc, and the music creation stuff, sequencers, mixers, virtual instruments, etc) used to cost, and how much of it is either free (sometimes with hardware *), very modest cost (e.g. Reaper **) or plain open-source (Audacity up until Muse). And yeah, sure, some isn't cheap (Pro Tools permanent licence .... yikes), but the quality, quantity and versatility of what you can get for little or nothing. Wow. Home studios are WAY more viable than they used to be.



* I have a MOTU interface, and it comes with a very usable Lite version of Performer, and Ableton Live Lite and a shedload of VSTs, samples, etc., as do most good interfaces.

[ik9000]

Try looking at cubase elements and/or wavelab elements depending on your needs. I imagine the latter of I've understood correctly. Both reasonably priced and perpetual license when last I checked.

[[GSV]Trig]

I'm still on Audacity 2.3.3, don't see the need to move to anything else as I don't really use it that much..

[Saracen999]

Y'know, I used to always keep up-to-date with the latest versions of software. Often, it was easy, not to mention free, because most of my major software (Office, Photoshop, Corel, PageMaker, and many more) I had either reviewed, or could usually get a commission to review. Some, I just knew the people at the company well-enough, and they knew there were indirect benefits of having freelances (and mag staff, I assume) using their software day-to-day, that they were happy to provide a copy anyway. Nothing underhand. just that the more familiar we were, the better we'd know the software, either to review, or compare to competitors.

So keeping up to date was usually easy.

Not everything was like that, of course. Lots of smaller packages (my preferred genealogy software, Collectorz software for books, music, games etc, for instance, and quite a few more) were paid-for as I wasn't reviewing them. But overall, staying up to date was easy.

More recently, there are things (OS, browser, etc) where staying up-to-date, or at least largely up-to-date (* note), is just basic common sense from a defensive perspective against online threats.

Anyways, finally getting to the point .... I just realised I've been using Audacity quite a lot since I started this thread, done a lot, and am still using my old v2.4.2. And it has done everything I actually needed, faultlessly, including a few effects I'd never used or needed before.

Why on earth do I want to upgrade? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

That's when i realised I'd seduced myself into just upgrading because I can, not because I need to.

I'm officially annoyed with myself. I know better. Even when it was free, I'd often upgrade every couple or third version, like Photoshop, or when there was some specific feature to upgrade for, not just because it was there.

D'oh!

/facepalm


* Note - I do still maintain it's certainly not always a good idea to be right up-to-minute current, in that sometimes, "updates" can go badly wrong. My strategy is to stay on it, awareness-wise, monitor security sites and for major software (like Windows) take controlled risks when deciding to update, or not update, or exactly when to update. I certainly don't update Windows immediately. I let the dust settle a bit, and see what surprises drop out of mass release. Which is why I still detest auto-updates without a permission pop-up. But, I know doing that is a risk, just as not doing it is a risk of a different type.

[g8ina]

TBH I was actually going to say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." but I thought it would be churlish

c'est la vie innit guv
D

[[GSV]Trig]

I've just got a new work laptop, is there somewhere I can grab the older version of Audacity from?

[Jonj1611]

https://www.filepuma.com/download/au...t_2.3.3-23978/

or

https://www.fosshub.com/Audacity-old.html

[[GSV]Trig]

Ta muchly, going for 2.4.2...

[Saracen999]

The cut-off point for versions with the .... ummm .... 'suspicious' elements is, IIRC, later than that. I don't remember the last "believed safe" version off the top of my head, though 3.0.2 rings a bell). But it was certainly a bit later than 2.4.2.

Not that I've needed later than 2.4.2 but there might well be a few new features, design improvements or bug-fixes.

It's up to you, of course, but I'm just saying, the onlty reason I haven't update a bit s 'cos 2.4.2 was already installed and running. I don't trust the current version (or company) enough to go there, but a bit later is probably okay.

Being a cynic, it's also possible, if they're really being nasty, that official versions have silently had tracking stuff added in, in official downloads, even in old version numbers. Just sayin'.

[[GSV]Trig]

Yeah I did think that, but given I've used it about 5 times last year I'm not overly bothered, only needed it again because I've had a new laptop so just reinstalling stuff, at least I've managed to dump some crap I've not used in a while and don't need to put back on, gotta love Kenwood software...