These days, any average PC comes with pretty decent audio hardware, generally with a microphone or line input, allowing you to record virtually anything with your PC. If you have a good microphone, or even just a basic webcam with a built-in mic attached to your PC, and with just a bit of additional software freely available on the web, you have all you need to get started. If you don't have capable audio hardware, well that's another issue for another day.
When it comes to recording audio on a PC, I make a distinction between two main categories of applications: DAEs and DAWs. Generally speaking, Digital Audio Editor (DAE) applications are simpler to use, and often are only capable of recording from one audio input at a time, and can usually only perform whats known as "off-line" editing functions, as opposed to the "real-time" processing done by more professional applications. The usually more complicated, and expensive, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) applications can usually record multiple audio tracks (to seperate files) at once, and from multiple hardware devices (called Multi-tracking), and generally offer greater flexibility for routing the audio, adding effects (often in real-time), as well as mixing and mastering the final result. However, most DAE and DAW programs accomplish the same goals in much same way, if not exactly the same, so it is often a matter of familiarity and comfort one has with a particular piece of software that defines what is "best" for them. Here is a short list of popular Digital Audio Workstation software to try:
Now you probably are thinking, "I don't need to record multiple tracks, and these DAWs seem complicated." Well they are, and your probably right that it's a bit much to use one of these if your just starting out, and looking for a really simple and quick way to record, especially if just one track at a time. This brings up the issue of usability, and that most people are simply not going to understand all the various nuances and issues that go along with editing audio, and rightly they shouldn't have to. Editing audio can be as easy as editing a text document, with the right software. If you view the task from that perspective, editing audio becomes a bit easier.
When it comes to editing a single audio file, a stand-alone, dedicated application for that purpose may be, and in my opinion often is, better than the more complicated and expensive software I've mentioned. The multi-tracking features found in most DAWs prevent the user interface from being optimized for editing single files, and so usability suffers for it. Applications devoted to editing single files at a time, generally have features and interface layouts more suitable for the goal at hand, and are therefore easier to use. Here is a short list of popular Digital Audio Editor software:
Obviously, you'll want to try out the free Wavosaur before even looking at the others. And you should, because I think most people would find that Wavosaur does everything they probably will ever need. Wavosaur is not capable of recording more than a single file of audio at one time, but for just about any "basic" audio file operation, Wavosaur makes it a snap to perform and does the job as well as paid for alternatives. The interface layout is logical, if not a bit cluttered and perhaps less than optimized, but very usable. It may not be perfect, but I have a hard time advising someone to buy a program when capable freeware such as this, is freely available.
One of the best features of Wavosaur, is support for what's called VST plugins. VST plugins are a type of add-on software for DAEs and DAWS that support the VST plugin standard. Thankfully, VST plugins are widely supported by many audio applications, so they are quite useful across the board. As well, there are a multitude of free VST plugins available on the web, with everything from EQs to Reverbs, Compressors, and much more free to download. A good place to start looking for free VST plugins is actually on the Wavosaur website, where there are some good links to quite a few decent plugins. If your looking for more, the Making Music blog keeps up to date postings of the latest goodies for your audio production needs. A bit of web searching can also find you many free VST plugins out there.
So, I hope I've broadened the horizon for those looking to jump into audio editing. It's not as hard as it looks, and it's very fun to play around with. The possibilities are virtually endless and your imagination is the only true limit, so above all else, make sure to have fun!
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