Today’s blog post is brought to you by Joe, Forgemaster of Narration.
Looking to record your audiobook masterpiece, but unsure of which software to use? Here are 3 recommendations for audio editing applications that are completely free to use.
Audacity
Pretty much the go to suggestion in free audio editing software. If anyone has ever recommended free audio software to you, it was probably Audacity. But does it live up to the praise? Audacity has a simple and straightforward design which makes it easier to learn than most other software, and because of that, Audacity is quite popular which means that you will likely find several tutorials out there that will help you achieve anything you want to do.
There is one major drawback with this software that makes me reluctant to recommend it: destructive effects. Most other audio programs let you chain effects on your audio recordings that can be tweaked or removed if you decide they’re not sounding right. With Audacity, once you apply an effect it alters your recording. You can go a step back to undo like in most other software, but that quickly becomes unrealistic as you make more and more changes to your audio. On top of that, expect to have to undo the effects you apply often because Audacity does not allow you to tweak the effect settings live while you are listening to the audio.
In fairness, I should point out that there are a few effects that Audacity lets you apply non-destructively. Two of which are very important for mastering your sound for your audiobook: the Compressor and the Limiter; but the issue of destructive effects is most frustrating when trying to use Audacity’s Graphic Equalizer. A useful technique for improving your audio quality is to use a Graphic Equalizer to sweep through the frequencies of your audio while it is playing to find where the problems are most present and then reduce the volume of those frequencies to minimize the negative effect they have on your sound quality. This maneuver is impossible in Audacity and is sorely missed once you have experienced how it can easily and effectively improve your recordings.
Still, I can’t deny that Audacity is one of the easier pieces of software to pick up. So if you are starting out, this might be a good program to try first. Then when you feel more comfortable, you might want to try something that can give you more control over your sound.
Pros
+Simple and straightforward
+Popular with many tutorials
+Pretty much ready to go once installed
+Built in Noise Reduction
Cons
-Destructive effects
-Cannot tweak effects while listening to audio
-Useless Graphic Equalizer
Davinci Resolve
This is actually a video editing program rather than a dedicated audio editor, but personally that’s one of the reasons I love this program. As someone who learned video editing before audio editing, I’ve always found myself frustrated at audio software not letting me cut and rearrange audio samples in the same way that a video editor does, so I feel quite at home in Davinci Resolve. But just because Resolve is for video editing first, doesn’t mean that it’s any lesser as an audio editor. In fact, the audio editing suite portion of Resolve used to be a stand alone audio editing program called Fairlight until it was acquired by Blackmagic Design (the creators of Davinci Resolve).
Resolve has all the major components you need to treat your audio in the free version of the software: Compressor, Limiter, Noise Reduction, and a Graphic Equalizer. If you ever have a reason to get the paid version of the program, it also has an amazing AI Voice Isolation tool that does magic with removing pesky background noise from your audio. It would be easy for me to pick this program as the recommendation, but sadly, there are a few drawbacks.
As a more robust piece of software than Audacity, it is also more complex. The software does nicely organize its different functionalities behind tabs that help keep hold back the overload of UI information overload, but it can still be a challenge to find what you are looking for when you are first starting out. One example of this is that settings for assigning your microphone to a track to be recorded to is somewhat hidden. Personally speaking, it took me a while to remember where it was and I kept having to look it up. Fortunately, this is software that professionals use, so there are numerous sources for tutorials that you can find to help you master this program
Pros
+Versatility
+Great if you are accustomed to editing videos
+Can do everything you need to edit your audiobook
Cons
-Interface is a little intimidating
-Selecting your microphone is ridiculously hidden
-Limited number of bands in the Graphic Equalizer
Waveform
If you are not familiar with video editing software or if you also have aspirations for editing music, Tracktion’s Waveform is the most logical step up from Audacity after you have gotten your feet wet. Waveform is a class of software known as a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) which means you can expect much more from this software that Audacity lacks like the ability to use real-time non destructive effects for easier adjustments to your sound. Waveform also supports far more plugins (know as VSTs and VSTis) than Audactiy which is great, but it does bring us to one of Waveform’s biggest shortcomings: no built in noise reduction effect. This means that you will either have to find a noise reduction plugin or just use Audacity for noise reduction first, then bring your audio over to Waveform to do additional fine-tuning.
The interface for Waveform is quite overwhelming, but the program does have an on screen guide when you first load it up that will guide you through setting everything up. That said, you will probably have to look up a fair amount of tutorials to find what you are looking for. Tracktion does have a fair amount of tutorials on their YouTube channel, but sadly their tutorials are several years out of date. Some of the information still applies to the current version of Waveform, but in other instances the UI of the program has since changed, so these official tutorials might cause more confusion rather than answering your questions.
Still, Waveform is a powerful program and you want to get more serious about audio editing, maybe even if you would like to produce music, Waveform is a great free option to explore.
Pros
+Guides you through set up
+Great if you are also making music
Cons
-Default font size is really small
-Overwhelming interface
-Official Tutorials are 7 years old
-No built in noise reduction plugin
