sometimes ago a writer wrote an article “8 Free, Cross-platform Apps for Musicians“, listing some really useful music utilities and programs that you can get at no cost. Many of you are Windows users, and pointed out that there is some useful Windows software that was not included in the article because it doesn’t cross-platform. Well, this article is for you!
Of course, Windows has its own problems when it comes to recording music. It can slow down over time, is susceptible to malware that slows it down further, and doesn’t have the best latency out of the box. Next week we’ll look at some ways of tuning your Windows box for the best results.
In the meantime, here are 7 digital audio recording apps for Windows:
1. KRISTAL Audio Engine
License: KRISTAL Audio Engine is free for personal, educational and non-commercial use. A commercial license is available. Website: www.kreatives.org/kristal.
From the website, “KRISTAL Audio Engine is a powerful multi-track recorder, audio sequencer and mixer – ideal for anyone wanting to get started with recording, mixing and mastering digital audio. It is designed as a modular system. The main application provides a mixing console, while the audio sequencer, live audio input and so on are loaded as separate Plug-Ins”
The program records up to 16 tracks at a maximum of a 192 kHz sample rate. It supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and OGG Vorbis audio formats. It includes plug-ins for sequencing, effects (including KristalMultiDelay, KristalChorus, KristalReverb, Kristalizer), and for using VST effects in realtime.
The program is no replacement for a high end DAW, but should get you started in the world of recording digital audio.
2. Wavosaur Free Audio Editor
License details on the website are sketchy, but the program is free to use. Website: www.wavosaur.com.From the website: “Wavosaur is a free sound editor, audio editor, wav editor software for editing, processing and recording sounds, wav and mp3 files. Wavosaur has all the features to edit audio (cut, copy, paste, etc.) produce music loops, analyze, record, batch convert. Wavosaur supports VST plugins, ASIO driver, multichannel wav files, real time effect processing. The program has no installer and doesn’t write in the registry. Use it as a free mp3 editor, for mastering, sound design.”
I haven’t tried the program, so it’s difficult for me to compare it with KRISTAL. I’d be interested in your comments. The specs on the features page indicate it may be a better program. Like KRISTAL, it has a sample rate up to 192 kHz and support for VST effects, but there is no mention of a track limit like KRISTAL has.
3. Audacity
License: GPL (open source). Website: audacity.sourceforge.net.This well-known program was mentioned in Joel’s article, and also deserves a mention here. It’s an awesome light-weight dedicated audio editor capable of editing multiple tracks. It supports Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
From some of the comments left on Joel’s article, it sounds like some of you use Audacity for just about everything. It’s the Swiss army knife of audio apps. I used it to MP3 my cassette collection years ago.
4. trakAxPC
License: Seems to be free of cost for any use. Website: www.trakax.com/software/pc.
Their website boasts, “TrakAx empowers you to create professional music and video mixes in an easy-to-use and fun environment. Whether you are creating a music track for your MySpace page or a video for YouTube, TrakAxPC is the most powerful FREE application on the web.” Features include beat matching, a drag-and-drop interface for mixing and adjusting tracks, and video editing features. Audio formats supported include WAV, MP3, OGG, and WMA.
Trakax.com’s website is very slick. If the software is comparable, it may just deserve a place in your software toolkit. It may be a great DAW to get started on. The site also sells royalty-free loops, beats and tracks for a price.
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