Cool edit, adobe (Adobe Audition)

Member Name: chrismoll

Product:	Adobe Audition
Date:	31/05/05 (1565 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to use, endless features, has everything you need

Disadvantages: sometimes crashes but restor point given

Ok, so most people who are familiar with computer recoding would have no doubt heard of Cool edit pro and the amazing possibilities it offers to a music/video editor and recorder. Well adobe (probably best known for adobe reader) have bought this software of syntriullium and renamed it adobe audition. So is this merely a business adventure for adobe or have they actually kept up the cool edit pro tradition of being an easy to use, up to date, recording tool…

----First things first----

This software has the possibility to create professional sounding recordings that would be fit for commercial release but it is also directed at people looking to start out in the world of computer recording. When you open the programme it can seem a little daunting at first with lots of different coloured buttons, switches and sliders but the main point of this programme is expressed greatly here – the diversity. By this I mean the different standards at which this product can be used to. For the basic user, a simple, 10 minute read through the basic user guides will mean that they are in a position to record waves and carry out basic procedures. However, for those who wish to get the maximum out of this programme or those who have prior knowledge can explore the more advanced settings and be pleasantly surprised.

----Recording----

To produce a simple, multi-track song on this software is much easier than it ma initially seem. All that is needed is to set up your equipment accordingly, whether it is a guitar and amp miced up or just plain vocals and then set your track to record. Firstly, ‘arm’ the track by pressing the red square with R in and press record, when you are done – press stop. I have not simplified this at all; this is how easy it is to produce a professional sounding track – of course providing you have half decent equipment. Again the extra features are available for those wanting to explore a little more. This comes in the form of metronomes, punch in recordings (for those mistakes you made in the middle of a 5 minute track and don’t want to record it all again), EQ, track properties etc. Again, this expresses the great thing about this programme – the idea that someone can be using the programme within 10 minutes but those who wish to get the best sounding track possible are provided with the facilities to do so with the ease of use factor provided.

----Editing----

Ok so now you have a three minute track with four different instruments that is your pride and joy but thee is just some things wrong with it which you need to change – you guessed it…EASY! The editing tools are very simple to use and at the same time very effective. Basic editing needs such as cutting off ends of tracks, inserting silence, EQ-ing, copying a loop and panning tracks are easy to use tools, some of which are almost identically to the copy and paste utilities used in something like Microsoft word. This enables the user to add to the professionalism of the track by cutting of such things as unwanted noise either side of the track which make the difference between amateur and professional sounding recordings. Once you have the track the right length, the right calibre and needing boosting a bit a little its time to step over to the FX and add some great sounds to your tune!

----FX----

Adobe Audition comes with a huge array of pre loaded effects which make editing that much easier. Not only are the effects provided for you but hundreds of variations are also provided within these making the possibilities endless. You can expect the basics such as chorus, reverb, delay and flanger right up to the experimental, including the Doppler shifter, convolution and pitch bender. These effects leave the mind in awe of the amount of things that you can do to a track. A 10 second ample of a simple conversation can be turned into an ambulance siren sweeping from ear to the other.
As well as these FX to add to the tracks sound there are also features which ever track should feature such as the normalizer, EQ and compression. These effects allow you to make your track the same volume level as professional recordings and compress them to add to the quality of the recordings by avoiding volume changes and peaks where they aren’t wanted.
As mentioned before each effect has its own presets too. For example, the chorus effect has over 20 presets which mean I you aren’t too sure hat you are doing you can use a preset such as acoustic for your acoustic recordings and usually hear an improvement. The great thing here is there is also a mixer with the presets so if you feel that a certain preset would need some extra feedback then it’s easily done right in front of you. Features like this not only make the recording experience much more enjoyable and stress free but they also mean that you learn many great techniques within a programme like this that can be used again and again in the future.

----Misc----

As well as the ain feature of recording, editing and effects within the programme there are many other features which I couldn’t leave out just because they didn’t fit under a specific heading. The CD project is a great addition to adobe audition which means that if you are recording a home album then you can keep a list of all the work so far, the songs, the sessions etc at an easily accessible place. Another great feature is the rewire feature which means that if you own programmes like Reason then you can ‘rewire’ the products so that they can be used with one another and within the same programme, rather than having to overload the computer and have too many open windows to keep track of. The VST plug-in feature is also great which means certain effects packages like the waves bundles can be loaded into the programme and used within the editing of the tracks. Again saving overloading and multi programmes having to work side by side through different processes. Another fantastic addition is the integrated CD burner, which makes hoe recordings so much easier. So if you are using this programme for a hoe recorded demo you can record, edit, keep track of the progress in the CD project view and then burn them to CD for your friends to listen to!

----Overall----

I think it is clear that I am a huge fan of this software and what it has to offer. I had used Cool edit pro for many years and I thought rather than learning another programme from scratch I will see what adobe have to offer in their version. Not much is changed from cool edit pro in the sense that if you can use one then you can use the other. However, sufficient changes have been made to update the versions to suit the need of home recording artists and similar. The programme is very simple to use and has an endless amount of features. I have to leave a lot out of the review that is features within the programme otherwise this could have gone on for hours. However I have tried to include the most important features of this software as to aid the choice of someone looking for a recording programme to get into.
So, would I recommend this programme? From my experience I have not found a programme which comes close to adobe audition and what it has to offer. I haven’t learnt all the recording programmes as well as this one as that would take centuries! However, I did learn the vital techniques that are needed, much quicker through this programme than any other and I have never experienced a programme as good as this to teach and provide amazing results. If I was to think of one bad point it would be that even though my computer is over the spec it can occasionally crash midway through a session. However, adobe provides back up for this and next time you start the programme it asks whether you want to continue from where you left off and so now time or files are lost!

And finally…

Adobe Audition is a must for all those already involved or wanting to get involved in home recording and editing either for pleasure or professional use.

System requirements

Windows:

400MHz or faster processor (2GHz or faster recommended)
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or Windows XP® Professional or Home Edition (Adobe applications on Windows XP with Service Pack 2)
64MB of RAM (512MB or more recommended)
75MB of available hard-disk space (700MB recommended for installing optional audio clips)
800x600 colour display (1,024x768 display recommended)
Stereo sound card (multi-track sound card recommended)
CD-ROM drive
CD-RW drive for audio CD creation
Microsoft DirectX 9.0 software required for video import
Speakers or headphones recommended
Microphone (optional)

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/audition/main.htm l

Price – the basic price for the package is £209. However if you have previously owned a copy of cool edit pro then upgrades can be bought from as little as £49.

Summary: