Kelley School of Business Selection Archivist Assistant
Chose Audacity
iMovie is a user-friendly option for simple audio and video editing, but it requires a Macintosh which many offices may not have. For audio-only editing, Audacity is a free, open-source, accessible option with plenty of tutorials and plugins available for users. They both have …
In a sense, this is apples and oranges. The one is lightweight and free, the other is expensive and feature-rich. We use both for different situations and skill levels.
All of the DAW's listed above are great for scoring to picture, which is something Audacity doesn't do. But it's an excellent standalone audio editor, which is a vital tool in any studio. It's very easy to transfer the clip, make the changes, and import it back into your session.
Adobe audition is also a recording and audio editing software, as a user of both software [programs] I can say that Adobe Audition has way more features and tools than Audacity, but the catch is that it is not free, in fact, the complete opposite, it is very expensive. …
Audacity holds its own against the leading industry competitor software, Audition. For free software, it is incredible the range of options and features that you can find in the paid alternative. Audacity allows us to roll out the software to large teams and get them up to …
Audacity doesn't have nearly all the functionality of GarageBand, but for a free program (and one that can be used on PC as well) it is incredibly well-designed for basic audio editing. You can't beat free, and it has excellent functionality for what it does. Even now I …
I had used Sound Forge before, but it wasn't worth the price compared to Audacity's $0! Sound Forge looked a little bit more polished overall, but it wasn't exactly worth the asking price when compared to Audacity. As previously mentioned, it is open source as well, so it is …
I haven't used other products like Audacity. This program came highly recommended to me by a producer when I was looking for an inexpensive way to edit and save music files. I have been using it for the past seven years and have been extremely happy with how easy it is to use, …
There are a few features that you will find in Audition that you will not find in Audacity. Most of these are the top-end, professional tools that you will not use very often. You are also going to have to pay significantly more for Adobe Audition than you are Audacity.
Garageband has a vast library of sounds to select from, and this is the only advantage that Audacity doesn't have over Garageband. But in terms of usability, Audacity shines. Audacity is far more intuitive than Garageband, and thus, it's a no-brainer that I use it.
Audacity may have some limitations but for the majority of users, Audacity will meet their requirements. It offers multiple tracks, can record directly from the computer, has multiple effects that can be applied, can apply and record macros, and can export to different audio …
Using Apple's GarageBand for audio editing felt like fighting someone else's highly opinionated ideas of how we should be working. Simple tasks (like keeping audio in sync while making edits across multiple tracks) felt like more work than they should've been, while other tasks …
We support multiple programs but like to offer Audacity as an easier to learn and free alternative so all users don't feel the need to pay for software or work within our computer lab. Audacity offers the functionality that most of our users need, and has been generally well …
While the comparison it's really apples-to-apples, since Audacity is only designed for audio editing, and I use other tools like Camtasia and Screenflow for both audio and video, the other tools do make it convenient to edit the audio within the same software as I edit the …
As I mentioned, Audacity does not have the bells and whistles of Audition, nor is it as reliable for multitracking. Using Audacity as a simple solution for simple projects is a relatively safe bet.
The only other related program we've used is Praat, and while Praat is unmatched for acoustic analysis, it also has a brutally steep learning curve and its recording leaves much to be desired (and is incredibly risky in terms of losing your recording). If you need to make …
Depending on the task being accomplished, we utilize different audio editing software for each purpose. Audition and AVID ProTools are our go-to software for advanced audio editing projects. Garageband is great for mid-level difficulty multi-track productions (1-3 day basic …
I haven't used other similar programs that are still in existence. Alas, I feel certain that had I done so, I would still be a fan of Audacity because of all that it offers and affords for our uses.
Easier to use than Garage Band. I have tried to use Garage Band for the same thing as I used Audacity and have had to give up. Not as easy. With the simple things that I have been able to accomplish, Audacity does it faster and better than anything I have tried. I have also …
Logic Pro X is like the big brother to GarageBand - it can do SO much more and has many more attractive features. The workflow and interface are similar enough to make onboarding a little easier if someone has used GarageBand, but the effects and plug-ins of Logic make it a far …
Most DAWs have the same basic features and can get the job done, but Logic Pro X is simply more intuitive and familiar for Mac users. The interface looks very polished and is easy to read whereas competitors look clunky or overwhelming.
I have limited experience with Pro Tools. The breadth of features is probably similar in both platforms. But I find Logic Pro X to have the edge in the effects and virtual instruments it offers out of the box, it's ease-of-use and coherent workflow, and most importantly, it's …
We use several different audio editors, the main reason for this is to have software available to cover most staff experience.
However, we find that a good portion of new staff were familiar with Logic Pro X, meaning that there was reduced training time involved by having the …
Logic Pro X is in that sweet spot between amateur Digital Audio Workstations like GarageBand and high end DAWs like Avid Pro Tools. Logic Pro X is good enough to be used on high end productions for film, TV, commercials and such, while remaining inexpensive and accessible, with …
Logic Pro X is the natural successor to GarageBand. GarageBand is a fantastic app, however, it's fairly rudimentary and doesn't have the robust features that Logic Pro X supports. Pro Tools is more expensive but does similar things to Logic. Thankfully, Logic rests in the …
One of my biggest complaints about Pro Tools is the cost. It's overpriced, in my opinion, and then they force you to pay even more for basic add-ons that you need to do your job. Logic provides all of these right out of the box, and it's much better suited for writing with MIDI …
Each has their strengths in different areas. I would say Logic Pro X is the best for music production and mixing, whereas Audition is good with podcasts and audio for video, and Pro Tools is an all-around powerhouse for big projects.
For just a quick down and dirty audio recording from computer source, Audacity is a no-frills solution that any user can get up and running with quickly without the intimidating functions seen in most standard DAWs. This would be a great tool to start with to record church services, or basic live performances where someone wouldn't want to use a full DAW like Ableton Live or Studio One.
Logic Pro X is excellent for anyone already in the Apple ecosystem because it's based on a similar style of user interface and integrates well with other Apple products (iPad, etc.). It's great for recording live instruments, as well as electronic music production and podcasting, etc.
With no subscription fees unlike other products on the market, I am very confident I will continue using Audacity for my simple audio editing needs. I'm not an expert in audio editing, I'm sure what works for me as a more general user in a public institution would not suit someone more experienced, but I'm very happy with the quality of work I'm able to produce.
Audacity is for audio prodcasts only and not for video podcasts. Audacity does not have a transcript development feature. Audacity can not edit using the transcript feature that does not exist. I use another program to develop a transcript and edit using that transcript. Then I move the file into Audacity for final processing.
Like every DAW, it takes some time and getting used to, but Logic's tools and interface just make sense to anyone who is familiar with Apple products and music tools.
Audacity is great for this, it doesn't require a network connection once downloaded, and previous versions of the software are still functional in my experience. I have never experienced the program crashing, lost work, corrupted files, anything of the sort.
I have never had issues with speed in Audacity, I don't integrate it with other software but the program runs smoothly even with larger jobs. I haven't measured the CPU while using Audacity, but I imagine it's not high compared to other, more professional or specialized programs in the same category.
We have not used direct support for Audacity, other than using the information available on their website, which resolved the issues we were experiencing so we had a good experience in that regard. As this is Open Source FREE software, I don't believe there is direct support available. In saying that, it has the following great support options:
Online documentation and FAQ
Online tutorials covering all functions
Online user forums where questions are asked and answered by other users
Online wiki with more information
With these options most issues should be able to be resolved to get full use from Audacity.
The user community of Logic Pro X is vibrant, responsive, and lively. There are many great forums out there where you can solve any problem you encounter, whether it's sound card latency, a certain plugin not working, audio routing, multitrack issues, or virtually anything else you run into. The community is so helpful that I'm giving Logic Pro X a 10 in this department, despite having never contacted their official support department. I've never had to, since there is such a great user community.
Again I found it helpful to write up a step-by-step tutorial for coworkers based on our institution's standard practices. This combined with support from coworkers to answer questions is very effective for simple everyday use of Audacity. The support in-program is minimal but troubleshooting in the internet age is straightforward.
While the comparison it's really apples-to-apples, since Audacity is only designed for audio editing, and I use other tools like Camtasia and screenflow for both audio and video, the other tools do make it convenient to edit the audio within the same software as I edit the video, rather than having to do both in separate software solutions.
Logic Pro X is like the big brother to GarageBand - it can do SO much more and has many more attractive features. The workflow and interface are similar enough to make onboarding a little easier if someone has used GarageBand, but the effects and plug-ins of Logic make it a far better product in the long run. Logic is able to utilize more of the computer's power, as well, taking full advantage of Apple's processors in bouncing and rendering the final products
I feel that Audacity is useful, simple, and suited both to casual users and more advanced use cases. There are options for expanding functionality in complex situations, but the option to not mess with it as a beginner is perfectly fine and suited to most everyday uses in my institution.
Powerful sound tools, centralized in one place for relatively very little money (when we purchased it, it was $200/user for a perpetual license)
Simplified workflow, since we handle all our sound needs in one place
We used to do our sound editing and mixing in Adobe Premiere, right along with the video. Moving sound production to FPX has DRAMATICALLY improved the quality of our soundtracks.