| Sound Studio 3: Record, Edit, Add Effects to Audio (Mac) | 
 enlarge | From: Freeverse Software
Category: Software
List Price: $79.99
Buy New: $35.99
You Save: $44.00 (55%)
New (5) Used (1) from $35.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 2188
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: Mac Os X
Media: CD-ROM
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0.1 x 0.1
MPN: 80627050121
Model: 22476
UPC: 080627050121
EAN: 0080627050121
ASIN: B000BNKBDM
Release Date: February 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Better than Roxio's Toast/Spin Doctor, but not up to Cool Edit (PC) May 7, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I'm primarily interested in converting vinyl to digital and recording and editing FM audio. The colorful, gaudy, comparably-priced Toast/Spin Doctor program may be slightly handier for converting vinyl LPs, but its wave patterns are unreadable and its editing functions too imprecise to be practical for editing a large 2-hour file recorded from FM. Sound Studio requires a bit more study than Spin Doctor, at least for the uninitiated, but the wave patterns are editable, offering the user more than the merely decorative squiggly lines of the Roxio product. Moreover, it has a reliable and easy-to-set timer for automatic recording, a very useful feature that's missing in Spin Doctor. Finally, it comes packaged with a handy little hard-copy manual--perhaps the reason Roxio's Toast is once again including printed instructions. On the downside, Sound Studio has crashed on me several times before I had finished making a few simple edits. The lesson: immediately save the file (a bummer because time-consuming) before editing.
As for the recently heavily promoted Wiretap Studio, it's definitely the program of choice for recording audio files off the internet (I mostly use it to record files from NPR Jazz). And it enables you to preview about a dozen different compression ratios in real time, a unique feature. Moreover, you can record in any compression ratio rather than convert after the fact (the feature really doesn't save much time since Sound Studio allows you to save the file in your desired compression ratio, but it helps insure against exceeding storage capacity while recording). Still I feel more comfortable recording and editing non-internet sound with Sound Studio. The latter offers better level indicators, more protection against distortion, and makes the saving of a single part of a large unedited file less of an adventure.
Update: Sound Studio 3 has been superseded by Sound Studio 3.5, which lists dozens of additional features and add-ons. It's no problem downloading an upgrade from the Freeverse site. The new version does nothing that's different from my old Sound Studio 2, which was practically free as I recall (the price of the present one seems a bit high when compared to the burning and video features of the comparably priced Toast). To begin with, the update download gave me so much trouble I simply trashed it and went back to Version 3, which worked fine. After several months, I downloaded the update again and, happy to say, the bugs seem to have been taken care of.
The other program in this price range worth considering is Fission, which appears to have all of the features of Sound Studio plus more reader-friendly instructions and user-friendly icons. The problem with the program is that it requires a separate recording program (Audio Hijack Pro). Even though the combination package sells for less than either Toast or Sound Studio, I'd prefer to have a single program that can both record and edit. Any more crashes, though, and I'd probably go to the Fission/Audio Hijack Pro two-fer.
Unfortunately, Apple, which is always popular with musicians and artists, doesn't appear to have available any programs comparable to the PC favorite, Cool Edit. For the intrepid or adventurous, there's always the freeware editing program, Audible, which looks forbidding to all but the most experienced.
Excellent basic sound editor November 9, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have used a number of different "low end"" audio editors and found Sound Edit FAR superior on my Mac. It works smoothly without crashes, which plagued most of the other programs I tried (incl. Audacity). I do mainly voice editing for lectures with some music background mixed it. It is very easy to enlarge and edit out unwanted sound bytes or noises. Only thing it either doesn't have, or I haven't figured out yet, is how to filter the entire recording for crackles and pops. For the price, Sound Edit is way above the rest-even the freeware.
 Nice handy-dandy audio editor August 9, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I like this software because it is a nice and easy editing program. It operates mainly in two tracks, so if you're looking for someing a la ProTools, keep looking. I use this program mainly to check audio files that students submit for grading - its quick and easy to pop in their disk, open the file and check levels, etc. Its also nice for quick editing of small files. I'm not too keen on the price but when I remember what Cool Edit 2000 cost when it first came out, its no big deal.
I like that it works with all Apple formats as well as .wav and .mp3. You don't have to worry about compatability problems. Documentation and support are easy to read and understand.
All told, this is not the solution for multi-track work on the Mac. ProTools is still the top dog. But for basic editing, listening, and sharing files, it can't be beat. Its a nice low-cost solution.
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