Should I get Bias Peak for audio editing/sampling or...?

[rids]

I wanted to get a software sampler and thought about getting Live, but then I looked into Bias Peak and that looks great. It has sample editing (although I'm not sure if it's actually a sampler) along with mastering and bunch other really cool things that allow you to produce nice quality cds. Peak 6 is coming out really soon, so I have a month or so until I get this or another program.

Wavelab doesn't look as good as this, although it seems like a decent program.

Anyone know of some really good software editing programs? (I'm just looking to look at what kind of software programs will enhance my music the most and allow me flexibility to deal with audio (& samples) in a intuitive way.)

I'm trying to find the audio tools (most probably software) to compose and edit audio and samples. The tricky thing is, Bias Peak seems to recognize only audio and wav, not akai. So that puts me in a situation to where either I would have to just do without being able to use akai samples for now, until I get enough money for the M3M, or just choose another software audio program altogether.

I do like the idea of Bias Peak and the M3M, as they would compliment each other.

I'm wondering if Peak is good for slicing up loops also?

I'm currently using Logic 7 on a Macbook with no other software programs other than Albino.

[DJDJ]

what you are talking about here is an *audio editor*. Soft samplers would be HaLion, Kontakt, EXS24 (logic's sampler), etc etc etc....

As far as mac goes, peak is one of the most commonly used and often agreed to be one of the best. It's a great editor. You may want to look at something less than the full version if all you are doing is chopping up audio files. It may be more editor than you need if you get the full version.....

So, yeah peak is great. My favorite, though, only exists on PC. Sony's Soundforge is by far, the most intuitive, fast, well thought out audio editor I've ever used. Can't recommend it enough. If you really wanted to used it on a mac, you could buy crossover, which runs windows apps in OS X without having to boot up windows. Then get soundforge, and you can run it on your mac.


these are the two options I see being most interesting to my tastes, but I've gotta admit that peak does everything I need it to do, just not as easily or quickly as soundforge. Yes, peak will slice up loops as long as they are audo. If they are rex's, it won't.

here's a few more to investigate:

Audacity, sound studio, rogue audio's fission, & wave editor

As far as Akai files go, the exs24, which is included with logic, reads akai files.
So does NI's kontakt.

if you are really attached to the idea of getting the M3M, then get it. However, I think it would be an advantage to you to just get deep with logic's sampler the EXS24. It's really efficient on CPU, really easy to use, and very stable as it's native to logic and mac. Why spend more money than you need to? I think if you take the time, logic should be more than enough for you in the sampling realm.

one warning tho: the EXS24 is a joy to use, but can be difficult to make your own instruments on. A lot of people seem to dislike it's instrumetn editor, so you may want to research this--

http://www.redmatica.com/Redmatica/Keymap.html

which makes building new instruments for the exs24 a breeze.


hope this helps a bit.

[rids]

There's a lot of audio editor programs out there, seems like, and they all seem pretty good, so it's hard to choose. Do you know anything about Audiofile Engineering's Wave Editor? It says on their site, that they've taken over where Peak and SD 2 have left off.

http://audiofile-engineering.com/wave_editor.php

Iced Audio Audiofinder looks like a pretty straight-forward program that does a decent job. Also, I could do a dual boot on the Macbook and use Soundforge. Seems like Soundforge is the editor of choice.

Keymap makes sense, because I'm using Logic and EXS, so it would make EXS easier to use, which is a big plus.

Would you suggest getting the editor that I 'Feel' most attracted to (the layout) and like the appearance of? Do you think that makes a difference in how one connects to a program and it's intuitivity?

[DJDJ]

I would sugguest getting the editor that suites your workstyle and has an interface that is easy for you to understand. Looks are important, but even more so is ease of use and power of features. Don't just buy what "feels" right, buy what makes the most sense to you... But why go guessing when you can download the demos and figure out which one you like most????

I think peak is the best out of the native to mac options. However, that's just my personal preference. I tried out wave editor, and didn't like it's interface. I find it slower, cluttered and less intuitive to use than peak. That being said, I didn't spend a lot of time getting to know it.


IF you go soundforge, run it via crossover:

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

this way, you don't need to dual boot. It just runs in OS X


As far as Audiofinder goes, I *LOVE* this program, but it's not really a full fledged audio editor. I think you'd find that you'll be limited trying to do any intermediate to advanced audio editing in it. It's really designed to be a file organizer, and for that purpose, it's great. But as far as audio editing goes, it's not really a good option.


I really think the best thing to do in your case is to demo these and find the one you like best. Buy it, and learn it well. The way I see it, an audio editor should be something that you can use and flow with quickly so that any editing you're doing doesn't take a lot of time or energy away form being creative.

try these out to start:


http://www.bias-inc.com/downloads/freeTrials/

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

http://audiofile-engineering.com/wave_editor.php


remember that though it's not the best, there's a built in audio editor in Logic too!

you could always spend the money on other cool gear and get to know logic's editor well. That being said, I'm pretty sure that the options we talked about here are more in depth and potentially easier to use than logic's audio editor......

[rids]

I'm going to try some of these out. Although after going through and reading some of the details of these programs, I like AudioFinder's layout. ExsManager might make more sense than AudioFinder, but I like AudioFinder's layout. ExsManager seems like it would save HDs space since it can detect duplicates of sounds on your HD and it seems to clean up your sound files and organize them nicely. Will AudioFinder do these things also?

I'm going to try out Bias Peak and Keymap. Keymap seems like a must since EXS24 has been hard to understand for me. Keymap looks like it makes things simpler, so I might get this program.

I've very keen on AudioFinder for file management and quick editing all on one screen program.

I read about iDrum and think I'll probably get that too for $69. I've been wanting something like this.

I'll probably end up with 4 new program: iDrum, AudioFinder, Keymap, and Peak. At least that's what I'm thinking right now from looking at how what these can do and how I like to work.

Too bad I can't demo Soundforge on Mac

BTW, I've always been doing things on hardware. My first software was Logic 6 and now I have 7 still as my only software program. But I've realized I need and really want to get into more software programs. And those I listed above make me excited because they look like that's exactly what I want. Not sure about Keymap and Peak until I try those.

[DJDJ]

All solid choices. Demo 'em and see what you like.

Audiofinder is addictngly fabulous. Peak is a cornerstone of my studio. Couldn't work so fast without it. Keymap I haven't tried, but only heard great things about.

iDrum, haven't tried either. I use ultrabeat, and it works well for me.

Enjoy your new software!!!