I'm a podcaster who is in the process of switching platforms from the PC to Mac. I just bought a Mac Mini, which I have connected to my rig. I've purchased MegaSeg for managing playlists, but what I'm looking for now is a grown-up, non-buggy audio recording and editing program. I tried Audio Hijack Pro and Audacity and was left wanting.

I'm used to Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit Pro) on the PC and really want similar/identical functionality on the Mac; I like monitoring the levels/waveform during recording and being able to edit and apply effects/filters post-production.

Any suggestions?

Apple makes 3 different multitracker/editor packages that might work for you:

- Garageband -- should have come with your computer, otherwise $50 with iLife

- Logic Express -- More advanced package, also with lots of support for midi/music stuff

- Soundtrack Pro -- Nice interface for multitracking and audio editing, would be a better choice than Logic, except that, at least right now, it is very processor intensive, and bit buggy, especially with longer programs.

All of the above let you record, look at waveforms, edit, and use non-destructive effects.

For a recorder/editor without multitracking, try Bias Peak. I'm not really a big fan, but it's more like how I remember CoolEdit (but I haven't used CoolEdit for many years)

eric

Have you look at DSP Quattro ?

I haven't had a chance to try DSP Quattro yet. I downloaded the demo but recording is disabled -- which is what I need to check out.

BIAS Peak - v5 just released. You might get all you need from the LE version, but the full-fat Peak Pro version is mighty sweet. Even higher up the audio-editing food chain, the XT bundle looks mindblowingly comprehensive, but would almost certainly be overkill for your needs. But hey, if you've got the cash…

I've not actually tried Peak 5 yet, but I've been loving Peak 4 for a couple of years now. http://www.bias-inc.com

Alternatively, take a look at Sound Studio 3. I used v2 for a while and liked it well enough for editing audio. Peak's better, but Sound Studio is cheaper. I'm pretty sure Apple even bundled SS with new Macs for a while a year or two back, which might give you some idea of how highly some folk thought of it.

http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/

You said you wanted similar features as adobe audition so having a multitrack recorder is important. Audacity is a free multitrack recorder


I remember the cool edit recording meter. It went across the entire width of the window. It was super cool. Meters with that kind of resolution are rare. But can be found as plug ins to most popular multitrack software via VST, AU, or RTAS

Ardour is a free solution for multi-track recording and editing. It works a lot like Pro Tools.

http://ardour.org/

I've been using it for several days now and I like it quite a bit.

I like it more because it's free and the developers are very reachable for suggestions and bug reports and questions etc.

I also like Logic Express 7 quite a bit.