ORIGINAL: DonM

ORIGINAL: ohhey

There is just too many uses for Sound Forge to even cover here... we would be typing for a week..

I just wish I could 'natively' use the mouse scroll in Sonar to zoom in/out.

-D

Yes SoundForge works like that and the tilt wheel scrolls side to side.. love it.

Sound Forge is one of the most incredible audio editing tools out there. It is as simple to use even for beginners, as it is deep and powerful for even the most demanding and critical professionals.
If I was ever forced to choose only one audio app, it would definitely be Sound Forge
It will also run perfectly on even the most modest computers, happily recording stereo (or mono) audio files, never skipping a beat until you run out of hard drive space.
That could be sooner than you think too, because Sound Forge automatically makes a “recovery” version of what’s loaded or recorded into it so you will lose nothing in the event of a crash or power failure.
Until you hit the “save” button, you will have two copies, one in memory and one in a temp audio data file folder.
I LOVE Sound Forge for anything from recording live music like band practices, to using it’s “Remote Record” function which is great for making quick and easy real-time recordings of Sonar multi track sessions where DXi’s are running. Much quicker than bouncing them down to audio tracks for quick reference mixes, and saves lots of hard drive space.
Sound Forge 8 is now capable of supporting and recording at 32 bit and Remote Record, records exactly what you hear from your monitors.

I could write a book on the power and usefulness and power of the “Acoustic Mirror” plug in alone, the poor man’s convolution reverb.
Convolution Reverb plug ins typically cost 2x to 3x more than a full version of Sound Forge, Acoustic Mirror is only one of the many useful plug ins included for sound editing and mastering, it hooks up to and shares all but the most specialized proprietary 3rd party plug ins in both DX and VST.
Not only does Sony offer a massive library 100’s of free “impulses” of room sounds for Acoustic Mirror anywhere from bathrooms, train stations, to state of the art concert halls, they have a very comprehensive collection of microphone impulses ranging from vintage to modern hybrids that can realistically turn an inexpensive Shure SM 57 into a KSM- 32 large diaphragm condenser or even the sound of a Telefunkin U-47 with incredible accuracy.
They also offer a wide range of very unnatural sound impulses like analog synthesizer sounds that can be applied to audio files as an effects plug in, such as a vintage Roland Juno 106 mixed and applied to the human voice, a MUST have for sound shapers.
And as an added bonus, you can even record and create your own impulses of your favorite room sounds to create and expand on reverbs, guitar amp simulations, to the radical like food processor or skill saw impulses.

Other very cool functions and goodies exclusive to Sound Forge 8.

1. Wave Hammer; mastering grade compressor/limiter/expander
2. Extensive support for reading and saving audio and video formats, which can all be customized and saved as user definable presets.
3. Version 8 is now capable of converting animated .gif files and .swr (flash movies) into standard video formats to be used in video editing apps. i.e. Sony Vegas, Pinnacle Liquid, Adobe Premier, etc.
4. Intergraded batch converter; can run in the background and be set to task to convert and render multiple formatting and cross platforming tasks at once.
5. CD Architect 5.2; Red Book CD authoring for dummies. It’ll actually warn you ahead of time before burning if and what mistakes you have made.
This is by no means a “lite” version of professional CD authoring software. In fact it is more powerful than the stand alone version of CD-A 5.0 I bought a few years back, as it now supports CD text editing.
It makes perfect Red Book spec CD image files for glass mastering, and perfect Red Book spec CDR’s you can burn yourself that sound exactly the way YOU authored them to. (Which may or may not be a good thing, hee, hee.) Most artists aren’t very good at mastering their own work.

I am a Sonar/SoundForge user as well.

SoundForge is great for all of the reasons listed above and more.

I didn't see it mentioned, but the Batch Convertor (which you used to have to pay for) is now free in SF. You can process as many audio files as you need to (add volume changes, effects, and even change formats like mp3 to quicktime, etc...) all at once.

If you are delivering products for the web it saves a ton of time. Imagine taking 3 or 4 album projects and delivering mp3, quicktime and wma files of each track in minutes!

CD Archetect is great. The NoiseReduction plug is also nice. There is now full VST support in SF (HELLO CAKEWALK!).

A lot of what you do in SF you can do in Sonar (and some of it you can't) but there are some tasks that are just so much easier in SF then they are in Sonar. If you edit clips for samples, etc... it will save you tons of time.

Someone compared Sonar to an ADAT and SF as a DAT and I think that's a pretty realistic comparision.

When mastering a track, I find SF's interface to be much easier to work with becasue it's built for working on a two track mix.

Also check out Steinberg's WAVELAB

Another longtime SONAR/Sound Forge user here, as well. I was quite pleased to find out that I could preview SONAR's 64-bit(IEEE Float) stereo wave file renders, directly from the Explorer view, in SF and then simply drag & drop them straight into the SF workspace, as 64-bit files. Where you can do further analysis & editing. You can also bit-convert to & from 64-bit.

I too have been using sonar and sound forge together for years. There's just so many things sound forge does that are way beyond the editing capabilities of sonar.

I really think that this is why Adobe bought out Cool Edit Pro, so that they could have a program that could do multitracking in one window, editing in a window, and create CD's in a window....all in one program. they figure they can capture the users of Sonar & SoundForge together. But, having used Audition 1.5........they fall far far short of reaching that goal.

I will continue to consider Sonar 5 and Sound Forge 8 with CD Archetecture to be the 3 programs I can't do without in my studio. Even if I have to keep buying them seperately.

Wow, thanks Bill, that's goods new to me because I haven't upgraded to Sonar 5 PE yet. I have too many collaboration projects going on, and have always been busy and reluctant to install new apps until a patch or two have been released.
Nobody issues backwards compatible apps, so until all my jam buds catch up or I get a can't refuse deal to upgrade, I may skip over a version or two.
I also have and used the Waves Diamond Bundle plug in suite with a full version of the IR-1 convolution reverb, so the only real usable advantage to Sonar 5 PE would be the Roland V Vocal plug in.
I'm still dragging my feet building a 64 bit computer because there isn't a stable 64 bit OS, I have my eye on an A-Bit AMD duel core MOBO combo which was just reduced to around $500, so I'm starting to cave in.
Windows 2000 Pro can be configured to run duel core CPU's as two seperate 32 bit CPU's on one MOBO, which is quite interesting all in itself being able to process with both core sides perculating away at over 2 g/hz.
I really am quite happy with the sonic over kill of a 32 bit sound engine.
Sometimes I think I'm the only one left who is still happy with a great mix at 16/44.1 CD sound quality.
Not always impressed with ultra high bit sound quality, I am ultimately impressed with good sounding low bit streams for Internet content. I don’t believe anything compares to Sound Forge for that task.
Please check out this example, a very dial up friendly 48 k/bs stream http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=528434&t=4882
This sounds shockingly close to the original .wav and is a VERY skinny little .wma.
In all fairness I feel it is also important to note that the Waves Q-10 Paragraphic 10 band mastering EQ was also used. With a bit more work and TLC, this sound Q can be achieved with Sound Forge’s plug ins, the Q-10 is my favorite.


I was using Wavelab for quite a while for video surround sound mixing and editing and found it to be very good at multi channel tasks though a tad less powerful and cumbersome than Sound Forge for editing standard mono and stereo files.
This is mainly because Sound Forge uses a standard Windows interface, and Wavelab does not which creates a higher learning curve all in itself.
However, that is the only complaint I have with Wavelab, which is indeed an excellent app. well worth trying.
The only reasons I no longer use it are I also use Sony Vegas 6 + DVD Architect which has unlimited video and audio track support, and combined Sonar 4 PE’s support for surround sound mixing, Wavelab just takes up hard drive space.

Interesting to note, at the same time when Sony bought Sonic Foundry, their multi media nemesis Pinnacle appropriated Steinberg.
Shortly after between my jump from Sonic Foundry Vegas 4 to Sony Vegas 6, I lost support for direct input my PCI Pinnacle capture card. It refuses to hook up.
Not a very big deal just a strange coincidence. Vegas is an excellent and very powerful video mixing and editing app and typically not used for capturing.
I really love the support and integration Cakewalk and Sony software have for and with each other, and ultimately delighted that Sonar supports Edirol and Roland as much as to create the TSS-1.
I’ve always used Roland and had studied and learned Midi sequencing on the Roland MC-500 in the mid 80’s, and still have and use it today on occasion.

Which brings to mind another favorite unmentioned use for Sound Forge. “MIDI SYNC”!
Hard to believe I forgot to mention that. Not only is that the quickest and easiest way to turn Midi tracks into ACIDâ„¢ audio loops, you have full hands on control over CC parameter and PG if you like as Sound Forge records your Midi tracks into sample accurate audio tracks based on the tempo of the MIDI time clock. It does SEMPTE too..
Making ACID™ Loops doesn’t get any easier than that, not even with ACID Pro.


Here is a comparison test for anyone interested http://www.computervideo.net/nov04-5.html slightly out dated between the current Wavelab 5 and older Sound Forge 7, but still informative.

I too use sonar and sound forge. mix in sonar. master in sound forge. The statistics tool in sound forge has made mastering fast and enjoyable. RMS all the way. I've used sound forge to clean up old sample files that were ridden with glitches, pops, clicks, magnetic interference by redrawing parts of the waveform that contain errors. I used to do this with the DT-100 drawing tablet with stylus pen on my Roland S-50 back in the late 80s so having a drawing tool for such occasions is cool and nostalgic all at the same time.

I know from the MPC in your profile and other threads that you do hip hop.

NOTHING is faster for ripping a song off a CD and slicing out the samples than SoundForge. And there are 'batch convert' features which are enormously useful, too.

Do any of you use Scott Garrigus's book Sound Forge 8 Power? I just bought it to look through before I actually buy the program. Is it a good reference/instructional tool for SF?

ORIGINAL: kb420
Do any of you use Scott Garrigus's book Sound Forge 8 Power? I just bought it to look through before I actually buy the program. Is it a good reference/instructional tool for SF?

I bought his Sound Forge 5 Power book, back in 2001, when I first purchased SF 5.0. It was very helpful for me when I first starting using Sound Forge. I am not familiar with his latest SF8 though. When I later upgraded to SF7, I bought a (2) DVD disk set, with (4) hours of video tutorial's, by Jeffery Fisher. I actually got more out of it than the SF Power book. For me, I like being able to see and hear how something is done than just reading about it. I seem to retain it better. Anyway, they are blowing them out, at a reduced price, since SF8 came out. But all of the material, even though it is geared toward SF7 is relevant to SF8.

Sound Forge: Professional Power Tools for Editing Audio