Angela State

Specialist III

What is the best music editing software available?

February 11, 2012 9:21 AM PST · Flag · 14 answers

Zak K

Novice III

Audacity: Download

Audacity is one of the best free music editing tools ive ever encountered.

✔ Highest voted answer

Reply · Send thanks · posted 99 days ago · 3 people agree

Bob bossa

Enthusiast I

Depends what kind of editing you will be doing.
For electrictronic music production I would say either Abelton or FL Studio. Abelton is a pretty good suite for making music but you can also use it for studio like production as well. FL Studio looks very pretty.

For studio-like editing my personal favorite is Reaper. I find it easy to work with and all of the pluggins are open source and free. Reaper is also quite cheap but it can still stand up there with the likes of pro tools.

For free editing software I've heard that MuTools is alright.

I wouldn't suggest Pro Tools mainly because of the business model that AVID and their predessesors have been keeping for years. Basically they charge you way to much money and make it so that you can only use their software and hardware with it. This has inproved admitadly but they are still evil. Kind of like Apple. Although if you have a Mac I have heard Pro Tools works better on a Mac.

DO NOT GET SONAR!

Reply · Send thanks · posted 73 days ago

Mike c

Novice II

I've operated a home-studio for some time and it was just my niche. Like any program it requires time/practice to learn. I would suggest maybe watching a few review videos and see which one appeals to you the most.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 78 days ago

Clay Venezia

Enthusiast II

Being an electronic music producer, FL Studio 8.0 XXL Producer's Edition is just great, it is so versatile and I've made nearly every style of electronic music on it. Being a musician trained in nearly seven years of blues and metal guitar, uke, and piano, Audacity works for all my recording needs and it is available for the low, low price of free!

Reply · Send thanks · posted 78 days ago

Benjamin Lane

MicroCraft.TV

Enthusiast II

Adobe 65106991 Audition CS5.5 v.4.0 Software 883919206844

Adobe Audition CS5.5 software delivers the professional tools you need to make your video and audio productions sound their best. Handle a wide range of audio production tasks efficiently, including recording, mixing, and sound restoration. Softwa... read more...

Personally I love my adobe audition. And it was one of the cheaper options. Also pretty easy to use.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 78 days ago

Asger Dyrst

♫Eight Bit Battle Cat

Novice III

Image Line FL Studio Fruity Edition V10

Fruity Edition is geared for composers who need MIDI piano roll for complex melodies and to record/ play chords. Fruity Edition adds access to the Playlist Pattern Clips for complex and lengthy arranging/ sequencing and automation of program/ plug... read more...

My favorite is Fruity Loops. You can get a trial here:

http://www.image-line.com/downloads/flstudiodownlo...

Reply · Send thanks · posted 83 days ago

Mick Holst

none

Novice III

If you're only going to edit music, and not record or compose music. Audacity is a great, free soloution. With a lot of tutorials for it, for free on the internet.

If you want to compose or records, I would recommend Logic Studio for mac.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 85 days ago

Mike First

Novice III

If you don't need a professional one, audacity might be good enough. For professional use, I'd recommend Adobe audition.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 85 days ago

Gabe Huerta

Novice II

Ableton Live 8 Full Version Audio Software

Music Creation software, playable like an instrument. Ableton Live 8’s nonlinear, intuitive workflow, alongside powerful real-time editing and flexible performance options, make it a unique studio tool and a favorite with both studio and live perf... read more...

I don't have much experience with music editing software, but someone recommended Ableton since it was very user-friendly, and I have to agree. I had to look up a tutorial video or two, but after that I was able to get the hang of it.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 89 days ago

RORY ROSENCRANS

Novice I

I love Logic Pro and Cubase!

Reply · Send thanks · posted 94 days ago

Zake Tesera

MMOGiveback

Professional I

Adobe Soundbooth CS5 [Old Version]

Adobe Soundbooth CS5 Windows . CS5 boxed products do NOT include full printed user guides. These Doc Sets are orderable thru the License Desk or thru adobe.com. read more...

Adobe is my preferred software developer for any sort of editing- it always provides extremely high-quality products. Adobe Soundbooth had been simple and easy to use when I needed it.
SoundBooth CS5 is quite expensive, but CS4/CS3 work just as well.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 97 days ago

Ian English

Novice I

well if you dont really have a price range ableton live is your best bet. its a bit pricy and it takes some getting used to but its really worth it.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 99 days ago

D Shcmidt

Novice III

I love Cubase. Why? VSTs VSTs VSTs. They kind of invented them, and you are guaranteed to have them work. This makes the ability to have a huge amount of diversity without having a lot of analog rack effects and processors.

I will say that it takes awhile to get used to the UI and it isn't as "smooth" as the others. Very utilitarian. (I really like that though, I'm pretty old school)

Reply · Send thanks · posted 99 days ago

Mr. M.

Enthusiast III

Pro Tools 10- Professional audio recording and music creation software

Your dedication deserves the best tools available. Get everything you need to compose, record, edit, and mix-in the highest quality-with Pro Tools 10 software. Whether you work in a professional facility, home studio, or on the road, nothing giv... read more...

Gotta say Pro Tools on this one. I don't have Pro Tools 10, but I have 9 and it's awesome. You can use ANY interface with protools now! (9 and later)
I like it because I first used Garageband and it's an easy switch from Garageband to Pro Tools. They are set up similarly, Pro Tools just has way more options and is more complicated. Fantastic program though... you can do ANYTHING on it. Pros use this program.

Reply · Send thanks · posted 100 days ago

Voting Summary

1.	Audacity: Download	44% agree
2.	Image Line FL Studio Fruity Edition V10	11% agree
3.	Adobe 65106991 Audition CS5.5 v.4.0 Software 88...	11% agree
4.	Pro Tools 10- Professional audio recording and ...	11% agree
5.	Adobe Soundbooth CS5 [Old Version]	11% agree