Editing aids
The raison d’etre of audio editors.
Unlike other desktop applications, the candidates for this
Roundup are not quite as easy to master. However, you shouldn’t let the complexity of the graphical interfaces put you off.
One clear distinction between audio editors and DAWS is that the latter allow non-destructive editing. This means that edits you make don’t overwrite the original audio file.
Ardour is a non-destructive editor that provides all the popular editing options such as cut, copy, move, paste, etc. It also lets you implement effects such as cross fade or trim audio. You can record audio using a microphone, or work with existing tracks or even freely distributed sounds from the Freesound database and similar hosting platforms.
Like Ardour, Audacity too will let you record audio with a microphone. But unlike the former, Audacity is a destructive editor. The split cut and split delete option on Audacity reveal why the application is so popular for editing and merging audio files. The application also lets you insert or delete noise from files for a more professional finish. Refer to some of the tutorials hosted on the website, such as mixing narration with background sound, to get an idea of what you can achieve with this application.
Ocenaudio presents a waveform editor, not unlike the one on offer with Audacity, and both applications also have a spectrogram for advanced users. If needed, you can use the
Audacity documentation to learn the basics of editing and then apply the theory with Ocenaudio. It will let you add basic effects like fade in or out, trim sections from the audio file, and more. As an alternative to adding white noise to mask sounds from the audio file, you can also add chorus or reverb effects. These and more are also possible with the other applications as well.
Effects on Qtractor are supplied via plugins, and the applications supports both LADSPA and CALF plugins, which are available in the software repositories of most distributions. This is another non-destructive editor, but it comes with a rather steep learning curve.