The good news is all of the packages we tested can more or less do all of the above tasks, with a few notable exceptions. The trick is that each program has strengths in different areas, and some tasks may be a bit more complicated in one than they are in another. One overarching rule to help you decide faster is to look at what your colleagues or friends are using, and then choose the same package. That makes it easier to share tips or even projects among each other, rather than being the lone person using a particular product and then introducing session import issues.
Audacity is FREE Open Source Software. I’ve been using it exclusively for 6 years. You need to download and/or install a couple things, depending on what you wannaw use Audacity for. For example, if you want to export audio that you’ve recorded/edited with Audacity as .mp3 files (and you do!) you’ll need to the “LAME/FFMPEG libraries. Easy Peasy. The link is right there on the website. It, too, is FREE! I use it continuously every day. The other thing to do is make sure all your “Effects” are enabled. Cllick “Effects” + “Add/Remove plugins”. If you do any voice over or vocals, you’ll want to grab the Declicker AND perhaps DeEsser. I COULDNT SURVIVE WITHOUT THEIR DECLICKER! at the end of each day, I say a special Thank You to my Audacity Declicker! <3 So, depending on your needs, you might need to spend 10 or 15 minutes rounding up the handful of FREE extras that make Audacity even more of a gem! Once installed, everything works seamlessly together! AND if you find yourself confused, frustrated … pop into the Audacity Forums. THEY ARE EXCELLENT FOLKS … VERY HELPFUL V-E-R-Y HELPFUL. I had some unbelivable shit going on where i had multiple versions on my mac and oh my gawd i cannot begin to describe my frustrations. I had a project due for a client (voice over) and i was in tears. my own fault. I posted in the forum and they were on it immediately … told me what i needed to do and WALAA they were right. i wanted to hug and squeeze em all. YES INDEED THE SOUNDFORGE/AUDACITY CREW ROCKS! (i was not paid or given anything free for this review which isnt even a review, its just the plain truth.) I LIED. i did receive something FREE in exchange for this post … it's called AUDACITY!
Look at the screenshot I attached above. I want you to look at the left sidebar. The #01 “Getting Started” video is what I just walked you through. You can see there are more video instructions. The videos are between 2 and 5 minutes long each, so it doesn’t take long at all to become acquainted with the software. The 5 additional training videos include the following topics.
Up until now, those videos were pretty hard to make and took a lot of time. Content Samurai makes the core process of video production for marketing far more accessible. Will there be an audience for these videos in great enough quantity to justify the price tag? That will come down to the individual business. Some have audiences that are more amenable to video, and others do not. The 50% Content Samurai discount offer above makes this matter slightly more affordable.
As a result, more than half of the packages in this roundup score at least four out of five stars. You can get professional-level results with all of them. Each has specific workflows that work really, really well for some people—hence the endless "X is the best and Y is garbage" arguments on the internet—but with some acclimation time, they all can work for just about anyone.
Twisted Wave is an online audio editor free. You only need a web browser to access it, and you can use it to record or edit any audio files. All the audios will be stored and processed on the server, so you don’t need to download anything, or save your recording when you are done. Close your browser window and your recording is saved. Open Twisted Wave somewhere else, and all your audio files, with the complete undo history, are still available.
Obviously, an article about creative applications will mention Apple in one way or another. Logic Pro X, which is Apple’s DAW for systems running macOS would’ve been my choice for the best audio editing software, but since it’s only available on macOS, it brings its accessibility down by quite a bit (not every artist uses a Mac, after all). That said, Logic Pro X brings some incredibly awesome features into the fold that make it an amazing audio editing app for both beginning editors, and professional users. Logic Pro X comes with all the basic features you’ll ever need in an audio editor, and also brings extremely advanced features including the ability to automatically match the timing of different tracks in a project using ‘Smart Tempo.’
Included free with every Mac that has been sold since 2011, iMovie is not only highly intuitive but surprisingly capable when it comes to producing videos with a professional flair. This platform may support just two video tracks, but its full roster of effects, from colorful chroma-keys to flashy wipe transitions, allows users to create slick, Hollywood-style productions with incredible ease.
I’m so pleased with this software that I have been paying a monthly membership fee ever since my free trial expired. I use Content Samurai for YouTube affiliate marketing. You can too. Just add a link to your affiliate offers in your video descriptions. I also turn plr articles into videos. That’s right, I don’t have to write anything. I just create videos from plr content.
