Posted on 01/15/2020 6:44:16 PM PST by Paul R.
The Audio Editor my wife and I use(d) doesn't work on Windows 10, and has also ceased working on Win 7 (possibly due to the final Win 7 updates?) More info. in Body of Comment...
The old freeware Audio Editor, Wavosaur, that my wife and I used, her for her teaching job & social gatherings, and me for all sorts of putzing around, doesn't appear to work on Windows 10, and has also ceased working on Win 7. (Perhaps the latter is due to the final Win 7 updates?) I've recently tried it (Wavosaur) on 5 more machines, to no avail. The website looks pretty dead. Of the alternatives I have used or at least looked at, at one time or another, Windows Sound Recorder is way too simple, offering no editing capability at all. Audacity is a great program / tool, but is way too complex and advanced, plus, even basic use seemed to require external stuff, plug-ins and such, that always tied me up in knots, ran me into software conflicts, etc.
Wavosaur was great. Usage was easy, it was self-contained*, allowed the user to truncate or fade in / out clips, or select portions, monitor levels**, display recorded levels vs. time, do extended recordings, export or save to various formats including .wav, and so on. It was also very "light" on system resources.
*Wavosaur had many other capabilities not built in, some requiring plug-ins, but everything my wife and I used was self-contained. One download and a very simple, quick installation, and it was ready to go, mostly intuitive, and easy to use. It could even be run off a small USB flash drive - although if one is recording all their daughter's music lessons plus editing the end of year school orchestral concert in multi-channels in a raw format, some recording file space would of course be needed. That was never an issue for us - we never got past stereo, simple truncations or fades, inserts, and the like.
Basically, Wavosaur was a great fit: 100x more capable than Sound Recorder, but about 100x easier and less trouble to use than Audacity.
So... we need a replacement similar to Wavosaur. Cool Edit is oft times mentioned, but my initial impression is that it's still tending toward semi-pro use / capability / complexity, which we don't really need. (I guess it'd be ok if basic use is... basic, and the rest can be ignored.)
Obviously, we want a "clean" program -- no pop-up ads in the program itself, or similar BS. Wavosaur was freeware - preferable if possible. (I don't mind a static (no tracking!) ad or two on the download page, or small static ads on a website help page, etc., as long as they can be ignored if so desired.)
Recommendations???
Audacity is what I always used.
I used to use Goldwave, but it is restricted if you don’t pay. I don’t remember the restrictions, though.
I agree with the other two posters about Audacity.
I used an old copy of Sony Sound Forge. I found it to be better than Audacity, but a used copy on ebay will cost something.
But he said Audacity is too complicated for his tastes.
Audacity as others have said, I believe it is free
Audacity ... great program. Used it a lot, never let me down.
Audacity would have been the first answer and I see many here have posted that. I have Audacity for my macbook, but prefer garageband. I find garageband easier in editing sound. I can split syllables if needed. Nothing wrong with audacity, in fact I use it for certain functions, such as speeding up or slowing down a track a few ticks...
But, yeah, for Windows and free...Audacity is the way to go.
I wasn’t the only one who missed it. Still one of the best free editors.
Beat me to it. Audacity. Yep.
**Level monitoring is crucial. Unlike analog, a dB or two over “0” and you have garbage (heavy distortion), to my ears, anyway.
Audacity. Easy. Free.
I haven’t found Audacity to require any plugins. Maybe because I had a codec pack?
And it has a lot of options but I don’t use 98% of them. Mostly I trim the opening, closing, and maybe amplify or boost levels. Taking out clicks or other enhancements not so much.
I did prefer the Nero editing functions but it didn’t like working with my later CD-R drive and that didn’t export modified mp3s only a file that knew what alterations to apply.
And I found editing with headphones on to be the best measure.
This sometimes solves your problem.
Audacity is your best bet.
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