Recording - February 2013 - 52

BY BILL STUNT

Sound Forge Pro Mac 1.0
Back at the dawn of the DAW era I was asked by the editors of this magazine to do a scan of the digital audio programs that were just starting to be released for the PC platform. I tested a dozen just-released editing systems and a few early PC-based DAWs. Very favorably reviewed in that article was Sound Forge from Sonic Foundry. Here we are, all these years later, and Sony Creative Software, who took over the Sonic Foundry line of Windows products, has just released Sound Forge Pro Mac. Sony has pulled off a neat trick in that the program, its flagship editing tool for Windows PCs, has retained its core look and feel from the PC versions while at the same time clearly defining the release as an Apple-based product. Much of the PC legacy functionality and philosophy is here as well. Sound Forge started out as an Eventbased editor, and for those who prefer this workflow, that functionality is still well implemented. The innovative and unique (at the time) Plug-in Chainer, although thoroughly upgraded and improved in this version, is still present as well. Though the program supports recording directly into the program, with up to 32 active input channels, Sound Forge Pro Mac is primarily an editor and it ships with a set of tools that clearly defines it as a goto tool for general editing, sound-file restoration and mastering. For those who prefer more waveform-based editing, Sound Forge Pro Mac offers precision tools
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RECORDING February 2013

A famous waveform editor makes the jump to OS X
for performing sample-accurate editing, with a limitless capability for crafting custom crossfades and manipulating the actual waveform itself. It also supports envelope-based processing, allowing you to precisely craft how effects and processes affect very specific regions of the sound file you are working on. Looking around Graphically Sound Forge displays a waveform in a two-pane format, the upper overview and the larger editing view just below. You can have several files open at a time and they become active in the editing view when you select them from an associated toggle above the waveform overview. You can have two active editors open at a time and you can drag and drop whole files or regions from one editor to another as you edit. Editors can be displayed horizontally or vertically, using as much of the desktop as you choose. Various windows can be displayed beside and below the editor or editors for quick access to plug-ins, meters, statistics, etc., associated with the files you are working on. These various layouts are quick to toggle through, and you’ll find yourself customizing your desktop without really even thinking about it as you work through a file or a project. Sound Forge has decent metering capability. The dual-paned meter shows both peak and VU. There is a wide degree of flexibility in both the range of the displays and the format—as recently discussed in the pages of this magazine, a VU meter can be calibrated many different ways, and Sound Forge gives you many options to display level in a format that’s appropriate for your application. Not included is a phase correlation meter or any type of frequency-overtime based displays. These are curious omissions for a program that is clearly focused on creating a final product. Handling files File management is very deftly handled. Along with a totally typical file menu, the program supports a robust built-in media browser. This normally resides at the left side of the screen, but you can hide it to make more room for your editors. You can quickly find any file in any location on your computer or network without leaving the main work area of the program. You can audition files directly from the browser and mark them as favorites for even quicker access. This is a real plus when working on a complicated project with a lot of files. To make the workflow even smoother you can save a group of files along with all the various edits and processes you’ve assigned as a project. This is a real timesaver and would be much appreciated by sound designers and mastering engineers.

Recording - February 2013

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