Free audio-editing software

"Audacity The Free, Cross-Platform Sound Editor"
"Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to: Record live audio. Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files. Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together. Change the speed or pitch of a recording. And more! See the complete list of features." -

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Wavosaur - free audio editor
"Wavosaur is a free sound editor, audio editor, wav editor software for editing, processing and recording sounds, wav and mp3 files. Wavosaur has all the features to edit audio (cut, copy, paste, etc.) produce music loops, analyze, record, batch convert. Wavosaur supports VST plugins, ASIO driver, multichannel wav files, real time effect processing. The program has no installer and doesn't write in the registry. Use it as a free mp3 editor, for mastering, sound design. The Wavosaur freeware audio editor works on Windows 98, Windows XP and Windows Vista." -

http://www.wavosaur.com/

Free audio-editing software
WavePad from http://www.nch.com.au/

"Q. Is WavePad really free? Yes. We make WavePad free in the hope you will like it and buy WavePad Masters Edition in the future."

"WavePad Sound Editor Professional Audio Editing Software This audio editing software is a full featured professional sound editor for Windows or Mac. It lets you make and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction. WavePad works as a wav editor or mp3 editor but it also supports a number of other file formats including vox, gsm, real audio, au, aif, flac, ogg and more."

A free sound file format converter
Switch Sound File Conversion Software is a free utility that converts wav, mp3, ogg, flac, aac, wma, au, aiff, ogg, msv, dvf, vox, atrac, gsm, dss and other file formats into the mp3 or wav formats. A paid-for version can deal with even more formats, but the free version should meet the needs of most users. There are other sound utilities made available from the site, all of which work together to provide an impressive sound-processing suite. All versions of Windows versions are supported and the file size is only 312KB. - http://nch.com.au/switch/index.html

DeepRipper - Free powerful AudioCD ripping utility

"DeepRipper is freeware that can convert music files from AudioCDs into practically any format you'd like, including: MP3, WAV, OGG, and others. DeepRipper offers sophisticated encoding settings, but comes with ready made embedded sound quality presets. DeepRipper is a stand-alone application and doesn't need [the paid-for] DeepBurner to run." - http://www.deepburner.com/

Going back to Windows Media Player 6.5
If you dislike using Windows Media Player 9.0 as much many people do, then you can take a trip back in time to when good old version 6.5 was king. It runs all of the codecs that version 9.0 does, but doesn't use nearly as much of the system resources. Just enter mplayer2 in the Start => Run box in any version of Windows that could run version 6.5, and then browse to open a media file.

How to identify a sound card

If you need to identify the sound card installed in your computer in order to download driver updates from its manufacturer's site, open the Device Manager (if you don't know what the Device Manager is, look it up in the Windows Help files). Look under the heading Sound, video and game controllers (in both Windows XP and Windows 9x systems). The make and model of the sound card should be provided there. If you can't identify the make and model of the card from the information provided, click here! to go directly to the links of some free ID utilities.

This might be necessary, because the information provided in the Device Manager might be inadequate, the sound chip might be built into the motherboard, or, if it is in the form of an AGP or PCI adapter card, it can be difficult to identify the make and model by removing and examining it.

The Windows System Information utility in Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7
Another useful source of system information is provided by the System Information utility.

In Windows XP systems, this can be accessed via System Tools under All Programs => Accessories (Programs => Accessories in Windows 9x systems), or quickly by entering msinfo32 in the Start => Run box in Windows XP and Windows 9x systems.

In Windows Vista, to use the System Information tool, follow these steps: Click Start, type msinfo32 in the Start => Start Search box, and then click System Information in the Programs list.

In Windows 7, to run the utility, just enter msinfo32 in the Start => Search programs and files box to be presented with a clickable link called msinfo32.exe.

Sound Cards and Sound Production: The Hardware

The sound in a high-end desktop PC is usually produced by a sound card (also known as an audio card) that is installed on the computer's motherboard in an adapter slot, an example of which is shown in the image above. The sound card, in turn, is attached to other peripheral devices such as a CD/DVD drive in order to produce sound via the operating system, which uses the card's software driver and a sound player, such as the Windows Media Player (WMP), or a third-party sound player such as a Winamp, Real Player, or Apple's QuickTime.

It is also possible for the sound chip to be incorporated into the desktop or laptop/notebook PC's motherboard. If that is the case, it is called integrated sound. Most of the devices in a laptop/notebook PC are usually integrated on the motherboard, including the sound chip. However, laptop PCs are evolving into upgradable computers that have separate, removable graphics cards and processors. The hard disk drives have always been upgradable.

A sound card can be supplied to a laptop PC/computer via a PC card via a CardBus/PCMCIA slot (old technolody), or via an ExpressCard/54 slot (current technology).

External USB or FireWire sound devices, sometimes called a sound card, that plug into a USB or FireWire port on the computer, are available. They work externally to the computer in the same way as an internal sound card. You can enter the search terms usb sound cards or firewire sound cards in the Google search box at the top of this page to find examples of these sound peripheral devices.

Sound card reviews

There are UK and US several websites that provide reviews of the latest sound cards and the sound devices that provide a PC with sound, such as USB sticks. You can find those websites by entering the words sound card reviews in the Google search box provided at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled). Here is a good UK website:

Test Freaks - Sound card reviews -

http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/sound-cards/

USB stick sound cards
If you don't have a high-end sound card installed in your desktop or laptop PC, you can add a sophisticated sound capability by using a USB stick sound card from around only £17. Here are a few examples:

Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! [£40] -

"Ultra-realistic gaming audio with headphone surround. Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! brings incredible gaming audio to any computer, anywhere! Designed just like a USB stick it plugs into a PC to bring you incredible X-Fi headphone surround and maximum realism, thanks to its EAX Advanced HD support. Its 1GB memory stores the installation software and lets you save your game settings and levels. Ideal for LAN parties, it supports hundreds of titles under Windows XP and Vista - and even fits on your key ring for maximum portability! The Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! is the fast and easy upgrade to Xtreme Fidelity." - http://uk.store.creative.com/products/product.aspx?catid=1&pid=17872

Terratec Aureon Dual USB Sound Card for PC and Notebook [£17] -

Read the purchaser reviews.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terratec-Aureon-Dual-USB-Notebook/dp/B000WL23KC

Sound Blaster How-to Guide
The Sound Blaster How-to Guide provides comprehensive information on getting the best from a Sound Blaster device. It is broken down into a Gaming Mode, an Entertainment Mode and an Audio Creation Mode. -

http://www.creative.com/products/soundblaster/howto/

(For complete article go to PC Buyer Beware)

Equipment

Audio engineers in their daily work operate and make use of:

Mixing consoles
Microphones
Signal processors
Analog-to-digital converters
Tape machines
Digital audio workstations
Music sequencers
Digital-to-analog converters
Loudspeakers
Preamplifiers
Amplifiers

Education

Audio engineers come from backgrounds such as Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering or the Fine Arts, and many colleges and accredited institutions around the world offer degrees in audio engineering, such as a BS in audio production. The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was the first university in the United States to offer a four-year Bachelor of Music degree in Music Engineering Technology. In the last 25 years, some contemporary music schools have initiated audio engineering programs, usually awarding a Bachelor of Music degree to graduates. Additionally, a number of audio engineers are autodidacts with no formal training.

Different Professional Branches

There are four distinct steps to commercial production of a recording. Recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. Typically, each is performed by a sound engineer who specializes only in that part of production.

Studio engineer could be either a sound engineer working in a studio together with a producer, or a producing sound engineer working in a studio.

Recording engineer is a person who records sound.

Mixing engineer is a person who creates mixes of multi-track recordings. It is not uncommon for a commercial record to be recorded at one studio and later mixed by different engineers in other studios.

Mastering engineer Typically the person who mixes the final stereo tracks (or sometimes just a few tracks or stems) that the mix engineer produces. The mastering engineer makes any final adjustments to the overall sound of the record in the final step before commercial duplication. Mastering engineers use principles of equalization and compression to affect the coloration of the sound.

Game audio designer engineer is a person who deals with sound aspects of game development.

Live sound engineer is a person dealing with live sound reinforcement. This usually includes planning and installation of speakers, cabling and equipment and mixing sound during the show. This may or may not include running the foldback sound.

Foldback or monitor engineer is a person running foldback sound during a live event. The term "foldback" is outdated and refers to the practice of folding back audio signals from the FOH (Front of House) mixing console to the stage in order for musicians to hear themselves while performing. Monitor engineers usually have a separate audio system from the FOH engineer and manipulate audio signals independently from what the audience hears, in order to satisfy the requirements of each performer on stage. In-ear systems, digital and analog mixing consoles, and a variety of speaker enclosures are typically used by monitor engineers. In addition most monitor engineers must be familiar with wireless or RF (radio-frequency) equipment and must interface personally with the artist(s) during each performance.

Systems engineer is a person responsible for the design setup of modern PA systems which are often very complex. A systems engineer is usually also referred to as a "crew chief" on tour and is responsible for the performance and day-to-day job requirements of the audio crew as a whole along with the FOH audio system.

Audio post engineer is a person who edits and mixes audio for film and television.

Ambiguous Titles

Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music. Unlike acoustical engineering, audio engineering does not deal with noise control or acoustical design. An audio engineer is closer to the creative and technical aspects of audio rather than formal engineering. An audio engineer must be proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multitrack recorders and workstations, and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is becoming more and more important for the audio engineer to be versed in the understanding of software and hardware integration from synchronization to analog to digital transfers.

The expressions "audio engineer" and "sound engineer" are ambiguous. Such terms can refer to a person working in sound and music production, as well as to an engineer with a degree who designs professional equipment for these tasks. The latter profession often develops the tools needed for the former's work. Other languages, such as German and Italian, have different words to refer to these activities. For instance, in German, the Tontechniker (audio technician) is the one who operates the audio equipment and the Tonmeister (sound master) is a person who creates recordings or broadcasts of music who is both deeply musically trained (in 'classical' and non-classical genres) and who also has a detailed theoretical and practical knowledge of virtually all aspects of sound, whereas the Toningenieur (audio engineer) is the one who designs, builds and repairs it.

Individuals who design acoustical simulations of rooms, shaping algorithms for digital signal processing and computer music problems, perform institutional research on sound, and other advanced fields of audio engineering are most often graduates of an accredited college or university, or have passed a difficult civil qualification test.