Sound Forge getting old

[iain_m]

There was a mystery update patch recently. I say 'mystery' because it included no release notes, on either the website or with the installer program, but it definitely updated the version number. Very professional.

Unfortunately a bad bug with CD arrange mode that I reported a year ago - and which Sony support were able to reproduce - is still present after applying the update.

Given the lack of development, I wouldn't be too surprised if SF were rolled into Vegas sometime...

[sam c]

Is there really much of a need anymore?

[iain_m]

For updates - or for sound forge in the first place?

Well, IMO it still has the best batch processing capabilities of any audio editor, and also an interface that hugely surpasses Wavelab in terms of clarity and usability.

If they could improve the CD burning -- incorporating the features of CD Architect -- that would be a good step. But they need to get a move on in order to stay competitive, considering that CD burning has recently been put back into Audition.

YMMV, of course...

[TRJanuary]

Originally Posted by iain_m

If they could improve the CD burning -- incorporating the features of CD Architect -- that would be a good step.

Believe it or not, CDA started out as a SF add-on, not a stand alone product.
(mid 90's)
That would be funny if it came full circle and was put back into SF.

Love CDA and SF.

[ARIEL]

I still use CDA all the time - it is so fast and easy to use . I never figured out how to do the isrc codes in it though . I love and still use SF . very simple .

[iain_m]

I'd be happy with CDA if they added VST support.

Since CD burning has been added to Sound Forge, and CDA hasn't been updated for years, I'd assumed that future CD burning features will be implemented directly into SF, rather than CDA.

Making SF work more like CDA (with non-destructive effects for each track) would be an interesting move, as it would make SF object-based...

[TRJanuary]

Originally Posted by ARIEL

I still use CDA all the time - it is so fast and easy to use . I never figured out how to do the isrc codes in it though . I love and still use SF . very simple .

I do ISRC all the time, are you sure the drive you are writing to supports ISRC?

[TimOBrienFlorida]

Still running v8 and just see no reason to upgrade....

[csl]

While I think the way you can automate VST effects on individual sounds is superb, it often sounds completely different when rendered to the realtime previews. Wish this could be tightened up and made more robust (latency delay compensation could be the issue here, perhaps?). The effect chainer is also rather clunky in use, compared to Wavelab's master section, as is the VST effects menu.

But yes, it's still the fastest, most efficient PC sound editor IMO, though I still prefer Wavelab when it comes to mastering, despite the unfriendly interface in v7.

[m_gant]

I use 9 to trim & fade, add silence to beginning of tracks before mastering. I think the metering stinks & the whole plugin chainer for each wave is useful, I would love the option of a master with plugstrip. Batch converting rules for making mp3 & cd architect is beautiful.

I honestly stopped using it for final masters because slate fg-x my go to limiter loses all settings in the plugin chainer when toggling waves.

[tony smyth]

Hah.try waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for the Ableton Live next update.

[panatrope]

Originally Posted by iain_m

There was a mystery update patch recently. I say 'mystery' because it included no release notes, on either the website or with the installer program, but it definitely updated the version number. Very professional.

Unfortunately a bad bug with CD arrange mode that I reported a year ago - and which Sony support were able to reproduce - is still present after applying the update.

Given the lack of development, I wouldn't be too surprised if SF were rolled into Vegas sometime...

Thanks - missed that. Build 503, eh? Same version number? They did the same thing with SFAS - still called 10.0 but issued a new build. How strange.

(EDIT: I've just installed it - it shows as version 10.0d! No release notes for 10.0d, however. But it HAS fixed the 10.0c installation problem with the icons. One small step ...).

Sony's focus has firmly been on video since the first Vegas. SFPro 10 added multichannel to give 5.1 editing capability.

There are some things in SF I don't use. Integrated DAO CD burning has imported almost all of the CDA functions, but not the "2 files" capability that CDA 5.2 standalone had. Once you get used to the slightly different environment, it is very convenient.

SF is the best speech editor out there - the Ctrl-K is the best tool for de-umming and de-erring. Sony Noise Reduction 2.0 is very effective (though I also use RX II).

Still haven't incorporated 'event editing' into the workflow - I might get my head around it eventually, understanding what they are trying to do (the documentation is a bit sparse on that).it's interface could be improved in the next version. Likewise improve the ability to produce a stereo mixdown from a multichannel file.

Perhaps Sony think it's a 'perfect 10'. Perhaps they think the market size is too small (Windows only) to expend any further development effort. (Hope they don't go dual platform - look what happened to WaveLab with 7.)

[iain_m]

It certainly sends a strange message to their user base to wait over a year to update the program, then issue an update which apparently does nothing other than change the build number!

The event editing is a bit weird because it's half-way between region editing (within a single file that's treated as such) and proper object editing (a la Samplitude or CD Architect). If they could move more to the object approach without turning the program into a full-scale multitrack sequencer (which the world doesn't need...), that would be interesting.

[panatrope]

See my correction to the preceding post. It installs as version 10.0d - with icons back again.

What we really need is to enable event editing to provide proper 4-point editing (I do a fair bit of classical). Anybody done this?

I'm not sure where Sony's head is in relation to this product. One thing I would appreciate is better asset management, particularly .bwf metadata and its use to self-document and catalog files. (I also have done a bit of archiving work - this would be useful.)

[Lights]

As a former acid user and current sound forge user I have to say that Sony has shown no interest in the products. They have a skeleton crew working on them to milk the waning user base. But they really are focused on Vegas (which shares the same small resource pool with SF and Acid).

[The Byre]

There are free and trial downloads (Nero, Studio One, Reaper and many more, esp. for CD authoring) that do far more than SF with CD-A.

It is a clear sign for me that Sony has no real interest any more in pro-audio - and lost the plot in video editing a long time ago.

They make domestic equipment and camcorders. Their new digital film camera is stunning. But that's about it really. They are even loosing market share in TV sets. The company is in big trouble BTW and posted record losses.

[panatrope]

Now we know what the little elves in WI have been working on ... not 11, MAC!!

From the local distributor (not on the main Sony site yet):

http://newmagic.com.au/support/Files...SS_ENG_X1a.pdf

A separate product, with some improved features, as far as I can tell. So the Windows people now have to wait till they have debugged the Mac version before we got an improved version (Win and Mac together no doubt) in another two years or more ....

[Fonk]

Originally Posted by panatrope

Now we know what the little elves in WI have been working on ... not 11, MAC!!

From the local distributor (not on the main Sony site yet):

http://newmagic.com.au/support/Files...SS_ENG_X1a.pdf

A separate product, with some improved features, as far as I can tell. So the Windows people now have to wait till they have debugged the Mac version before we got an improved version (Win and Mac together no doubt) in another two years or more ....

I was just about to reply about how I just want a Mac version. (and have wanted a Mac version for years - I still use my PC occasionally for specific things that I prefer to do in Sound Forge)

And then saw your post.

Best! News! Ever!

Sony's Sound Forge Pro Mac Launching This Month for $299 - Mac Rumors

[iain_m]

Meanwhile, development and support for the Windows version seems to have ground to a halt. It takes 3 months (I'm not exaggerating!) to get a reply to support queries.

Regarding the mystery update to the Windows version of Sound Forge that I mentioned above: all it did was reduce the length of the demo period, and fixed one bug that affected AMD C-50 CPU-based systems.

That's one bug fix since January 2011. I like SF, but this doesn't inspire confidence.

[panatrope]

... and to add insult to injury, the sticker price is cheaper than the PC version!