Breaking
Police authorities in Belize City are investigating a fatal late-night drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 21-year-old Jaheem SanchezMissing Holland Woman Brittany Ritter Found Deceased in IndianaFranklin Small Business Owner Charity Lynn Maloy Passes AwayBonifay Resident Cortney Nicole Reddick Passes Away at Age 35; Celebration of Life Service ScheduledCommunity members, choir singers, and faith leaders across Southern California are mourning the tragic passing of 33-year-old musician and educator Braden PontoliIndependent Investigation Launched Following Death of Duncan Police Officer Vincent SchenckFresno Rider Gregory Hansen Dies Following Collision With Bicycle-Pulled CartBrother Charged With Murder After GBI Identifies Remains of Missing Dougherty County TeenagerPolice authorities in Belize City are investigating a fatal late-night drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 21-year-old Jaheem SanchezMissing Holland Woman Brittany Ritter Found Deceased in IndianaFranklin Small Business Owner Charity Lynn Maloy Passes AwayBonifay Resident Cortney Nicole Reddick Passes Away at Age 35; Celebration of Life Service ScheduledCommunity members, choir singers, and faith leaders across Southern California are mourning the tragic passing of 33-year-old musician and educator Braden PontoliIndependent Investigation Launched Following Death of Duncan Police Officer Vincent SchenckFresno Rider Gregory Hansen Dies Following Collision With Bicycle-Pulled CartBrother Charged With Murder After GBI Identifies Remains of Missing Dougherty County Teenager
GRC
Sign in
Technology

Audacity 4 is a complete revamp of the ‘world’s most popular’ audio editor

Audacity 4 has been in the works for some time, and had its own mini controversy last year when an unfortunate redesigned logo started making the rounds. The final version of the new icon isn't nearly as bad as the early rendition that was circulating last October. But more importantly, all the promised improvements to

6d ago 2 min 0
WhatsAppX Facebook
Audacity 4 is a complete revamp of the ‘world’s most popular’ audio editor

Terrence O'Brien

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

Audacity 4 has been in the works for some time, and had its own mini controversy last year when an unfortunate redesigned logo started making the rounds. The final version of the new icon isn’t nearly as bad as the early rendition that was circulating last October. But more importantly, all the promised improvements to the self-proclaimed “world’s most popular audio editing and recording app” are here, turning Audacity from a free and capable but extremely clunky audio editor into a powerful modern tool.

The biggest change is the move to a non-destructive editing workflow. That means you can trim a clip down, then recover the audio simply by dragging the edge of the clip back out if you change your mind. Clips can now overlap too, which means you can still paste in audio even if there isn’t enough space and adjust after, or just freely drag audio around the timeline. Previously, if you tried to drag a clip past another one in the timeline, it would just stop dead in its tracks. You’d instead have to cut and paste it to move it past any existing audio.

You can also split clips now to easily chop up and rearrange audio. The developers refreshed clip envelopes and the built-in effects, and added a home screen with revamped project organization. Audacity also got a dramatic facelift that brings it more in line with Muse’s other products like Muse Score and Audio.com, complete with customizable themes.

While Audacity has been a staple of many people’s toolkits since it debuted way back in 2000, it’s stayed stubbornly consistent in its design and layout as new features have been bolted on, sometimes clumsily. This big refresh to Audacity 4 brings it much closer to a modern digital audio workstation (DAW).

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

Terrence O'Brien

Original source