Sell me on Audacity

nyjm · Post by **nyjm** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:26 pm

So, I've noticed a lot of talk about Audacity on the boards lately, namely about how cool it is.

Maybe this should be in the "I don't hear it/get it" thread, but I don't get Audacity. I've tried it, twiddled with it, recorded on it, downloaded and installed plug-ins. I just find it's basic interface annoying:

- you can't record from more than one source at a time (I always double-mike my acoustic guitar, and often the main vox, just for variety)

- importing loops and samples is really weird, especially chaining them together

- lining up/moving tracks is overly complicated

- since the effects are applied real-time, it takes FOREVER to apply them to each track

it looks like there's a lot of neat tools in Audacity, but I can't get around the basic interface to use them. I dunno, may this means that Audacity isn't just for me, but I would like to here everyone else's opinion.

deshead · Post by **deshead** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:05 pm

I agree, I can't get past the interface.

But I think if I hadn't spent my life using Cakewalk/Sonar, I'd probably be more open to Audacity's GUI. I'm not sure it's bad ... Just really, really different.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:08 pm

- I don't know anyone who does multitrack production in Audacity
- It can work well for sound-scapes with found samples, etc. in multitracks
- It's quite good for audio editing and basic "radio" production work
- It works across platforms very well
- Oh yeah, it's free
- It supports some great special plug-ins

boltoph · Post by **boltoph** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:29 pm

heh, I didn't even realize that one COULD record multi track in Audacity. I don't see it as a multi-track program though.

I'd only use it to work on one stereo file, to do some final trimming, and if you needed to add some compression or reverb to a track, in a pinch.

I've used so many different recording programs, I don't really mind the interface. In the realm of free sound editors (not multi track), I really think it's probably the best one can do. I'm also solely on Mac, so I'm not sure if the PC interface is clunkier. I have no trouble with it, though. It blows Goldwave out of the water, at least I think.

It's easy to select input source, cut and paste, apply plugins, analyze the track, and it's got a whole bunch of export options. And above all, it's free!

I was just playin with it....what it is lacking, is a mixing board view (something I can't do without, for mixing)

Look at this little f'r. I just addedd three blank audio tracks. It seems like I can easily figure out all the things I'd want to do, even if I were using this for multitrack recordings. But the lack of a mixing board view, does trouble me.

Post by jb » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:42 pm

Jeff tried Linux for audio. He tried hard. He gave up.

nyjm · Post by **nyjm** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:57 pm

roymond wrote:- I don't know anyone who does multitrack production in Audacity

boltoph wrote:heh, I didn't even realize that one COULD record multi track in Audacity. I don't see it as a multi-track program though.

well, i suppose that's my major problem: i was expecting a muti-track recording suite, since that's what i've always used (Quartz Studio Free and Kristal). heh, i picked up a screw-driver and said "thus sucks for hammering nails!"

the lack of a mixing board is a pretty serious irk for me, too. i'm so used to my other programs and their up-front mixing boards.

roymond wrote:- It can work well for sound-scapes with found samples, etc. in multitracks
- It's quite good for audio editing and basic "radio" production work
- It works across platforms very well
- Oh yeah, it's free
- It supports some great special plug-ins

these are really good points (i always like the free part). i love that i can actually use delay lama in it (kristal has fits). so, maybe i'll just reserve it for the more experimental doodles.

across platforms: can you share raw audacity files between Macs and PCs, then? that would be cool...

so, would anyone like to share some examples of audacity output?

Tonamel · Post by **Tonamel** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:23 pm

Well, I really think Audacity's meant to be more like Sound Forge than Cubase.

Not used so much for production as is is for post-production.

boltoph · Post by **boltoph** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:59 am

nyjm wrote:across platforms: can you share raw audacity files between Macs and PCs, then? that would be cool...

so, would anyone like to share some examples of audacity output?

Yeah it records in normal WAV or AIF, so you can share your track files across any platforms. Not sure about a particular project file format, but those can rarely be shared, unless you're talking Protools/Digital Performer or opening a Quark file in InDesign or something like that. But thats a rare thing.

Here's a link to a little tune I spun up at work in Garageband and then put through Audacity to make the MP3 and do final cuts. No instruments here, just mouse-clicking a digi keyboard and throwing around some loops...this clip was also the predessor to my last Seoup T. Gei song...

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:39 pm

Most applications support their own files cross platform (Photoshop, QuarkXpress, etc.) so I sort of assume Audacity does, but I haven't done that. I'll try it tonight (if I remember).

And, you can record multiple tracks (up to 16 at once).

Read the features list here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features

Much of the program content on IT Conversations is done in Audacity. This entails editing out coughs, "uh"s and noise in interviews or a presentation's audio. A great plug-in for this is Delete with Cross-fade.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:39 pm

I picked up the delete with crossfade by the way. It's good. I think Audacity's pretty good, but once you record a lot of tracks it starts to skip and move slowly ... I guess you can't expect too much from a free program. Does anybody have a good free drum machine that you could point me in the direction of? I really need one if I want drums in my song. Don't you dare say Hammerhead.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 4:41 pm

You can try fruity loops for drums, but if you don't pay for it you can't save the patterns (only export them as loops in wav format).
I bet you can make anything "not only for techno" if you try enough

-bill

Steve Durand · Post by **Steve Durand** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 5:24 pm

jolly roger wrote: Does anybody have a good free drum machine that you could point me in the direction of? I really need one if I want drums in my song. Don't you dare say Hammerhead.

Not free, but very inexpensive ($30) and pretty good.

http://www.leafdigital.com/software/leafdrums/

Steve

jeff robertson · Post by **jeff robertson** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:25 pm

I've been using Audacity for mult-track recording, but then again I never learned anything else, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

I'm also one of those people who can use the Gimp without pulling my hair out, because I never learned Photoshop and got my expectations up.

A feature that I wish it had, would be to apply EQ and other effects to tracks without changing the track. If I highlight some waveform and use the Equalizer on it, the actual track is changed, it's not just that an EQ is applied to it in playback and mixdown. That's annoying, because it makes it harder to experiment with combinations of different effects. And probably the thing that would drive me away from Audacity if I found something better that's also free.

As a programmer I like that plug-ins can be (not all are) written in Nyquist, which is an interpreted functional language. You don't need a C++ compiler to write your own. You can also read the code of existing ones, and learn how they work. I'm just beginning to experiment with this.