19 replies to this topic

[BelovedStar]

So I've been a mac user for some time, but I prefer PC. The ONLY reason I've kept my mac for so long was because I like using GarageBand. I find it to be really user friendly and I got used to it. Buuuut I've switched back to a PC laptop and need a new mixing program T_T I really need something thats easy to learn quickly and user friendly :-/

If anyone has suggestions and might be willing to help me out with whatever program I get I'd really appreciate it!

[Sikono]

A lot of people use Adobe Audition for the PC and it's really great. It's pretty easy to pick up, and has a lot of great plugins that make you sound gooood~! It's super easy to edit your times and volume and stuff haha

[Amby Leigh]

I third audition. It's the best.

[Eider]

4th audition! BUT while you download it and patch it (cuz its going to be at least 1gigabyete) i recommend you use audacity if you need a quick fix, since its a free software.

[BelovedStar]

hahaha thanks guys! I LOVE unanimous answers xD

[Lucidity]

Well, for a change of pace, I do not use Audition because I don't has much moneys. Instead I use a combo of Audacity (for the main mixing and stuff) and the trial version of FL Studio (for reverb, compression, and other such things). The only thing you can't do with the trial version is save something as a project, but you can still export mp3's and whatnot. I usually just put my singing in a capella and add effects there, export it, then re-add it to Audacity.

[MelancholyOfScheris]

Oh man, I am gonna get audition. I've been using mixcraft and I get better sound from audacity. I just /really/ like the reverbs in mixcraft. /ReverbJunkie

[Saigo]

I've used Goldwave since who knows when, and I find it to be ultra user friendly, but I'd like to pick up Audacity, but I don't find it as easy as GW. :/ xD

[OMGawkwardTURTLE]

Pro tools is similar enough to garageband. It's pro software but all it takes is a 5 min video to get the basics down. I wish I was still using it =/ The best part about Pro Tools is that you have the option learn more techniques if you want to in the future.

[BelovedStar]

Yea. Nick was telling me that most professional studio producers he knows uses protools so I was considering that one as well. Good to know it's user friendly xD

[AudreyGolightly13]

I actually use Acoustica Mixcraft. I've never seen Audition, Protools or GarageBand, so I don't know how well it compares, but it's really easy and user-friendly. I had like NO knowledge of how to do anything mixing-wise when I started, but there was like barely any learning curve on Mixcraft. I've been using it basically since I joined VH. It was a tad expensive for my budget at the time, but thus far I've absolutely found it to be a worthwhile investment! I still only have Mixcraft 5, but it'll only cost me $20 to upgrade to the newest version when I get around to it, lol. Mixcraft is relatively cheap in comparison to other mixing software, so I don't know if maybe it's lacking some things that other programs have. You might look into what features the different programs have or don't have that you want/need.

[BelovedStar]

Thanks!

[snowfender]

pro tools is freaking amazing. it has amazing automation tools that can control almost every aspect you ever want for it. editing automation is incredibly easy - it gives you many options to tweak how you want to automate certain plug-ins, like reverb or EQ or what have you. speaking of which, its plug-ins are a little more developed than audition's, i believe, since pro tools is more of a standard in the industry. you can opt for destructive (sort of) or non-destructive editing, meaning you can always change your mind about a piece of audio you edited and revert to the original. its interface is really nice and, like turtle said, much more similar to garageband. i might be biased about this, but i feel like it has a much easier plug-in/bussing setup than audition. pro tools is also so much better for audio to picture editing, though i don't know how much that will affect you.

cons: it eats up your computer space like no other. it doesn't have actual destructive editing, meaning that it will make copies of every new audio "version." if you have tiny little edits you want to make, it's pretty difficult to do them since pro tools is designed more for larger and overarching edits. it is a pretty large program in general so having one laptop for it can get difficult at times. when i use it for school, it's always with two monitors on a giant RAID (meaning lots of RAM). of course, there is one editing track panel that is all you REALLY need, but it's nice to have the mixer as well to have better control of levels.

i really think audition is much better for music-related stuff for a more laidback environment (like VH! or just producing most music in general). it gives you the option of waveform editing so that you can take a chunk of audio and dissect it amazingly well. things like spectral editor and just the zoom function in general on the waveform editor can help you take out blips in your audio that were annoying you. audition also gives you the option of ultra-control. pro tools, while a bit more user friendly, kind of does the work for you at times. audition gives you that choice as well, but also gives you the choice to really control your plugins and automations to a T. it's amazingly great for more math-oriented people. if you learn even a bit about the science of, say, compression and reverb, then you can control it to exactly how you want it with audition. like pro tools, it has a pretty good automation system (though its editing of it could be better). it also has a multi-track editor, which is what pro tools only has. the waveform editor is amazing. fer reals. and you can take whatever you edited in the waveform editor and plug it back into the multitrack (which is where you will probably do all your into program recording)

cons: audition 5.5 is missing a lot of essential features that previous versions had and apparently has a much clunkier interface as well. i don't really know since i started with 5.5, but if you can get your hands on version 3 without paying a ton of money, it might be a better choice for you. audition does have destructive edits, so while you don't need as much RAM for it, it will save over previous versions. (it has an awesome history list of things you've recently done, though, so you can easily just click back to what you did 10 minutes ago if you preferred it!)

edit: also - sound forge. i have never used this personally but took a music tech class that taught me a bunch of different programs. my professor LOVED sound forge. he's an incredibly knowledgable guy and swore by adobe audition (3, not 5.5) and sound forge. he edited a lot of things in sound forge, including shaping the actual wave of the audio to get smoother sound (though this can take a lot of time to do and by hand). it has great spectral analysis (annoying hum of your computer fan? it can determine that frequency and take it pretty cleanly out with naked sound! even pro tools and audition leave some of that digital residue, though it can usually be masked by backtrack music). it has some of the better time and pitch editing of all the programs (still leaves some of that annoying digital glitch, though all digital mixers will do that to you - it just does it better). one of the best features of it is that it can do so much with making something happen over time, meaning you can automate, say, reverb, and have it do it over X amount of time (want to sustain reverb for X amount of time only to have it reduced by X amount over X amount of time).

hope this helps!

[Garnet]

OMG no more apple for Chyree?!?! O.O

I'd recommend Sony Acid and/or Adobe Audition. I find Acid easier to record in and mix more basic stuff in. But for special effects and compression etc I use audition.

[MelancholyOfScheris]

Well, Screw you, Audrey. Your songs sound GREAT in mixcraft! It hates me <///3 Haha! I thought you were using some pro program, that's skill right there!!

[AudreyGolightly13]

Hahaha! Thanks, Scheris!! I didn't know anyone else on VH used Mixcraft! lol. I can try to help you with it sometime if you'd like? ^-^

[BelovedStar]

lolol thanks everyone! Wow, I have a lot to consider :-S

[Ciel]

I've used Audition, and it's usually the most popular for people who don't do much other than mix vocals, but honestly I'm not a huge fan. I personally use Sonar to mix : D. It's...a full DAW (Desktop Audio Workshop) software though, so honestly like, if you're going to spend money on a software then it might not be the best idea.

If you want something free there's Audacity, otherwise have fun getting stuff through the back alley *cough*

[Eider]

U can find all without spending any bucks. Also snowfender I had both 3 and 5.5 and there is not really major changes. Audution comes alive with the plug ins u put in it anyway so there is like nothing u would miss, endless oportunities. Proto and sonar are cool but I do not think they are the most practical out there for something like vh. Now... if you plan to make music, that's another story.