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If you are a serious musician, professional sound editor, or just a very hardcore sound enthusiast, the name Sonic Foundry should be well known to you. The very name Sonic Foundry is synonymous with high quality sound editing. In many ways Sound Forge is something of the Adobe Photoshop of sound editing. Ironically, long before I ever even thought of reviewing software and hardware, the name Sonic Forge was well known to me. I had an associate well familiar with the program and thought the world of it, and with good reason.
If the comparison to Photoshop may be a bit of a stretch, it is not that much of one. The interface is deceptively simple. Like Adobe’s venerable application, there is a great deal of power under the hood.
The workspace is comprised of a time line style track window, transport control and a sound level meter. For those familiar with earlier versions, I was introduced to version 4, the interface of Sound Forge 6 has not been dramatically altered. While there are visible refinements in the general look of the application, the basic layout is essentially unchanged. This is great for those already using the program as well as those just being introduced.
One important feature with Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge is non-destructive audio editing. This means that you can edit a file, cut it, do what you will and the file will remain in tact until the final render. For those who have spent any time editing anything, the virtues of non-destructive editing are very obvious. This is particularly true when it comes to undoing actions and making revisions.
Another feature with Sonic Forge is that of multi task background editing. While one file is being rendered, another can be edited. Naturally, this feature does require a rather sturdy system in order for it to function at its best. In the past, and I am fairly confident of this in the present, Sonic Forge has never been a resource hog. This translates into the program running well minus the most optimized system.
Easily one of the biggest changes I noticed between Sound Forge 6 and the much older version I was familiar with is CD ripping. Without using a third party application you can rip the songs you like, save them as MP3, WAV or Windows Media Format files and then make changes to those files should you find problems. Then when this is done, you can actually burn your new files to disc. In the past, doing this required three separate applications. Now you can rip, save, burn and edit within one convenient application. Thus, this Sound Forge becomes a total self contained sound editing package. And if you fear integration, Sound Forge in my experience plays very well with a wide assortment of windows parts and pieces.
One of the real advantages with Sound Forge is that you also have integration with Vegas Video. If memory serves me correctly, and you may wish to visit the Sonic Foundry Web site for details, version 6 of Sound Forge ships with a “lite” version of Vegas Video, or rather Vegas. What this means is that you can take advantage of the sophisticated sound editing features of Sound Forge and also see for yourself the excellent Vegas. Even without this lite software, Sound Forge can certainly edit your sound files for your video productions.
Sonic Foundry’s latest sound editing program can now can handle 4 GB files. This means virtually unlimited editing power. If your system can handle it, Sonic Foundry can perform that function with ease. The advantages of Sonic Foundry also extend to speed as well. This version running on Windows XP is not slow. So you have some definite advantages regarding speed.
The feature set with Sonic Foundry is impressive. There is no doubt that this is professional sound editing package. The interesting irony about high end packages is that in many cases they are actually easier to use than the consumer versions. Sonic Foundry has an amazingly clean elegant interface that invites exploration. Also nice is the fact that the programs are regularly updated. So do take advantage of new versions. Updating is simple, easy and painless. For me it is important to see software makers at work refining their product. Sonic Foundry has always been very good about this, and it is one of those nice extras that confirms your trust in a program.
The one thing to keep in mind is that Sonic Foundry is not a bargain basement priced application. As is the rule with so many things in computing, if you want high end features, they are not inexpensive. But if you want ease of use, power, reliability and updates, there is a price for this. On the positive side, there is a more consumer designed version of Sound Forge available that is more in line with consumer price points. So if you do not need high end features, you can still take advantage of the stability and well crafted software rep that Sonic Foundry is well known.
Of all of the sound editing applications in the market place, you really cannot go wrong with an application like Sound Forge 6. It is by far the Photoshop of sound editing hands down.
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