Guys, what do you use for your sample editing needs ?
I’m talking about changing basic properities, fixing clicks, fading in / out, normalising, batch editing, finding loops, etc.
It may sound strange but I tried maybe 20-30 different editors and didnt like any of them.
So I’m hoping you will name some tools I didnt try yet. The one built into renoise is fine for occasional fix but definitelly not good to work on a bigger number of samples.
Long, long time ago I really liked Sound Forge, I had version 4 but I dont have it anymore. Something about its very clean waveform display and mouse wheel waveform zooming just clicked with me - it was very fast to work with.
I could get a new one - the problem is that the non-pro version doesnt have batch processing.
I use it for live recording (though lately I’ve been experimenting with recording right into Renoise), editing long takes, slicing recordings into samples and loops for Renoise, pitch-correcting stuff, fixing volume, removing pops or ambient noise, and the like.
One thing I really like with Reaper is the assorted automation views; makes it easy to do volume correction where a compressor/limiter doesn’t work well. For example, cleaning up plosives and sibilance with more precision than my available plugins can. Has a good set of fade curves as well. I think that’s fully tweakable as well but I haven’t looked into it. I do a lot of vocal comping with it to. Wrote some OSC-driven code to make it easy to toggle solo/mute on tracks while comparing takes.
I agree about using Renoise for sample editing. In fact, those limitations are why I’ve started using it for live recording, to see how it changes my workflow, see if It prompts me in an interesting new direction.
For example, in Reaper it’s too easy to record guitar improv for an hour, then go back and listen and slice the interesting parts to loop material. But it’s a time-consuming process and I think I spend more time creating source material than actual songs. I’m seeing if sticking to short takes changes my focus. But if I really need to fix a recording I think I’d export to a wav and edit it in Reaper.
Have you tried Cool Edit Pro? I used it many many years ago, but now i see there is a free version 2.1 out. Haven’t tried it myself, but i liked the old one, so might be worth to check out.
EDIT: i thought it was free, but it’s actually $299, very expensive imo.
Have you tried Cool Edit Pro? I used it many many years ago,
CE2K! I bought that at the turn of the century, and have been careful not to lose my license key email. : )
Didn’t pay hundreds of dollars either. I recall it being fairly cheap.
There was a time when I was digitizing assorted cassette tapes (some of my own music, plus many store-bought albums) and CE was great for noise reduction and normalization.
I can’t find the source, but I’m pretty sure it’s him who also uses it for live wav “scratching” and super-tight loops (adjusted on the fly). Maybe that’s Venetian Snares. Someone does that. : )
In any event I don’t think it’s legit for sale from a primary source. You’d need to buy a license key and the installer from someone and hope it works. I don’t think it needs to hit a server to validate, but could be wrong. When I install it on a new machine I need to run the installer but also runce2kreg.exe and paste in a key. And it works.
Wait, what? CEP got bought up by Adobe many years ago.
So just how can there be a version for purchase? That must be a scam of some kind…
Btw: I used to LOVE Cool Edit for it’s no-frills multitrack editor… did many mixdowns in there
You’re right, i thought this was some kind of resurrected side branch from Adobe Audition, but i must have misunderstood. Apparantly this version is from 2004 or whatever and would probably not even work in Win 10.
The comments on the page was only about a year old, complaining about the high price, so i think i just jumped to conclusion.
Anyway, i used CEP quite a lot and it was very effective and handy. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a licence key for it if you want to go that route. It’s probably not legal, but who cares with a 15 year old abandoned software?
You’re right, i thought this was some kind of resurrected side branch from Adobe Audition, but i must have misunderstood. Apparantly this version is from 2004 or whatever and would probably not even work in Win 10.
The comments on the page was only about a year old, complaining about the high price, so i think i just jumped to conclusion.
Anyway, i used CEP quite a lot and it was very effective and handy. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a licence key for it if you want to go that route. It’s probably not legal, but who cares with a 15 year old abandoned software?
U might also need a working Windows XP key to run it, though…not necessarily #illegal. Yet 100% Gangsta 4 Sho!
My version of Cool Edit 2000 was bought in January of 2000. Paid US $ 69. That’s ~ US $100 in 2018 money.
I think this is the version just prior to CE Pro. Has only 2-track (i.e basic stereo) editing/recording. The help pages (a local copy) say you can buy a plugin to expand that to 4. (Well, not now, of course.)
Anyway, i used CEP quite a lot and it was very effective and handy. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a licence key for it if you want to go that route. It’s probably not legal, but who cares with a 15 year old abandoned software?
I often wonder about the morality of different options for acquiring something for which there no longer exists legit (however defined) options.
Assuming one agrees with assertions about IP copyrights, does one just throw up their hands because no one will, or is able to, sell what they want, while other extra-legal (or extra-moral) options exist?
I’m reluctant to get into too much of a discussion about it here, It’s a tricky subject, especially on a forum for a particular piece of copyright-protected software : ).
I think in this case, slick as Cool Edit was, there are available alternatives equally as good.
