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"Sound Forge is Awesome for Music Producers "
Irfan K. - Broadcast EngineerJuly 3, 2021
STARTING PRICE
$60
per feature
EASE OF USE
4.4/5
Based on Capterra user reviews
SOUND FORGE is a professional audio editing platform with powerful editing tools, ultra-fast processing, and an innovative workflow.
Provider
MAGIX Computer Products International
Located In
Germany
Foundation
2003
Open API
Unverified
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based, On-Premise Windows, On-Premise Linux
Training
Videos
Support
Knowledge Base
Content Source: SOUND FORGE
Green rating bars show the winning product based on the average rating and number of reviews.
SOUND FORGE Reviews
Pros
I've been working with Sound Forge for about 15 years, I keep my profession as an audio editor thanks to Sound Forge. I can do my work with great efficiency and quality.
It has a great library of audio effect. Overall, it has a great value for money.
It supports VST plugins that is a strong point. I have done a lot of my early radio projects on Sound Forge and I thank the company for its great support.
I work in a commercial radio station and I'm confident to say that Sound Forge has been a great help over the years.
Cons
Compatibility between old versions and new versions was sometimes frustrating.
Its noise gate technology tends to distort the recording rather than filter out the noise.
There's another thing that I kinda hate about Sound Forge and that's the speed to load large files. It lags and takes a lot of time to process.
Can be somewhat difficult to set up to record audio that is playing back on your PC.
"Sound Forge is Awesome for Music Producers "
Overall: Overall, it's good for audio editing. It has simple controls and easy to learn. It supports VST plugins that is a strong point. I have done a lot of my early radio projects on Sound Forge and I thank the company for its great support.
Pros: I like Sound Forge for its powerful editing tools. It is simply a top-notch software when it comes to audio recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. I work in a commercial radio station and I'm confident to say that Sound Forge has been a great help over the years. It has enabled us to maintain crystal-clear audio quality and improved audio production. Multitrack recording, batch conversion, high-quality audio, many different file formats support and hotkey functions are my favorites.
Cons: It doesn't a lot of options for noise reduction. I work with noisy voiceovers associated with a lot of outdoor noise and sometimes studio ambiance. It doesn't clean up the Vos to a level that other competitors like Adobe Audition can do. There's another thing that I kinda hate about Sound Forge and that's the speed to load large files. It lags and takes a lot of time to process.
"Well kitted and ever improving. "
Overall: SF is very complete in many ways as there are many tools sufficiently provided to handle any audio editing task.
Pros: I have been using Sound Forge for a while and it keeps on getting better and better with the newer versions/upgrades. Currently I am using SF Pro 16 and many aspects have been improved with added features. One of the recent feature that has been very instrumental in my working with SF is the Vocal Activity Detection (VAD) which uses AI to detect human vocals in an audio file and applies a red color on the audio wave where vocals are detected. This enables me to enhance vocals in many ways by either applying effects or changing vocal dynamics without necessarily having to alter the background music or ambience. I have found this feature quite helpful especially in editing interview podcasts etc.
Cons: There is a lot of small icons in the data windows and general software which gives the feel of clutter and can easily dissuade someone from engaging SF especially in the learning stages. However, the inbuilt interactive tutorials make editing easy.
"Review of Sound Forge"
Overall: Overall, Sound Forge is a good piece of software but I found it lacking in comparison with Audacity.
Pros: Sound Forge is quite easy to use, even for the first-time user. It is quite feature rich and even amateurs can use its features quite easily.
Cons: Its noise-reduction / noise-cancellation feature falls far short of ideal. Its noise gate technology tends to distort the recording rather than filter out the noise.
"Inexpensive Audio Power House"
Overall: I integrate Sound Forge into all of my DAWs as my audio editor of choice, for times when there is a need to directly edit the sound file in a track on a project I'm working with.
Pros: Sound Forge continues to be one of the most effective audio tools in my toolbox, and newer editions of the software have added a video track as well, all for under $50.
Cons: The only issue I experience with Sound Forge is my fault - I have collected probably close to 2000 audio plugins, from synths to sound effects. All audio software has to scan the computer for available plugins and this takes forever. The only way to prevent this interminable wait at start-up is for me to move all but the essential plugins I predict I will need into a standby directory. I wish audio software offered me a way to choose which plugins to load on the start up screen but none of them do this.
"SOUND FORGE: A Classic Audio Editor"
Overall: I started using SOUND FORGE in the 90s, and it was almost the only game in town. It was fun and easy to use, and I would always recommend it to beginners, especially. But it's fully capable of pro audio editing!
Pros: SOUND FORGE was practically an industry standard in the late-90s and 2000's, and with good reason. The clean, simple interface made it easy to learn how to edit audio, apply effects, and master mixes; all in a light package.
Cons: SOUND FORGE was strictly a PC app until recently, and even then, Mac support has been spurious, and the company has been sold twice since the 00's. I eventually switched to Steinberg Wavelab, as it offers a main mix bus, plus hundreds of more advanced features for professional mastering.
