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What sound edit program to use with Hi-MD and Mac OSX Tiger?

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ekoe

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Could anyone recommend an editing application for use with Hi-MD (Linear PCM) on a Mac operating OSX Tiger?

I recorded some live audio a bit too quiet and I need to boost the volume before burning to CD (with iTunes).

I used Hi-MD Music Transfer for Mac with no problems and the recordings are now sitting on my desktop in .wav format.

What would be the standard procedure for adjusting the volume before burning to a CD?

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Update: I've downloaded WavePad and ExpressBurn from NCH Software and it works fine. I'm having a little difficulty with some files after saving them in WavePad... basically the audio disappears and the file becomes a one second clip of silence. I was able to work around it.

With ExpressBurn, I wasn't able to rearrange the track order before burning to CD.

I'm pretty impressed with both programs, but I wonder if there is something better?... Particularly in terms of editing and organizing?

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Update: I've downloaded WavePad and ExpressBurn from NCH Software and it works fine. I'm having a little difficulty with some files after saving them in WavePad... basically the audio disappears and the file becomes a one second clip of silence. I was able to work around it.

With ExpressBurn, I wasn't able to rearrange the track order before burning to CD.

I'm pretty impressed with both programs, but I wonder if there is something better?... Particularly in terms of editing and organizing?

PM guitarfxr, he has loads of xperience with MAC,

Good Luck

Bobb

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Okay. After a couple of days experimentation with the free basic version of WavePad 3.14 for PPC Mac on my Powerbook G4, here are my observations...

Very nice interface and features. Very easy to use. There's a nice EQ feature and noise reduction. It performed the signal level amplification I was needing with no problems. I was hoping for a Peak Level Meter, but I haven't found one if it's there. Overall, I was initially impressed...

HOWEVER...

There seems to be some serious bugs. For instance, when I save an audio file according to NCH Software's instructions, the same file appears empty (just one second clip of silence) when re-opened in WavePad.

Another bug is that I am not able to select clips very well/consistently. The 'Select All' command for audio clips does not work for me. Or rather, it will 'Select All' but it seems intermittent. I got it to work once or twice. 'Select All' is essential in order to save the file according to NCH Software's instructions for WavePad.

I found that the same files that came up empty in WavePad worked fine in ExpressBurn (NCH's CD Burner). So, I was able to burn a CD.

But it has not worked how it should. I have un-installed and re-installed to be thorough. Same problems persist.

I'm going to try to get some help from NCH on this, but I don't know how much of a response I'll get because it is a free basic version. I have poured over their troubleshooting advice, software manual and online forum. There's a lot of folks with the free version with unanswered questions, and a few tragic complaints.

I would not hesitate to purchase the full Master Version if I felt confident of full functionality, because I do really like what it promises. I just need a little reassurance it will work for me without extensive support and associated fees, and the added frustration.

Anyone have similar experience with WavePad, or could offer advice?

I'll update this when I have anything new to share or if I receive a help from NCH.

I'm still looking for other sound edit applications to try if anyone knows of any for Mac OSX.

Edited by ekoe
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Ok here is the Quikie for Freebie MAC soft that I use

First dont use Wave Pad , sorry , the free version just isnt any good .

" Burn " for Mac is what I use to burn the CD

" Final Vinyl ", is now freeware and has access to the Core Audio effects built in to the Mac OS , ( there is a little learning involved ) but it has clean audio .

http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/

http://www.griffintechnology.com/software/...inyl_v2.5.1.dmg

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Thanks Guitarfxr!

I downloaded Final Vinyl and Burn and they both look very promising.

Too bad the free version of WavePad is soo problematic because I liked some of the features. I'm still waiting for a reply from someone with NCH in their WavePad forum. I'll update this thread if I get a response.

I'm loving Final Vinyl so far. There's practically no learning curve to it. Really straightforward.

Thanks again! I really appreciate the help.

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I'm liking both Final Vinyl and Audacity. Final Vinyl has a clean, quick interface while Audacity's interface is a bit busier and, um, Windows-y. But Audacity definitely seems to have more capability than Final Vinyl, especially in terms of effects and frequency analysis. I think I'll be using Final Vinyl primarily, as my needs are basic and it's quick and pretty.

I'll be saving Audacity for more indepth tasks.

At the moment, I just need normalization and a bit of amplification then assembly of audio clips on a waveform timeline. Final Vinyl does this brilliantly. I found that Audacity's normalization is noticeably noisier than Final Vinyl.

As for WavePad... I've already uninstalled it and moved on. Shame, because I liked it. The free version just seems to have functionality designed out of it, I believe this is to push you to purchase the Master version. That just feels dirty. No answer from NCH staff to my post in their forum just yet.

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I used final vinyl to edit and burn one MD to CD. Each track was about 30secs.-1min. It crashed a few times for me. When it crashed, it gave me the option to reload the project and it recovered everything each time. So it wasn't too much of a problem. At times, I found I was not able to 'Select All' or to 'Save As'... which is one of the problems I was having with WavePad. (Could this be indicative of something with my system?) I was able to get around this by normalizing the audio a second time, which I'm afraid may have added more noise? The track levels are not consistent on the burned CD, some are louder with more noise which I believe resulted from the 2nd normalization. ?

But Final Vinyl was really nice to work with, despite the occassional bump. I was able to get a pretty smooth workflow going. Definitely a prize find considering it is free.

I'm going to try next with Audacity. And I'm eyeing Amadeus Pro (thanks Baturjan).

Any other suggestions for OSX?

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  • 4 months later...

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