APP SHOT
WANDA SLOAN
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| WavePad makes it easy to load two or more songs or audio files at once, and work to mix them. All controls are front and centre, and the help file can be useful, especially at the start. |
I found a new sound editor over the holidays, and the more I have tested WavePad, the more I have come to like it.
Readers and music fans alike probably know about Audacity, the tremendous open source editor. I have reviewed and recommended it several times in the past few years. And it hasn't got any worse at all.
But the look and feel of WavePad, from the commercial firm of NCH Swift Sound, is a little smoother, a little more pleasant to use - and a little simpler in some of the key areas. It doesn't hurt, either, that WavePad comes with a built-in help file which, if not encylopaedic, at least gets you going on the main points of editing sound.
WavePad is the free version of a high-class sound editor from this company. For most of us, WavePad will be more than enough to make recordings, trim off the ends, take out bits for ringtones and so on.
The program supports more native file types than Audacity, which - while it handles multiple file types - is very MP3 oriented.
The editing itself is similar to Audacity, supporting cuts, copying, deleting, inserting file bits or silence and so on. I liked WavePad's automatic trimming of the front and end of songs, and to my ear WavePad does a superior job of "normalising" the jarring MP3 noise surges, and removing clicks and pops from the digital versions of old records.
WavePad is also superior at actually mixing two or more songs or audio files. This is not something I do, but young people definitely like to do this. WavePad is no substitute for a professional DJ setup, of course, but you can make a passable mix from two or more songs, as the screen shot I took shows.
While I am not ready to ditch Audacity right now, I have a feeling I will be using WavePad more in coming months.
NCH is an Australian concern, and has a highly informative web site at http://www.nch.com.au.
Email: wandas@post.com
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