Hi guys,

I'm looking for a program to edit existing sounds. For now I really only need it to do envelopes, EQ, reverb, and maybe some other filters. I won't be using it for music.

I was thinking Sony Sound Forge or Steinberg Wavelab. Are those good choices ? What do the pros use to create/modify their sound effects ?

Thanks.

What is you budget and use case?

For the cheap end I can recommend Reaper.fm + some free VST plugins that you can find on the web.

Wavosaur and Audacity are pretty standard free ones under windows.

I prefer wavosaur (audacity never really "felt" right to me for some reason) but they are both pretty functional

There's a lot of capable choices, so your decision will come down to what you'll be most comfortable working with. You can take a look at the two programs you mentioned and download a demo to get a feel for how they work, I personally use Adobe Audition for a lot of my sound editing.

As a free alternative, the already mentioned Audacity would be a good option to look into and it might even be just enough to match your current needs.

Hi guys, thanks for helping.

I have a decent budget, enough to buy one top-end program (under $1,000 that is)

I guess what I'm looking for is a DAW with the best audio editing functionality, since that will be the primary reason I'll be using it.

I'd like to be able to specify parameters in an exact manner; for example, when making an envelope I'd like to set the exact time and amplitude numerically, not just visually. I also don't want anything to do with video or 3D being in the program, I'll be using it exclusively for sounds.

What do you think ?

I'm going to download some demos tonight.

If you're looking for a DAW to use primarily for sound editing with precise parameter control, I'd recommend taking a close look at Adobe Audition. From what you described it looks like it could be perfect for you.

[indent=3]Sounds like FL Studio might do just what you need. Some time ago I used Wavelab too and all sorts of, not anymore - simply no need to. On top of what FL's main purpose is, you can do every sound manipulation imaginable on even tiniest, nanoscopic slices of your file - if you want to go anal. And let's not forget VSTi

[indent=3]If current Wavelab, SoundForge etc. has some preset, which allows you do to something absolutely epic (in your opinion) with one click, something which only Wavelab allows you to do at the expense of one click - go for it. Otherwise - waste of time and money.

Hi guys,

Thanks to Tim Aza I decided to go with Audition for editing, it's pretty much exactly what I need for now.

I've also been playing around with FL Studio for sound creation and it's a real time sink.

Thanks again.