Rich Peet wrote:
> I am involved with a number of new recordists.
> Now that CoolEdit does not have a limited feature free sound edit
> program? What is the next best thing?
>
> $70.00 is a bit high for a recordist with a mic under a bird feeder
> or a simple mic to a used cassette deck.
> Looking for something that can at least chop length, normalize, and
> save. Anything else is a + but not important at the entry level.
>
> Any ideas of simple software for the entry level user who has not
> commited to a full setup?
>
> PC based is best for these users but mac info is appreciated as well.
For macs I generally recommend going with Peak for simple editing. But
even it's LE version is above your limit at $99. It does have the
advantage of having versions for all types of Mac OS.
There are a number of shareware programs that work with OS 9 or below.
But OS X is rapidly becoming the only choice, is the only choice in new
machines so I'm not sure I'd recommend getting involved with earlier
software. I'm not sure what's available for OSX in shareware.
Considering what a person will pay for other components of their
computer system, I'm not sure $70 is unreasonable. For basic, cheap
recording, taking it into a computer and messing around with it is a
luxury. We used to record without ever involving a computer, and most of
those I know who keep it dirt cheap still do so.
I think one of the things that has to be made clear from the beginning
to any new nature recordist is that this is not a free hobby. There are
inexpensive routes to get started, but cutting it too low may result in
little satisfaction. Or, like when I started bringing audio into the
computer, I paid a whole bunch of shareware fees that together added up
to more than buying Peak LE to start with. In fact Peak LE was a even
better bargain as it came bundled with a CD burner. I later upgraded
that to the full package.
Walt
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