Looking for an apt Adobe Audition alternative that allows you to mix sound effects, add audio bits and edit sound clips with ease? Well, here we’ve listed out a whole slew of comprehensive digital audio workstations that enable you to accomplish all of the aforesaid activities and more. They each come embedded with tons of great features that let you tweak your songs, cut out any unwanted sound and even throw in some extra effects to boost the beat. And once you’re done editing your sound clips via any of the following programs, you’ll be left with simple acoustic bliss, just the way you imagined it.
1 – Audacity:
Want a good audio editor and recorder that won’t cost you even a penny? Well, how about trying this one on for size? It’s your one-stop-shop for slicing, recording and mixing sound bits. The free, open-source solution lets you record live audio and easily edit sound files that are drenched in different formats like MP3, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and WAV. Through this software, you’ll also be able to seamlessly alter the pitch and speed of the recording piece as well as create an acoustic amalgamation by cutting, copying and pasting together a bunch of different sounds.
It even has the ability to convert all your old records and tapes into digital form or CDs. Audacity supports the import and export of files dipped in a wide range of formats. And lastly, the cross-platform treat plays well with Mac OS X, Windows and GNU/Linux PCs.
2 – Ardour:
This program like Adobe Audition aims to please all you musicians, audio engineers, composers and soundtrack editors with its audio recording and editing capabilities. Ardour allows you to plug in an instrument or microphone, throw in a track, hit the record button and jam to your personal beats. You can also work with imported audio bits and MIDI files if you wish. When it comes to editing your masterpiece or any other songs, you can dabble in features like snapshot, crossfade, unlimited undo/redo, quantize, transpose, swing, stretch, align and zoom.
As far as mixing is concerned, you’ll be able to take advantage of pre and post-fader, recorder, mute, solo and optional monitoring. Ardour further proffers the ability to extract soundtrack from videos and separate the video-monitor window as well as provide modular setup, vertical stacking mode, and Rhythm Ferret. This open-source software is compatible with Mac OS X and Linux systems.
3 – Reaper:
No, it’s not the grim sort but instead an acronym of ‘Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording.’ The digital audio workstation program provides music enthusiasts with complete editing, mixing, processing, and multitrack audio and MIDI recording environment. As the brains behind this endeavor reveal, it lets you tweak your recordings in a number of ways and even proffers loads of audio and MIDI processing effects to brighten up your song.
You can further customize the images and buttons found here as well as avail of tools that allow you to split, crossfade, pitch shift, resize, glue, time stretch, loop and trip audio clips. Now while the discounted license for individuals is priced at $60, the full commercial license can be acquired for $225.
4 – GarageBand:
This entrant in our software similar to Adobe Audition roster transforms your Mac PC into your own personal recording studio. It seems to come in quite handy when you want to record a song or even pen down pieces of music. All you have to do is plug in your keyboard or guitar and begin creating your musical masterpiece. There are even more than 100 realistic software instruments and vocals at your disposal. You can also add basic effects to your work like reverb, compression, and EQ as well as a few fun ones like distortion, auto-wah, and chorus.
What’s more, some of the other features of GarageBand include Flex Time and Groove Matching for adjusting the timing of your notes. And once your audio piece is ready for your audience, you can export it to your iTunes library or download it in different formats like AIFF, AAC, and MP3. There’s also a portable version that costs just under $5.
5 – Traverso DAW:
The audio recording and editing software is a great companion when it comes to recording a band practice, a single voice or even a whole orchestra. Sporting a clear interface, both novices, as well as professionals, can take complete advantage of the various features it has to offer. Highly scalable in nature, it features an optimized audio engine that allows you to record and edit your tracks, introduce a mixed bag of effects to your songs with the help of Album Mixer and even record your sweet melodies onto a CD to share with friends and family.
A few of the program’s other attributes read as transport console, the group, ability to fold the track or sheet and a better project dialog. Traverso DAW is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux PCs.
6 – Sound Forge Pro:
You can rely on the final mention in our programs like Adobe Audition roundup for professional audio recording and mastering, audio restoration, sound design, and Red Book CD creation. With the introduction of the latest version, audio editors and music producers can expect to see more features packed in here.
This list includes built-in CD burning capabilities, event-based editing, audio conversion, musical instrument file editing and time stretching. Coming to the Sound Forge Pro’s cost, the tag is etched with a starting price of just under $375.
Conclusion:
Need a slightly different set of features than what the software in question has to offer? Do you find the price tag slapped onto the product a little too steep? Well, our Adobe Audition alternative lineup comprises of audio editing solutions that foray onto the scene with various sorts of attributes and different price ranges. And depending on your particular preferences, you can opt for the one that suits your needs best. So which program are you planning to get your hands on?