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CNET Editors' review
WAV files are the basic sound recording unit in Windows. Much larger than MP3s and similar portable digital audio formats, WAVs are also easier to edit, thanks to tools like WavePad Sound Editor from NCH, which specializes in audio and multimedia software. It's a compact but powerful and flexible tool for analyzing and editing WAVs or just about any kind of digital audio file. It's especially useful for cleaning up and editing transcribed LP records and other digitized analog audio recordings, but you can also add effects, analyze the sound, and more.
WavePad's interface is essentially a media player with a spectral display, time indicators, and specialized controls for manipulating the audio signal. We browsed to a folder of CD tracks we'd ripped as WAVs and selected one. WavePad displayed the file's audio spectrum in two zoom-capable views, a smaller overview of the entire track above a larger, more detailed graphical display. Playback controls, a timer with hundredths of seconds, and sliders for altering the view, zooming, and other functions ring the main view, while a toolbar gives access to noise reduction tools; speed and pitch settings; echo, reverb, and other effects; plug-ins; and other tools. Clicking the Play button played our audio track, with a moving red line tracking the output on the spectral graph. This made it ultra-simple not only to divide tracks manually but also to identify and remove artifacts like clicks and pops, copy specific passages, and remove lead-in and lead-out tracks. The zoom feature let us expand any section of the spectra for pinpoint editing, such as removing the all-too-audible "pop" and "thunk" as the stylus hits the record groove and the turntable's dust cover comes down at the beginning of a session converting analog LPs to digital music files. WavePad has some interesting and useful extras, too, such as a tone generator, batch converter, and text-to-speech tool.
We've converted many LPs to WAVs, and we've always found that a good WAV editor is just as important as a good recording tool. WavePad proved both easy to use and perfectly competent, even when handling megabyte-size WAV files many times larger than itself.
Editors' note: This is a review of the full version of WavePad Sound Editor 4.52. The trial version is limited to 14 days.
Publisher's Description
From NCH Software:
WavePad is a full featured professional audio editor for Windows. Create and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy, and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification, and noise reduction and more. WavePad is a freeware WAV / MP3 editor but it also supports a number of other file formats including VOX, GSM, RA, AU, AIF, FLAC, and OGG and many more in the Master's Edition. Recording and editing Mp3 and WAV files are freeware features.
What's new in this version: Version 5.06 adds list of recent files to File menu, incorporated tremolo and vibrato effects and more.
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All versions:
3.7 starsout of 313 votes
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Current version:
3.4 starsout of 8 votes
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My rating:
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Results 1-8 of 8
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"I Love this"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
Edits audio files
Supports most formatsCons
none
except u have to buy it -
"Simple to use."
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
Simple to use and serves my needs - which is at present to edit music to play as ringtones for my phone. Nothing additional to download to help with the editing. As for the criticism of 1 of the reviews about the toolbar - you can choose not to install that option during the installation.
Cons
There is a whole load of other stuff that it comes with - but not much space was taken up on the computer and I figured I can live with it a while till I get around to looking at them.
Summary
Would recommend to ppl like me - want something to edit music, but possess very little patience or time to learn all these complex programs out there or download all sort of things to make 1 software work. The simplicity in language and usage of this program appeals to me.
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"I use WavePad almost daily for EVP analysis. Love it!"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
Easy to learn, easy to use.
Cons
None so far for my basic usage.
Summary
Easy to use, handles shorter clips and much longer ones equally as well. A YouTube tutorial was all I needed to be off and running. I've only ever needed the free version but plan to update someday. I've been using WavePad for 15 months now, logging well over 400 hours with never an issue or a complaint.
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"Sloppy, bug-ridden rip-off."
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
Can't think of any - I really can't.
Cons
Zoom is unstable;
DC Offset facility doesn't work;
DC Offset facility is not configurable.
After discovering these two flaws I gave up.Summary
I downloaded the free version from another website to try out instead of my usual Magix Audio Editor v2, but within 15 minutes I found two bugs.
Firstly, if you select and highlight a part of the wave, when you zoom in the highlight shifts along. That is sheer incompetence.
Secondly, I found that the DC Offset correction facility doesn't work, and that ot's also not configurable.
Such amateurism. And they expect people to pay for this junk? I think the developers should spend a bit more effort on such basic detail instead of stuffing their fat faces with Mars Bars. -
"they sent me a beta version"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
More powerful & more fun to work with than the other audio editing programs I've given free trials
Cons
there must be easier companies than NCH to buy from or deal with
Summary
What I paid for and what PayPal & NCH confirmation letters said I'd bought was the dumbbutt basic version. What was downloaded proved (the next morning, after their server woke up & stopped demanding that I buy what they'd just installed) was v5.05 Master Edition - it took a while to notice up in one corner: >Beta<.
NCH does have a rep, nickel & diming users to death for decimal uprades. I have a >lot< of use for this program's basic capabilities - surely those must be stable by now - but if you buy it for more serious work, at least make sure you're not getting more than you paid for. -
"SPAM and crapare, avoid!"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
Edits audio files
Supports most formatsCons
Installs crapware and spam
Difficult to remove malicious NCH softwareSummary
Install this at your own risk, and be vigilant about all the spam and crapware that NCH tries to infect your system with.
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"trojan within!! Beware!!!!"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
none none none
Cons
Kaspersky detected a Trojan!!
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"great software for mixing music"
Version: WavePad Sound Editor 5.06
Pros
this software has all the programs that i needed and i think anyone will need
Cons
i have found none with this software
Results 1-8 of 8
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