Audio Software Freeware Shareware

Audio Software For Home Recording

Home music recording - How to record at home. Setting up your home recording studio for a fraction of the cost.

A series of Articles on Basic Home Recording

Permission to reprint / edit has been granted. Please note: Some of the articles printed here are an abridged version of the articles Jim presented to the Sharesong songwriters group.

Part 3 - Standalone Recorders
Part 4 - Intro to PC Recording
Part 5a - Audio software - freeware / shareware
Part 6 - Introduction to Multitrack Recording
Part 7 - Audio Recording Software
Part 8 - Sound cards - Input Basics
Part 9 - Microphone Inline Preamps
Part 10 - Microphone Essentials
Part 11 - How To Choose a Microphone

Part 5a - Audio software - shareware / freeware

One program that is a favorite of many is a shareware program called GoldWave Digital Audio Editor http://goldwave.com. Note: (Before downloading any software verify the system requirements and look for special notes or bugs).This program not only allows for recording in CD quality, but also advanced audio editing which allows you to edit the .wav file. Editing is important when it comes to doing some basic mastering (gainups, overall eq and basic sound polishing) of stereo or mono files when we get to multi-track recording. This program also allows for saving and converting .wav files to Mp3 with the free LAME encoder plugin. I know many people that use GoldWave as their audio editor of choice. I tried GoldWave but have settled on Wavelab Lite as my basic audio editor of choice.

A freeware program that is out there is called Audacity. It is an open source project that seems to be gaining popularity. I have not used this program, but from all appearances it does seem to be an interesting prospect.

There is a huge variety of software recorders available, some commercial, some shareware and some freeware. The adage you get what you pay for does apply here. A commercially produced program generally will have been tested on a variety of configurations and would have generally better support, but not always.

Also most programs come with help files and tutorials. Spend sometime familiarizing yourself with these valuable guides and if there is a tutorial go thru it as it will payoff in the long run. I can't say enough about support pages and user forums - these are often your best places to get the low down on software and finding help from people who are using the programs.

Basic Home Recording ©2003 by Jim Goodman. All rights reserved. You may download and reproduce entire document only for non-commercial purposes providing this copyright exists on all copies. All other uses require a written request to jgoodman@alltel.net or thru http://psalm149.com

How I recorded an album without spending a dime.
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