What is a good Free audio editor program

[Mark]

I work out songs using an old computer with XP on it and I use Cool Edit Pro to work out songs.

What is a good free audio editor program that works well on modern machines?

Preferably something that doesn’t inundate you with ads.

Thanks for your assistance.

[pompeiisneaks]

Audacity is great, and free.

~Phil

[Mark]

Thanks, I couldn’t remember the name of that program.

[xtian]

Reaper.

[Mark]

Thanks for your reply and suggestion.

I’m not familiar with Reaper, what does it do that you like?

[norburybrook]

I'll second Reaper . Technically it's not free but you can use it without buying a license as long as you like. I think a license is only $60 if you do decide you like it. If not you can still keep using it for ever if you want.


Reaper is a fully featured DAW (digital audio workstation) like Cubase/Pro tools/Logic/Studio 1 etc it can do everything they can do . Just you tube search reaper and there's a hundred tutorials. It also runs on Windows/OSX and Linux.

https://www.reaper.fm/

I've used it on and off since V1.x (now V 6.X) alongside my main DAW Cubase/Nuendo in my studio and live , it's a really great program.



M

[BobSimpson]

Cakewalk is free from Bandlab.
Not quite all Sonar Platinum was before Gibson & Craig Anderton buggered everyone who had paid for it for years, but mostly there.
In Singapore, I believe...

Bob Simpson

[katopan]

I use and really like Ardour. It's free and open source, but runs on Linux.

I haven't had direct experience with them, but Reaper and Audacity as already recommended are both pretty popular for good reason.

[didit]

Hello -

I'll second Reaper .

That's an excellent and encouraging endorsement. As preparation to another phase of working I was asking just earlier this month whether Reaper was worthy time invested to learn it. It was top of list and this reinforces previous advice.

Best .. Ian

[norburybrook]

Ian,

if you've not used any of the major DAW's before then I'm sure you'll be fine with learning Reaper. Like any complex program it's a steep learning curve and Reaper is no exception. Compared to the other major DAW's the actual workings and ability are more or less the same, what you don't get with Reaper is a massive bundle of loops and virtual instruments etc what you get is a very small (in computer program size), well written ,stable and well supported program.


I've made about 5 commercial albums using earlier version of Reaper and still use it on my laptop to host my live keyboards when doing keyboard gigs. It has never let me down

Justin Frankel who is the head developer made his money as a young man writing a program called Win amp. It became very successful and he went on to sell it to a major for many millions of $. As a keen amateur musician and with no need to ever work again he needed a project and so began writing Reaper , it's become a real success story.



M

[Mark]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I get the feeling Reaper is much more than I would ever need. As I use an audio editor to work out other people’s songs. Being able slow the song down, using a graphic eq, vocal cancel is quite helpful.

[ChopSauce]

I'll second Reaper . Technically it's not free but you can use it without buying a license as long as you like...

Really? The site mentions "60-day evaluation"...

[didit]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I get the feeling Reaper is much more than I would ever need. As I use an audio editor to work out other people’s songs. Being able slow the song down, using a graphic eq, vocal cancel is quite helpful.

For that I use Transcribe. Not free and only on Mac. My friend with an allergy to apples uses Slow Downer on Windows.

Best .. Ian

[erwin_ve]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I get the feeling Reaper is much more than I would ever need. As I use an audio editor to work out other people’s songs. Being able slow the song down, using a graphic eq, vocal cancel is quite helpful.

For that I use Transcribe. Not free and only on Mac. My friend with an allergy to apples uses Slow Downer on Windows.

Best .. Ian

Transcribe is also on Linux and Windows PC!

[didit]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I get the feeling Reaper is much more than I would ever need. As I use an audio editor to work out other people’s songs. Being able slow the song down, using a graphic eq, vocal cancel is quite helpful.

For that I use Transcribe. Not free and only on Mac. My friend with an allergy to apples uses Slow Downer on Windows.

Best .. Ian

Transcribe is also on Linux and Windows PC!

Good to know, thanks. Had a copy for several years without ever realizing it was multi-platform ..