[grc] Digital editing software for workstations?

[Martin J. Huotari]

Audacity is our standard at KSCW-LP in Sun City West, AZ.  However, because I haven’t had time to fully learn it, I have been successfully using Apple’s Garageband and a Snowball Microphone on my MacBook Pro for making PSAs and promos from home.  It allows for editing multi tracks, pulling music and sound effects into the recording and then sharing it with iTunes in MP3 or M4A format.  I then use MP3Gain to standardize the volume before putting it into our station’s library for use by Command Center software.  I don’t have to use the equipment in our one room studio this way.  I do have Audacity loaded on my laptop, and will eventually learn to use it so I have a common terminology and knowledge base to use when discussing with other producers and engineers.

I end up using Garageband only because I was already familiar with it and I don’t have a learning curve for learning another system.  

> On Oct 4, 2016, at 8:59 PM, Frieda Werden via grc <grc at maillist.peak.org> wrote:
> 
> I have been using and teaching Audacity for quite a long time now.  It is
> free - can't get cheaper than that - and open source.  Back some years ago
> when the GRC was held in Santa Barbara, there was a tech meeting at which
> we discussed that Audacity was not ready for prime time; however, it has
> been vastly improved since then and is now quite stable and has a large
> basket of available effects.  The station where I worked also kept Adobe
> Audition on hand, but mostly taught Audacity. The great advantage of
> teaching volunteers on a free and open source program is that they can use
> it at home or on their laptops. Also, it is a multi-platform program that
> can be used on PC (any OS, including Windows 10), Mac, and Linux.
> 
> I got a "free" Sound Forge when I bought an expensive audio recorder a
> couple of years ago, and find that it has basically not changed since the
> free version that Norm Stockwell gave out at GRC in Madison in the '90s.
> It was given free to community radios by the manufacturer.  It is still not
> multi-track.  Occasionally I revert to it for a couple of features I like.
> 
> On Tue, Oct 4, 2016 at 8:20 PM, sybil augustine via grc <
> grc at maillist.peak.org> wrote:
> 
>> Hello, hive mind!
>> 
>> From WORT's IT department, a question as we attempt to switch over to
>> updated, licensed software for use by volunteers:
>> 
>> *What are your recommendations for the most reliable and affordable digital
>> editing software?*  Some of our thoughts below.
>> 
>> "For our other major potential expense, our audio production software,
>> we're looking at REAPER as a replacement for Adobe Audition and Sound
>> Forge, both of which are out of date and not legally licensed for all our
>> machines. It's a fast and modern digital audio workstation with full
>> support for VST, a range of digital control surfaces, unlimited tracks, and
>> professional and virtual sound card drivers.
>> 
>> REAPER is available for $60 per license for nonprofits (as a concurrency
>> license, so we would need only license the number of machines we anticipate
>> would need simultaneous access). By comparison, the nonprofit license for
>> Audition, and the multitrack version of Sound Forge, are between two and
>> three times this price.
>> 
>> We may also install Audacity as a basic audio editor. It also supports
>> multitrack projects and, while not as fast or capable as Reaper, is
>> entirely free and open source."
>> 
>> Anything you can share would be much appreciated, and you can reply either
>> on- or off-list.
>> 
>> Best regards,
>> 
>> Sybil Augustine
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more
>> beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” *― Leonard Bernstein*
>> 
>> 
>> [image: WORT 89.9FM] <http://www.wortfm.org/>*Sybil Augustine*
>> *Music Director*  <musicdirector at wortfm.org>
>> WORT 89.9 FM Community Radio  wortfm.org
>> 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI USA  53703-2626
>> 608.256.2001  TRACKING: WED. 1-4 pm Central
>> PsychoacousticsRadioShow.on.WORT.FM
>> <http://psychoacousticsradioshow.on.wort.fm/>
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Frieda Werden, Series Producer
> WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
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