The Download	This Issues Review	The Web Site
	Audacity by Numerous GPL Contributors!
Before I begin this review, I want to inform all readers that I DO NOT pretend to be an expert on sound and recording! I was looking for a program that performed a specific function adapted to my needs which was fairly easy to learn and Audacity fit the bill perfectly. If there are easier ways of doing this and that, or if I made an error on a term, please accept my apologies. However, if you are looking for a program that works with existing sound files and even allows you to create some of your own, look no further! Audacity fits the bill as an easy-to-use sound editor with a nice assortment of functions and utilities. Get comfy in the chair and read on: Review Version Number......... 1.2.4 Platform and Requirements......... Audacity comes in multiple formats for multiple operating systems, including the MAC, unix and windows!  The Website... Honestly, what can I say. This is one of the most pleasant sites I've visited in a while for free software. They use a 'tabbed' interface titled with the most important information needed for the program. The information and links are not hidden or combined with other elements such as found on so many other sites. Each 'tab' give you a platora of information dealing with Audacity. The fonts are clean and crisp, there's very little imagery dragging your attention from the details of the program. Oh, and it's available in over 20 different languages!! Talk about a world wide release!!  :)   Help Files.... Help for Audacity is readily available via the contained help files with the program which are in .html format, the help files and FAQ that are viewable online, or the forum which gets lots of use. Tutorials are also available giving tips, shortcuts and details on certain aspects of the program itself and how to use it. There's quite a bit of valuable information available here and overall, there is no shortage of help for this program.  Everything is relatively concise and easy to read with an ample supply of images and screenshots. Download, Installation and Uninstall... Here it's pick your flavor and download it! Audacity is available for Windows, Mac and Unix machines. If you prefer, you can test the most recent beta or grab a stable version. If compiling is your bag, the source code is also available. Because it's under a GPL license, you can modify and sell it. Installation is the usual rant, with your EULA, directory choice, etc. etc. and you're finished. Uninstall removes the program but does not remove the directories due to the files that are created when you use the program. A simple file manager will allow you to clean up after it.  Interface and Features..... The default window is simple enough. What you see is a set of audio control buttons similar to ones that may be found on a cd or cassette player. To the left of the buttons are control icons for the different tools available with this freeware. To the right of the buttons are two sets of info bars giving you level perimeters for both the sound level and the microphone level. The mixer bar directly below that has controls for the volume of both the speaker and the microphone as well as the drop down window for the various areas where these adjustments will occur such as Stereo Mix, Mic Volume, Video Volume etc. The majority of the rest of the window is dedicated to the actual display of your sound file. Here's a shot of the same window but with one of my sound files loaded in: The display above shows you three separate waveform work areas. The top two areas are the left and right track of a stereo song and the lower area is a mono audio track which has been added to the song. The increments at the top of the work area gives you the time of the sound file in seconds and the increments to the left give you the sound level. The time increments can be adjusted via the magnifying glass icons at the top which allows you to zoom in on your sound file to a specific area or to zoom out to get a broader prospective of the clip. The sound levels to the left can be adjusted up to '2' by right or left clicking on the area itself.  Each section of your window can be floated on your desktop if you prefer, or docked to the window as is default. The tools area to the left of the radio control buttons contain a nice variety of functions to give you numerous options to use with your sound files. For instance, the 'Selection Tool' allows you to highlight certain areas of the file to work with such as copy, paste, delete, crop, trim, silence, and more. As an area is highlighted, the appropriate buttons also highlight letting you know that they are now usable. The 'Envelope Tool' allows you to add points to your sound file to make detailed adjustments to the volume of a specific section. These points can be added or removed as you need them and give you a wide degree of control over the length and volume of certain areas. Here's a screenshot of a sound file with the points highlighted: Each one of these points can be dragged to increase or decrease the volume in sections as well as being dragged to extend the sound as in a fade in or out. The 'Draw Tool' allows you to modify individual samples in your file and the 'Time Shift Tool' allows you to slide your sound file left or right. Features for Audacity are certainly not scarce!  It will export and import in Ogg Vorbis, MP3 (using the freely available LAME library encoder), WAV, AIFF, and AU as well as import the RAW format.  Editing includes, Cut, Copy and Paste, unlimited Undo's and as mentioned above, 'Draw' and 'Envelope' tools to edit your sound files even further. Audacity works will large files extremely fast, and allows you to edit an unlimited number of tracks. Also included in Audacity area a nice array of different effects for your pleasure! Some of these include echo, phaser, reverse, frequency alterations, the ability to remove static, hum and hiss, and various ways to adjust volume. Sound quality is maintained in Audacity by allowing recording up to 96 kHz. as well as recording and editing in 16, 24 and 32 bit samples. Here's a pic of the program with the 'Effect' window open to give you an idea of what is available:   Of course, Audacity has many options and preferences for you to pick at. Here's a few shots of the multi-tabbed 'Preferences' window and a few short descriptions: This tab shows the area where you select your devices for recording and playback as well as the channels. This tab is for selecting your preferences on the interface itself including toolbars, actions and ranges. Here's the tab to set TONS of keyboard combinations for just about anything you can do with Audacity. ......... and for the mouse. The project that I had in mind for Audacity was to make some simple commercials for my online broadcast 'Femmetal'. My idea was to take specific clips from some of the songs from some well know female metal artists and do voice overs. After about an evening of 'playing' with Audacity, I had enough basic working knowledge to start producing some neat little spots. To perform my task, I took sections from different songs and pasted them together on one window. After I had all clips arranged and timed, I placed my voice over at the specific sections where the songs would change. Of course, I worked on the creation to lower the sound at the joints of each clip, so the connections wouldn't be noticed and of course, everyone would hear my voice. I have created five different spots so far, each one taking me one short evening of about four hours or so. Here are a couple of links to two of them: Spot 1 Spot 2 Problems.... I'm very pleased to announce that I've yet to find a problem. Remember, I'm using the stable versions and haven't touched the betas.    Conclusion....  Well, anyone who had followed freeware for a while now knows how popular this program is. Want to change some sound file formats, record the kids voices or make yourself a commercial or two, download Audacity, load it up and have fun!  Cheers! Buzzy :)