Opinions on Soundforge

[ObsoleteAcc99]

I think sound forge is amazing, especially the latest version (i'm on mac though so their may be feature disparity to windows).. also there is an upgrade price available for $149 from an old old version in my account, which is way cool.

However, there are *major* performance problems on mavericks on mysandy bridge i7 quad laptop. Just using the scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the waveform is causing massive frame jumps/delay, there are delays on clicking and unclicking and doing almost any function or closing a tab. It's ruining my trial experience unfortunately, as feature wise, it has everything I am looking for.. it's comprehensive without beaing bloated.. it's streamlined and easy to use to master and edit.

So then i am also trying the latest adobe audition trial. It's wonderful but it's got almost too many features, though graphics and response is lightning fast.. But I am still going through all the seemingly endless preference menus, and it installs a bunch of adobe junk that is always running just to have audition! Furthermore, it will cost more to have it for one year $240 USD than it costs to buy soundforge outright.. audition would be $480 just to use it for 2 years

Then there is wavelab which is the ultimate but butt igly IMO, but it seems to combine the best of all worlds.. problem is it's completely out of my price range and i dare say many other private home users.

Result? I stick to twisted wave which is lighter on features, but was $79 years back and with free updates all this time, and is the fastest thing I have ever used.. caveat is there is no real time effects insert, you need to open a chain and can add whatever you want but you need to preview it through it's buttons so to speak. It's ok. And no burning, but I can't remember the last time i mastered for CD anyway but the option is good to have. Caveat is mac only.

other mac users may also wish to check out dsp quattro which has been seen as low as $49 on sales, regular $99 I believe.
It can be used as a standalone host for instruments but sadly does not assign them to different cores (if it did it would have been perfect to use as a standalone vst host alongside reason), and it has some really strange works paradigm with the way it scrolls/cursor guidance - There are a ton of BIG key commands to control this behaviour whereas the other apps are just intelligent and work the way one thinks. Result? completely ruins the waveform editing experience IMO.. It's hard to explain so one would need to demo it to see if they agree.

Soundforge for windows? I imagine it's amazing and wouldn't have the issues of the mac one, although hopefully that will be fixed and $149 i will get it if it ever is. Problem is, how will i know, when the demo will likely expire long before then.

So i am curious to see what mac OS they are using and if other users are experiencing this unresponsive SF2.5 version, but as an audio editor, it's definitely one of the best ones. Just hope they fix the mac version soon!

Oh, and my favourite of all time, and probably always will be, was TC works spark. Unfortunately that company have a well known and repeating history of randomly killing off great software products. There has never been an editor since then that is so wired to the way my brain works and the plug in chainer was genius. I know many people who feel the same but even if they ever re released it, would it even be the same? I mean one minor change could ruin the whole workflow.. OR would they even keep it going? Could they be trusted?

Anyway that's my 3c.

[Breeze]

This might end up being a dumb question but under what circumstances would a stereo editor need the massive memory range of x64 for only audio plugins?

A 32-bit app can only access 2 gigs by default even in a 64-bit OS. There are tricks to expand that to maybe 4 gigs tops. Which means that if you work with larger files, the access must be disk based which can make for very slow swapping to and from disk and the wave graphic gets written to disk instead of RAM where it would be much faster.

An 8 hour 44.1 kHz 24-bit file is about 7.1 gigs in size.
A 1 hour 6-channel 5.1 surround file at 48 kHz 24-bits is about 2.9 gigs in size.

Open several of these files and try to work with them: workflow slows down and I'm often waiting for Forge to catch up (the window whitens and system tells me it's unresponsive, but it's just very busy).

I have 32 gigs of RAM on my system, so plenty of room, but SF can't use it. But more importantly, the fundamental way SF-PC deals with files, memory and possibly even graphic routines and CPU enhancements, are clearly not up to speed.

[Breeze]

So i am curious to see what mac OS they are using and if other users are experiencing this unresponsive SF2.5 version, but as an audio editor, it's definitely one of the best ones. Just hope they fix the mac version soon!

I hope for you they do. BTW, one you haven't mentioned for the Mac is Audiofile Engineering's Triumph. The workflow is somewhat quirky and unconventional, using a layers-based system. Not the SF workflow at all.

[Breeze]

Speaking of coincidences: I started up SF11 tonight and it surprised me because the first thing it did is start a scan of the correct plugin folder! It actually crashed a couple of times but kept adding plugins every time and it actually completed a scan. It's almost like someone reached into my computer and flipped a switch. Very strange, but it's now working.

Based on that, I tried and retried to get Vegas to do the same, on 64-bit plugins this time, and it eventually completed the scan too. So now both programs have scanned the folders successfully and the plugins are working. Try and try again? Didn't I do that originally? Again, weird. But at least now I can start bitching and griping about something else...

[ObsoleteAcc99]

So i am curious to see what mac OS they are using and if other users are experiencing this unresponsive SF2.5 version, but as an audio editor, it's definitely one of the best ones. Just hope they fix the mac version soon!

I hope for you they do. BTW, one you haven't mentioned for the Mac is Audiofile Engineering's Triumph. The workflow is somewhat quirky and unconventional, using a layers-based system. Not the SF workflow at all.

I didn't mention it cause i can't stand it (the workflow). There are a lot I haven't mentioned, my list was by no means even remotely exhaustive. I can sort of put up with their previous offering wave editor but never really use it these days.

[LawrenceF]

This might end up being a dumb question but under what circumstances would a stereo editor need the massive memory range of x64 for only audio plugins?

A 32-bit app can only access 2 gigs by default even in a 64-bit OS. There are tricks to expand that to maybe 4 gigs tops. Which means that if you work with larger files, the access must be disk based which can make for very slow swapping to and from disk and the wave graphic gets written to disk instead of RAM where it would be much faster.

32-bit apps on a 64-bit OS uses almost 4gb by default, no tricks required. But sure, if you're editing 8 hour files I suppose you'd need more RAM. Not sure how many people actually do that but it makes sense I guess.

Thanks.

[Jace-BeOS]

And as for the authorization coincidence, well, things like that often seem to happen at the wrong time mainly because there's never a good time for them to happen.

Very true. Which is why no legitimate concern for legitimate paying customers should allow such a failure. If these people don't comprehend how many times Windows users have to reinstall their systems, they shouldn't be marketing Windows software. I don't even reload as often as the average geek (because it pisses me the hell off to have to manage Windows that way and I put up with the perpetually growing festering mess of the Windows registry far longer than people who use their computers as an end of its own, and this was the first time I've reloaded in YEARS).

[mholloway]

I use Audition, and love it.... I tried everything else (except wavelab, too pricey and I don't really trust Steinberg stuff on a mac), and anyway I really disliked everything else. SoundForge really pales in the feature department compared to Audition, and the workflow isn't nearly as smooth, either. You really don't get much for the full price of SoundForge. DSP Quattro also lacked the workflow and functionality I needed. I used to use WaveEditor which was always mediocre at best, then that bizarro new thing it became was a complete joke to me.

Simple little things make all the difference with Audition: for instance, you can select a part of a waveform, then with one click (right click / command click) have the option to "save selection as a new audio file." That's huge when I'm sampling large movie files / other files, and want to quickly, easily extract bits from all over the place.

The file management in Audition is also just light years beyond SF, in my experience anyway.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

I use Audition, and love it.... I tried everything else (except wavelab, too pricey and I don't really trust Steinberg stuff on a mac), and anyway I really disliked everything else. SoundForge really pales in the feature department compared to Audition, and the workflow isn't nearly as smooth, either. You really don't get much for the full price of SoundForge. DSP Quattro also lacked the workflow and functionality I needed. I used to use WaveEditor which was always mediocre at best, then that bizarro new thing it became was a complete joke to me.

Simple little things make all the difference with Audition: for instance, you can select a part of a waveform, then with one click (right click / command click) have the option to "save selection as a new audio file." That's huge when I'm sampling large movie files / other files, and want to quickly, easily extract bits from all over the place.

The file management in Audition is also just light years beyond SF, in my experience anyway.

twisted wave does that with selection too with command/e
It's as fast as audition but only a 2 track, no multi track at all, unlike audition.

You are right, i just tested the latest SF, how weird you can't export/save as the selection!

Wavelab on mac is stable now according to the last demo I tried.. that's the one i overall lust for but maybe next Xmas, who knows.

Were you lucky and got the pre subscribe version of audition or do you really pay $240 a year for it? Is there any point where you can continue to use it without paying subscription (say like the new PT, WUP, or Sonar schemes) or do you only get to use it as long as you pay?


One thing I did notice about it which i must correct from my previous assessment, is that the cloud has an option to disable start at login, and no adobe services start up with the machine, only when i start up audition, and when i quit it all seem to remove except one which doesn't seem to use any cpu at all, so that's not an issue after all, but the money is. If i was a pro mastering engineer with a dedicated mastering business, sure, i'd consider it, but they have made it inaccessible to normal folk like me, and they even removed their AUD pricing recently, it now goes to the USD.. very disappointing.

[VitaminD]

Wavosaur (on PC) has a similar Look and Feel of SoundForge and is free if you are looking for basic Wav editing (even handles VST plugins). 32 and 64 bit builds.

http://www.wavosaur.com/

[Andywanders]

You are right, i just tested the latest SF, how weird you can't export/save as the selection!.

I know you're a Mac guy, but on Windoze...

Right click -> Copy

Right click on empty area -> Paste to New

Then save the new file.

I know it's not the same as one click, export/save as, but it's doing the same thing basically.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

Wavosaur (on PC) has a similar Look and Feel of SoundForge and is free if you are looking for basic Wav editing (even handles VST plugins). 32 and 64 bit builds.

http://www.wavosaur.com/

The problem I find with the free ones is that the SRC algorithm isn't good, you seem to have to pay to get a good one.

On mac the story is different as even the most basic editor that is not using it's own algorithm for SRC is using apple's own, and in the latest Mac OSes it's more or less flawless, built right in

If SRC conversion isn't needed, Wavosaur is fine. BTW the wavosaur band limited is the best of it's modes, and is acceptable. The others are absolutely not according to the results here:

http://src.infinitewave.ca

[ObsoleteAcc99]

I know it's OT a bit, but i just gotta say, I am *BLOWN AWAY* by just how incredible the latest version of Audition is. I mean this is the first time I am actually considering a subscription model software for the first time in my life...

It's just SO comprehensive - and maybe it's just how my brain is wired like it was for Logic and Reason, but I just simply can work out everything myself.. even though i was initially put off by all the options. The different areas of docking, the incredibly detailed statistics.. but most importantly the way the looping and selection and scrolling works.. that's what makes an editor's workflow for me or breaks it. With adobe if you select during playback, a selection that is outside the loop you are playing, it will jump to that, but if you select an extension of the current loop start or end it will continue playing instead of restarting like the other editors do.. so that way you can precisely edit loop points bit by bit much easier (imo). Double click *anywhere* to replace SPL start position when stopped or single click in ruler whilst playing.. it's just so logical and ergonomic.

My only gripe so far is that there is no "output noise only" options for the de clicker and adaptive denoiser. This is a great put off to me but if it has PDC i could work around it by doing it in a multi track and inverting phase to see exactly what I am removing. Will check that out.

Anyway, downloading WL 8.5 demo to put these head to head right now as now's the time.. sound forge is totally out of the running in it's current incarnation, i even discovered another bug today. The media browser FFS only appears properly on first open, after you have imported a file and edited it the browser is completely blank.. will not let you browse your drives. How can they miss stuff like this? Audition also seems to have some built in spectra stuff whereas with SF you'd also need spectralayers.

[chk071]

Sorry to dig up this old thread, but... i gave Soundforge Audio Studio a go today, i got version 12 with a Magix bundle on a nice Humble Bundle offer, and, i must say that i'm quite impressed by it. I use Wavelab Elements for quite a while now, and, i'm sure i can do anything i do in it in Soundforge Audio Studio as well, and then some. Actually, it seems to be quite similar, especially the marker management reminds me quite a bit of the one in Wavelab.

So, if you can get this for a good price, maybe like me in the Humble Bundle, i can only recommend. I rarely need a audio editor, but, if i do, i really appreciate a better interface and feature set than the one in Audacity... plus, it has to be 64-bit to be able to use 64-bit VST's. Ok, Soundforge's GUI maybe feels a bit dated, but, that's about the only niggle i could really say i have with it... and, that's a small one.

[Infinite5ths]

I just recently jumped ship after years (~15?) of Sound Forge Windows & Mac use. Magix is updating too little & infrequently, barely communicating with users, and charging way too much, especially for upgrades that included almost nothing new. I found a much better priced, supported, and performing option in Acon Digital Acoustica, and will not regret waiting for news or help or updates.

My experiences with Vegas back when Sony owned it were not amazing. I doubt they would have improved under Magix ownership. Fortunately, I moved to Mac and Final Cut Pro X for video work -- years ago.

If I were looking for a PC compatible NLE, I would pony up the money for an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Provided their subscription back-end works properly (it doesn't always do that...), it will solve your video & audio editing needs, on either Mac or PC, with photo editing and other tools as a bonus.

I'm not crazy about the subscription model; but I hate expensive tools that don't work, aren't supported, and never get updated.