Why Use Audio Production Software?

Audio Production Software has existed for more than 20 years, in which time it has evolved from expensive, limited programs accessible only to big-spending producers with a great deal of hardware, to its readily-available, feature-rich form today. In that time, audio production software has enabled unsigned and unheralded producers and musicians to create, craft, record, edit and transform tracks into studio-quality songs and albums, many of which have unseated the longstanding reign held by ur-produced, professionally mixed and edited albums created in the studio.

With audio production software, producers, artists and DJs can create and compose tracks from scratch, record and edit tracks in process, remix and remaster finished tracks and even publish finished songs or entire projects to various audio file and delivery formats, as well as output them in a live, performance setting. Best of all, many audio production software program features can be controlled without the traditional external hardware and MIDI devices that have long been necessary to command such software.
 

What to Look for In Audio Production Software

Audio Production Software programs require a great deal of computing power. Simply meeting the basic system requirements is by no means an assurance that tools, features, input and output and overall program performance will function as properly or optimally as they should. That is why, to ensure the highest level of track quality and program performance, the computer specs, for both PC and Mac-based programs, should exceed the basic requirements. This is discussed in-depth in the accompanying article, "Audio Production Software and Computer Specs."

Not all audio production software programs are created equally. Some audio production and digital audio workstation software programs are suited for one style or mode of production, others are highly flexible and customizable and can be used equally well on stage or in the studio, while others are designed for use in tandem with specific or general external hardware, MIDI devices and other add-ons.

The following is the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate Audio Production Software:

Audio Production & Editing Features
It says it in the name, sure, but audio production software programs should offer a palette of tools and host of features to create, craft and build tracks from scratch. These tools and features generally include: beat and percussion sequencers, instrument and effect suites, loop generators and other features related to recording instruments recorded through a MIDI device or input through another hardware control.

For editing, audio production software programs should offer features that enable producers to view the track data, whether in waveform, grid, groove or another form of discernible visual representation. From there, producers should have tools to combine, manipulate, modify, remove, refine and replace track elements, attributes and even entire audio regions. Audio production software programs should also offer a degree of real-time functionality, allowing producers to preview the effect of additional or supplemental effects, samples, instruments and/or loops.

Input
Just as important to audio production software features and functions is what can or cannot be input into and supported by the program. Audio production software programs should be compatible with a variety of plugins, effects and patches, as well as both compressed, "lossy" audio file formats like WMA, WAV, OGG Vorbis, AIFF, RAW and AU and uncompressed, "lossless" formats like FLAC, WV and ATRAC Lossless and others.

Output
On the converse of input is output, which is equally important to audio production software programs. Programs should provide producers, musicians and DJs with a variety of publication and output options. Audio production software programs should allow producers to publish finished tracks and projects to a variety of audio file and delivery format types. This should include direct publication to the most common audio delivery format, CD, as well as "lossless" and "lossy" audio file formats. Audio production software programs should also offer direct output options to amplifiers or PA devices, as well as externalized control of the software program using a hardware controller or MIDI device.

Ease of Use
Audio production software programs are highly-advanced, technical programs that generally require a great deal of time and effort to gain familiarity and fluency. The learning curve, however, can be reduced greatly as a result of the software design and architecture. Audio production software programs should have an organized, intuitive, easy to use and easier to understand interface, a customizable, concise workflow and fluid transition between different features, suites and functions.

Help/Support
Audio production is no small feat. Whether being used simply to patch in effects and loops in a live performance or being used to create entire tracks from scratch, audio production software programs should provide a variety of resources to see the producer through every stage of production, from A to Z. This includes built-in help sections and learn-as-you-go features housed directly in the program, as well as how-to guides, tutorials, FAQ pages, knowledgbases, user forums and direct correspondence online.

In this site you will find in-depth reviews of some of the most popular and widely-used Audio Production Software programs available, including TopTenREVIEWS top-rated programs Ableton Live Reason and KORE .

At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™