WavePad Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

Below you will find a compilation of some the audio effects and sound editing basics for the WavePad audio editor that you will want to know and test out for yourself as you delve into the world of audio editing. Another great way for those new to audio editing to get started is by watching the WavePad sound editor intro video tutorials so you can see the audio editor in action.

Split and Cut Audio Files

You can split a file at any point you choose by simply clicking the Split button on the Edit tab. This will create two audio files split at the point you had the cursor. Be careful when you use this function, the action cannot be undone. Additional audio splitting options include splitting at bookmarks, splitting at silences and similar Trim options that delete sections instead of creating new audio files.

Amplify Audio Volume

To make audio sound louder, instead of simply turning the volume control up you want to amplify the file. You will find Amplify on the Effects tab, which will open a window where you can either adjust the amplification using the slider or by selecting a preset level from the drop down menu. Selecting 200% will double the volume, 50% will cut the volume in half.

Equalize Audio

Amplifying affects the full spectrum of the audio in a file, but if you want to increase or decrease certain frequencies, for example, boosting all of the lower bass frequencies, then you want to use the Equalizer. The Equalizer is also on the Effects tab and opens a graph of the frequencies going from low to high frequencies as you move left to right. This gives you very finite control of the frequency ranges you want to control. Moving a point up will make the frequency stronger and moving a point down will make it weaker.

Normalize Audio

Normalizing an audio file is similar to amplifying, except that normalizing increases the sound of the loudest peak to the maximum level without causing clipping in digital audio. This is frequently used as a last step before saving a final version of an edited song or recording. To normalize an audio file, you will find Normalize on the Effects tab.

Fade In and Out of Audio

Fading in and out of an audio file will help acclimate the ear to the background noise of a file. To fade in, select a region at the beginning of your file, then select "Fade in" under Fade on the Effects tab. Similarly you can select "Fade out" with a region at the end of your file selected. A good tip is to fade in quicker than you fade out because the ear expects to hear the initial audio quickly, but abrupt transitions to silence at the end can be jilting.

Remove Background Noise

Since not every audio recording is made in a sound studio environment, you often get unwanted background noise in recordings. To remove background noise you want to take advantage of the Cleanup options on the Effects tab. Specifically, under Noise Reduction try using Audio Spectral Subtraction and then Multi-band noise gating. If the presets don't give the results you want, try using lower levels on these reductions until you find a combination that leaves only audio you want to keep.

Remove Vocals

You will find an option to Reduce Vocals under the Voice button on the Effects tab. This will open a dialog box that allows you to change the pan position and width, the vocal level, and preserve the bass. Generally the default settings will work the best, but different songs may require different settings to effectively reduce or eliminate the vocal frequencies, so if you don't get the results you want, try adjust these settings until you are satisfied with the result.

Layer Audio & Voiceovers

WavePad won't allow you to record directly over another file; highlighting a file and clicking record will replace the selection. Depending on how much mixing you want to do, you may want to consider moving to MixPad audio mixing software, but for some basic audio mixing within WavePad you want to use the Paste Mix feature. Copy the audio you want to add to your file to the clipboard, then select all in the file you want to add it to, then select Paste Mix on the Edit tab. This will open a window with options on what to do if your files are not the same length. When you click OK the two pieces of audio will be combined.

Sound Effect Library

Find audio clips and sound effects to add to your audio projects in the NCH Sound Effect Library. Open the Sound Library from the Tools tab. This opens a new window where you can preview and download sound effects and royalty-free music clips.

Audio Effect Plugins

In the Windows version of WavePad you can add DirectX and VST plugin effects to further expand your audio editing capabilities. Find the options to add and use VST and DirectX plugins on the Effects Tab. VST Plugins will open their own interface where you can adjust the settings, while you will need to go into the settings when selecting a DirectX plugin for the effect to be applied when you click OK. Get started with this list of free VST plugins you can download and use with WavePad.

FFT Sound Analysis

All of the audio editing features outlined above are all easy to put into action, but don't let that fool you into thinking that WavePad doesn't have a lot of power under the hood. One of the more advanced areas you can explore are the powerful audio analysis tools for examining the spectral content of audio. Learn about the FFT and TFFT audio analysis graphs and what they represent to start to get your feet wet. These tools can be used in many fields, including linguistics and mathematics, in addition to sound engineering.


If you have any other tips, favorite features or advice of your own, please comment and share them below.

New Free Personal Finance Software

If you have multiple bank accounts and credit cards keeping track of all your spending can be difficult. Your money may be spread out, but that doesn't mean understanding of your personal finances needs to be disjointed.

MoneyLine personal finance software isd a brand new and free way for you to track all your bank accounts and spending in one, centralized location. Now tracking your finances couldn't be easier. With MoneyLine you can download statements and transaction details directly from your bank(s), reconcile accounts—or digitally balance your checkbook, log money transfers, and categorize purchases to help you stay organized and see where your money is going.

You work hard for your money, so make sure you know where that hard earned cash is going. Make managing your spending and balancing your checkbook less of a chore. Give MoneyLine a test drive and be sure let us know what you think and if there is anything else we can do with future releases to make managing your personal finances easier.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival April 2, 2013

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Shaun Farley presents Creative Uses of Reverb posted at Designing Sound, saying, "Reverb is used to create realism and adding appropriate reverb will instantly help dialogue fit better into a scene. However, reverb can also be used in many other creative ways, here is a small collection of examples."

Denise Young presents 10 Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument posted at Au Pair Care, saying, "There are many benefits to playing a musical instrument that go beyond improving hand-eye coordination and instilling a sense of responsibility in your child."

Ken Theriot presents EQ Basics posted at Home Brew Audio, saying, "Equalization&emdash;or EQ&emdash;is a big part of mixing and mastering music, but for those new to audio engineering it may be difficult to grasp. Here are some of the basics for using EQ effectively."

stayonbeat presents Free VSTs for Music Producers and Artists posted at stayonbeat.com.

Lee Pritchard presents Why you should remove breaths from voice over audio posted at Media Music Now, saying, "The problem is that once audio is produced with compression and EQ the breaths will actually become more prominent, making de-breathing essential."

Michelle Brown presents 10 iPhone Apps for Music Maniacs posted at Nanny, saying, "Apple and the app developers for the iPhone App Store are bringing instruments and equipment right to your mobile device, allowing you to use them anywhere and at any time."

Sydney Bell presents 10 of the Best Mash Ups posted at Longhorn Leads, saying, "Mash-ups are the combination of two songs sites like YouTube have boosted the art to mind-boggling popularity."

Peter Kirn presents Makey Makey + Fruits and Vegetables = Music posted at Create Digital Music, saying, "Simple circuits have long been able to make use of sensors in real-world items, but the Make Makey interfacing has made those circuits silly-simple. The project grew out of research at MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten. Here see Massive Attack's Teardrop, as covered by artist j.viewz on fruits and veggies using the Make Makey system."


You might also be interested in:

• Using EQ to Boost the Bass in Audio
• Several Ways to Quickly trim and Cut Music and Audio Files
• FFT Spectrum Audio Analysis Software
• Mixing Audio Voice Overs With Other Audio
• Add DirectX and VST Audio Effect Plugins to WavePad

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. If you have an audio story to share or advice, tips or tricks to share, we hope you will submit your audio posts and articles to the next edition.

Software Easter Eggs

It's the time of year when stores are lined with pastels, jelly beans and chocolates shaped like eggs and rabbits, but in the software world an "Easter Egg" isn't a colorfully dyed hard-boiled egg. A Software Easter Egg is a fun little surprise hidden inside of the software program. These features are typically un-documented, so you have to be in-the-know to uncover them.

One particularly famous example is the flight simulator that was hidden inside the 1997 version of Excel. So, in addition to crunching numbers you could brush up on your piloting skills. Find more software Easter egg examples on the Lifehaker Easter egg top 10 list.

NCH doesn't have any of these kinds of Easter eggs hidden in our programs which we have tried to streamline as much as possible to keep everything as easy and straight forward as we can, but in the spirit of hunting for—or finding—hidden features, here are some lesser known, or less used features you may want to try:

1. Resize zip files to meet email size restrictions, or split large zip files into pieces with Express Zip software.
2. Record video from anywhere with Debut video capture software. Most recording programs focus on a single source, but with Debut you have the best of all worlds with support for a multitude of video sources.
3. Send recurring invoices and statements in addition to one-off invoices Express Invoice invoicing software which can save you time with managing long term clients and accounts.
4. Practice transcription, we provide dictation practice files that can be downloaded individually for Express Scribe, or KeyBlaze typing tutor has audio dictation exercises already built in.
5. Convert videos to 3D with VideoPad video editor for some extra dimension in your home movies.
6. Broadcast DJ mixes by connecting Zulu DJ software with the streaming power of BroadWave audio streamer to share your remixes online.
7. Be sure to turn on Auto Complete in FastFox instant text expansion software to get the power of auto complete suggestions everywhere you type from emails and word documents to your web browser.

Smart Text Auto Complete Software

With FastFox instant text expander you can improve your typing speed and productivity not only with personalized keyboard shortcuts and shorthand abbreviations, but FastFox also learns what you type the most often and will make suggestions for completing phrases as you type with a popup alert in the corner of your screen. Just like the regular hotkey shortcuts, the auto complete feature will work while you type in any application, so you can select, insert and finish text phrases on the fly.

Bring the power of auto complete to all your typing with FastFox word expander software.

Audio Effect Plugins for WavePad Sound Editor

In addition to the wide range of audio editing features and effects built into WavePad Audio Editor, you can also add plugins to further expand your Audio Editing possibilities. WavePad supports both DirectX and VST plugin effects, providing access to thousands of additional audio tools and effects.

VST Plugins

VST or Virtual Studio Technology, is a standardized way of adding effects to digital audio editing programs like WavePad. To add a VST effect to WavePad choose VST on the Effects tab, which will open the VST plugins window. In this window browse to the directory on your computer where you have saved your VST plugins (note that the plugins must be DLL files). When you have a folder selected, the list of VST effects in that directory will populate the VST Plugin list, so you can use the drop down list to select your plugin. When you click OK, the VST plugin will open in WavePad and you can make any adjustments to its parameters and continue to edit the waveform, but now the audio you hear is being processed by the VST effect. To save the effect, click the Apply button on your effect which will close the effect and save the audio with the effect added.

DirectX Effects

Similar to VST, DirectX plugins are another standardized way to connect audio synthesizers and effects to audio editors. These plugins do not have their own interfaces, but pass and process the audio behind the scenes. Also, as with the VST plugins, you will find DirectX on the Effects tab, and clicking on it will open a window with a list of the DirectX plugins detected on your computer. Select the effect you want from the drop down menu and click Settings to make changes to the configuration settings, and click the OK to apply the DirectX effect to your audio.

There is a world of extra effects out there that you can use when you start exploring VST and DirectX effects. To get you started we have a list of free VST plugins available online for you to download and try with WavePad, but this is just the beginning. There are lots of other plugins available that you can use with WavePad Audio Editing Software to further enhance your audio editing projects.

Note: currently plugin support is limited to the Windows version of WavePad

Best Video Converter Software

Software Review Boffin has put Prism Video Converting Software at the top of the list when it comes to video converting. The reviewer put Prism to the test over several days noting that it worked flawlessly, and that the software is "so proficient that support will seldom be necessary."

"Prism Video Converter Software will within minutes perform, its as quick as a speeding bullet the review team at Software Review Boffin thought. Time is money and this product will not weigh you down!"
  � Software Review Boffin

Read the complete review of Prism Video Converter from Software Review Boffin, or simply download today for flawless video conversion whenever you need it.

Adding an Audio Voice Over with WavePad

If you want to record a your voice over a piece of music you have two choices in the NCH Software audio suite. MixPad recording and mixing software is the more advanced program, that will allow you to record multiple tracks, and fine tune the mixing of the music and vocal tracks, but you can also try the Paste Mix feature in WavePad audio editor for quickly combining to files.

WavePad doesn't allow you to record directly over another file, highlighting a file and clicking record will end up replacing the selection. Instead, use the Paste Mix feature to combine two audio files into a single track.

Copy the recorded voice over to the clipboard, then select all in the audio file you want to add that voice over to and click Paste Mix on the Edit Tab.This will open a window with options on what to do if your files are not the same length. If the Mix Audio�which is your voice recording on the clipboard�is the shorter of the two files, you can ignore the options and click OK. If the Mix Audio is longer, you need to decide what to do when the audio you are mixing into is finished. When you click OK the two pieces of audio will be combined and when you press Play you will hear both files.

Why Data Privacy And Security Is A Must For Businesses

Guest post by Karen Lawrence

image source

As the owner of a business, whether it is large or small, you must have at least some concerns about data security. Not taking this issue seriously could result in major consequences for you and the business as a whole. What are the reasons why data security and privacy are two major components that any business must consider?

One of the most important reasons has to do with customer interaction with the company's website. For many businesses, individuals are able to pay for services and goods over the Internet. However, as information systems specialists will tell you, this leaves their personal data open to security issues. If the website is not secure, then hackers could steal their credit card information and maybe even their identities. In the event that this happens, customers will likely be very cautious about ever using your services again. Furthermore, if you're not able to provide proof that your website is a secure place for them to add their data, they are likely not going to bother buying anything from you at all.

Now, that bit of information applies only to those businesses who sell goods and services to their customers online. What about companies that do not engage in these practices? Well, they might store sensitive information about patients or details about the company online. These systems are generally password protected, and there may even be several layers that an individual has to get through in order to access the information. Remember, hackers are professionals, and they are often able to get around these shields. Once again, information not only about the customers but also about the company as a whole, are accessed by an ill-intentioned individual.

Another issue arises when people are fired from their jobs, and they try to seek revenge on the company. If they still have the passwords and codes to enter into the website, they may get in and make a major mess of things. They might also leak secrets of the company to competitors and use the stolen information as proof of the success of such concepts.

Whatever the potential threat may be, companies and businesses need to take these issues seriously. If data privacy and security are not maintained, your customers could leave your company, and the business will have to shut down. What can you do about such intruders finding their way into your website and other information? Well, the best step to take would be to hire an IT services professional to create a suitable plan for you.

Karen Lawrence is your ultimate information systems expert. She loves to write these tech related things like tech events and IT Services in Brisbane.

Do You Think Employees Working From Home Are Productive?

What do you think about Yahoo's new position on banning working from home?

Yahoo has made headlines all week, and there has been a flurry of articles, responses and reactions to the Marissa Mayer's announcement. As CEO Mayer is implementing a policy that asks all current remote employees to come in the office or quit because of the cultural assumptions that those remote employees get less work done.

Do you agree? Do you think employees aren't as productive if they are working from home?

NCH Software actually makes a software program designed to be a bit of a compromise allowing employers to monitor hours and tasks remotely. FlexiServer employee monitoring and attendance software is meant to help give the employer peace of mind that employees are being productive. And as you can see in the reactions online, there are a lot of remote workers crying out that face-time doesn't equate with productivity.

What are your thoughts? Monitoring software may be one possible compromise, are there any others? or do you agree with Mayer that all employees need to come into the office?

Do More with Video - Blog Carnival March 4, 2013

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Video:

Jason Brubaker presents How To Avoid Filmmaking Headaches posted at Filmmaking Stuff, saying, "A filmmaker has a gazillion things to do, but it is important to make sure the legal clearance paperwork doesn't get dropped. You need to have legal clearance for everyone and everything associated with your movie."

Lance Carr presents Shooting Better Home Videos posted at The DIY Video Editor, saying, "Part one of a six part series of articles on shooting better videos."

Matthew York presents Video Is Everywhere! posted at VideoMaker, saying, "there�s some seven billion people on the planet; more than 311 million in the U.S. YouTube tells us that in 2011 it had more than one trillion views � approximately 140 views for every person on Earth."

You might also be interested in:

• Video Editing Excellence
• Making Picture in picture videos with VideoPad
• VideoPad Video Editor for Mac
• video capture software for Mac OS X
• New Video Editing Features in VideoPad version 3.00
• Record Video Screencast Tutorials
• Photo Movie Maker Software
• How to Rotate Video
• Video Surveillance for the Home

That concludes the first edition of Do More with Video. If you have a video story to share from home movies to video production submit your video blog posts for the next edition.

Simple Ways To Protect Your Online Data

Guest post by Rick Delgado

Cyber-crime is becoming a more prevalent problem every year in the United States. This is because much of what used to be performed in face to face interactions is now done online. For example, you probably did most of your holiday shopping last year while sitting down at your computer. Criminals are well aware of the type of information you are providing websites with and are taking greater efforts to access that information.

With so much risk attributed to the internet, it is essential to take necessary precautions. In addition to heavy duty network security programs, or encrypting data before emailing sensitive information, there are simple steps you can take to make sure criminals can't steal sensitive information. Consider some of the following:

Use Privacy Settings

Social media sites allow you to choose how private you want your profile to be. It is smart to only allow people you know and trust to view your social media sites. Identity thieves will often study someone's Facebook or Twitter account to help them take on your identity

Don't Use Personal Information on Social Media

In addition to making your social media private, don't put potentially sensitive information about yourself on it. Even a birthday can give a cyber-criminal clues to a password or verification question on your bank account's website. While it seems harmless, it might be a good idea to leave that information out. Your family and friends should know your birthday anyways.

Use Several Usernames and Passwords

Don't use the same password for your Facebook and bank account. Criminals use algorithms to figure out passwords. If they do happen to figure one out, they still won't be able to access information from all your accounts. Also change your passwords frequently for an added layer of protection. Don't make your passwords obvious either.

Be Cautious of Foreign Facebook Apps

Apps have the potential to access a lot of personal information. Some of these apps are specifically designed to take your information and sell it to criminals. Be cautious of which apps you buy and what country the app is from. You are likely to be safer with apps made in developed countries like the United States.

Don't Trust Public Computers

Don't use public computers, like those in libraries or internet cafes, for sensitive financial transactions. That information could be stolen through the network. If you do use public computers, make sure to log out when you leave. If you don't, people can trace your history or log into your accounts.

Lock Your Phone

People who use smart phones are more likely to have information stolen. Have a lock or password on your screen. Don't leave passwords up on important websites. You have a lot of important information travelling around with you in your pocket. If your information isn't properly secured and you lose or misplace your phone, you could be in serious trouble.

Close Old Accounts

It is always a good idea to reduce your digital footprint. For example, if you no longer use certain social media sites, delete them. The less information you have about yourself on the internet, the harder it will be for identity thieves to trace you.

Keep An Eye on Your Accounts

Once criminals access your information they will make purchases with your credit card. Review your finances frequently to make sure there aren't any unaccounted for transactions. If you do notice any, report them immediately to your bank so you don't lose any more money.

You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from hackers, identity thieves, and other cyber threats. Your virtual security is extremely important, and can keep you from becoming a victim of not so virtual crimes.


About the Author: Rick Delgado is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest advancements in technology and gadgets, and is an expert in preventing online fraud.

WavePad FFT Spectrum Audio Analysis Software

WavePad sound editor is more than just an easy audio editing program. Once you scratch the surface there are powerful audio engineering tools available for the more advance user. These tools include the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and the Time-Based Fast Fourier Transform (TFFT) which are both very useful tools to perform sound analysis on the spectral content of audio. These audio spectrum analyzer tools have applications in a number of areas, including linguistics, mathematics and sound engineering including reducing noise and vibration testing and analysis.

Audio FFT Graph

\ The FFT analyzer graph is designed to illustrate characteristics of audio at only one point in time. It takes a small sample of audio and plots the sound frequency in Hz against the audio intensity in decibels. If the audio is in stereo two lines will be plotted on the graph, otherwise just the one plot will be displayed.

Audio TFFT Graph

The TFFT graph maps the audio intensity of the frequency spectrum across time for the duration of the audio clip, representing the intensity through color. On this graph the x-axis is time and the y-axis is the frequency with the decibel intensity being mapped to the color intensity scale, with black representing -128 dB and white representing 0 dB.

Both the discrete and temporal fast fourier transform frequency analysis graphs can be created/opened from the Tools tab and both graphs will update in real time as you move to different positions in the audio file, or even as you play the audio so you can better see what is happening in the audio. So, download WavePad audio analyzer software to take a closer look at audio and learn how to analyze voice patterns and more.

VideoPad: Video Editing Excellence

We are very proud of the fact that even though VideoPad hasn't broken into the top three on TopTenReviews' list—yet—they have awarded our video editor for excellence. With each new release we strive to add more of the advanced features professionals crave, and just as importantly stay easy to use. That user-friendly quality that allows everyone to make movies is in a large part what TopTenReviews has noticed and is recognizing:

"Using VideoPad requires little effort. Before we even looked at the manual, we were able to create a video. To add transitions, effects and more, all you have to do is drag and drop them in place ... Overall, VideoPad has some excellent features. It can import files directly from many types of devices and it has 3D and green-screen capabilities. It is easy to use and has basic editing tools."
    �  TopTenReviews

If you haven't tried VideoPad video editing software yet, why not download a copy today. We think you will agree that VideoPad is both an excellent and easy video editor. Those of you who are already VideoPad users remember you can always send us suggestions on how we can make VideoPad even better. With your help those other video editors better watch out, because we plan to keep moving VideoPad forward and raising the bar on video editing excellence.

Making Fast & Accurate Transcriptions from Audio Files

Guest post by Danielle McAnn of Smartdocs

Transcription work requires close attention to detail. Every transcription should be assessed individually, as each one will depend on length, quality of recording and turnaround time. There are large companies such as Smartdocs dedicated purely to the transcription of audio files into text documents. We all know that while machine and audio transcription technology has come a long way, it is still useless compared with the keen ear and eye of a human when it comes to decoded human voices and interpreting human speech. Especially when there is more complex terminology being used as is the case in most medical and legal transcriptions. In other words, if you want a high quality, accurate transcription, you need a human to so it. That doesn't mean that you can't use technological aides to help you with professional transcription.

Tools like Express Scribe offer things like variable speed playback of both audio and video files, and transcription file management, making high quality, human transcription much much easier. And, with digital dictation software you can record and send dictation straight to someone else, whether a fellow typist or the document owner. It doesn't matter whether you are using a Mac or PC operating system, you still need a reliable audio software that you can control and manipulate with an effective user interface, because this will make the entire transcription process more efficient and more importantly, produce accurate transcribed files.

Quickly Cut Music and Audio Files

WavePad music editing and cutting software provides several easy options for cutting music and mp3 files. Whether you want to trim off silence or cut out a section to use as a ringtone or split long recording into smaller audio files, here is a look at how you can cut, trim and split sections of you mp3, music and audio files.

1. Trim
   To trim, or cut off, the beginning and end of a file, simply select the region you want to keep, then you can use the shortcut CTRL+T or, choose Trim (delete all but the current selection) from the Trim drop down menu on the Edit tab. Here you can also see other choices for trimming down an audio file, including Trim start and Trim end that will respectively delete everything from either before or after the current position.
2. Auto Trim
   If you are deleting silence from start and end of your audio you can save yourself the step of finding the start and end points and selecting a region. Instead use Auto Trim to scan the audio file and remove the beginning and ending regions that are below the Auto Trim threshold.
3. Split
   To keep the sections on both sides of the current position as individual files, instead of trimming move over to the Split drop down menu, which is also on the Edit tab.
4. Auto Split
   Just as WavePad can detect silences at the beginning and end of a song, it can also detect silences in the middle of a file. So, if you recorded a whole set you can select Split file at silences from the Split drop down to separate the recording at each silent section so you can edit and save each song individually.

Everday Text Expansion

What do you type the most? your email address? your mailing address? maybe your phone number? or your web address? Are there any words you struggle to remember how to spell causing you to slow down and correct misspellings or typos? Or maybe you frequently browse to webpages just so you can copy and paste the links to make sure you get them correct.

We are all constantly typing, from emails to forms online, and some of the things we are typing we have to type all of the time. FastFox text expansion software lets you save those words or phrases so you can not only enter them in faster, but also avoid typos. Think of it like auto complete that will work anywhere on your computer, or like a super powered clipboard that can save much more than just one snippet of text at a time. You pick your own shortcuts and what they are short for, then whenever you type the shortcut it will be automatically replaced. So, typing something like :em could be all you need to type to enter your email address, or you could just type :sig to add a signature to the end of an email, a comment you're making on a forum. Anywhere you type, if you enter one of your text shortcuts FastFox will automatically replace it with the expanded text.

The possibilities are endless, you don't need to be a typist or transcriptionist to find things that would make useful text shortcuts, just think, what do you type the most often? Once you've created shortcuts for those common items and phrases you will wonder what you ever did without them. Spend less time typing with this fast, everyday solution.

Software Sweethearts

With so much software, what's not to love?

VideoPad & Express Burn

This dynamic duo will guide you faithfully from beginning to end of any video project. Use VideoPad video editing software to capture, import, edit and add effects to your videos. Finish up by burning the video to DVD with Express Burn. Create a heartfelt video recording for your beau this Valentine's Day.

WavePad & MixPad

This pair is the audio software dream team. Use WavePad audio editor to record and edit a song first, then incorporate with other tracks with MixPad for your multi-track mixing needs. They work together seamlessly to help you create your own love song for your valentine this year.

Express Dictate & Express Scribe

If ever there was a practical match, it's this one. Express Dictate digital dictation software allows you to record dictation, and send to a transcriptionist, while Express Scribe makes transcription easy with features like variable speed playback, and file management.

Looking for the perfect match? Save by bundling related programs pairs and purchasing them together.

Boosting the Bass in Audio Files

Want to boost up the bass in your music? The Equalizer in WavePad music editing software is your answer. Open your song in WavePad and select Equalize on the Effects tab. Equalizing allows you to adjust the level of frequencies in your audio amplifying ranges of sound frequencies. So you can change the volume of just the higher or lower (bass) frequencies in a song, as opposed to simply amplifying a song which will affect all of the frequencies.

Unlike a graphic equalizer you might see in a studio, with a multitude of knobs and dials for certain frequencies, the WavePad equalizer displays a graph of the frequencies going from the low frequencies at the left to the high frequencies on the right giving you very finite control of the frequency ranges you want to control. Move a point up on the graph to make the frequency stronger and lower a point to make it weaker.

To familiarize yourself with the equalizer take advantage of the presets to get started, but don't be afraid to play around with them and to adjust their settings to see how they affect your songs. To boost the bass start with the Low Pass filter presets. If you hit play you will hear the higher frequencies drop down, giving a boosted effect to the bass. Chances are the result won't be exactly what you wanted on the first shot, but this will provide a good starting place to make further adjustments. Changes aren't applied until you actually click Apply, so you can continue to tweak the graph as needed without fear.

Other preset filters include a High Pass Filter which is the opposite of the Low Pass Filter lowering the bass instead of the higher frequencies, a Band Pass Filter to maintain the frequencies in a specified range and lower the regions above and below that section, and several more that you can experiment with on your own, or go to the help for more details on the settings of each of these presets.

Try WavePad sound editor today to boost your bass and pump up the volume of your music.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival February 4, 2013

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Matt presents Play the Rings of a Tree Trunk Like a Record posted at Make: Blog, saying, "What would the trunk of a tree sound like if a cross section of it were played like an LP?"

Mary presents Music resources for small churches posted at The Mustard Seed Journal, saying, "links to sources of instrumental music for hymn singing and more."

Mel presents Audio reporting tools of the trade: then and now posted at journomel.com: Examining where journalism is heading, saying, "a shift from using many one-use devices to one device with many applications."

Darren presents C25K Podcast Music � Make Your Own and DIY! posted at PromoGuy dot Net, saying, "How you can create your own C25K podcast and get running!"

profmaja presents Why I Put a Recording Space in My Classroom posted at Day in the Life of a Backwards Musical Mind, saying, "A space for my students to work on their rhythm projects and promote excitement towards doing their best."

Jessica Clark presents 10 iPhone Apps for Recording & Editing Audio posted at Kenney Myers, saying, "Here is a list of 10 interesting applications that I have looked into recently for recording and editing audio."

Chris presents Epic Musical Mashup posted at Mental Floss, saying, "video artist Crumbs Chief mashes up an insane number of musical dance numbers, matching them to the mashup track 'Come Again (Beatles vs Rare Earth vs Beaties vs Daft Punk vs Cypress Hill vs Boston)' by the Kleptones."

Floppy music DUO - Imperial march by Pawel Zadrozniak:



You might also be interested in:

• WavePad Sound Editor Makes a Cameo on NBC's Chicago Fire
• Speaker Recording Software for Windows and Mac
• How to Record an Audio Book
• An Audio Swiss Army Knife

That concludes this edition of Do More with Audio. If you have an audio story to share or advice, tips or tricks to share, we hope you will submit your audio posts and articles to the next edition.

Make "Picture-in-Picture" Videos with VideoPad

The picture-in-picture (PIP) effect is commonly used in videos where more than one set of images is shown simultaneously in order to tell a story or convey additional information. Picture-in-picture is frequently used as part of news clips and in instructional videos.

The PIP effect can easily be achieved using VideoPad Video Editor software (version 3.0) by adding the video clip you want to overlay as your picture-in-picture onto the timeline so that it is positioned above the video you want to serve as the background in your video.

With this clip selected in the timeline, click on the "Effects" button then choose "Motion" from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box. Use the "Scale," "Position X" and "Position Y" controls to adjust the size and placement of your clip. You will be able to see the position and size change in the preview window on the right side of the Effects dialog box.

When everything is positioned the way you want it simply close the dialog box to apply your changes. Then, when you preview your movie, you will see your re-sized and re-positioned video clip overlaid on top of the larger clip.

Creating a picture-in-picture video in VideoPad is that easy. Use the same process to position images on the screen, making it an easy way for businesses to add their logo to videos.

Software from A to Z

A: Audio Software	B: Business Software	C: Converting Software	D: Dictation Software
E: Easy Software	F: FTP Software	G: Graphics Software	H: Hardware
I: International	J: Jamming Software	K: Keep (Protect & Save)	L: Live Broadcasting
M: Mobile Software	N: New Programs	O: Optimize	P: PDF Software
Q: Quick	R: Recording Software	S: Social Sharing	T: Typing Software
U: Utility Software	V: Video Software	W: Web Access	X: eXpress
Y: YouTube Software	Z: Zip Software

New Mac VideoPad Video Editing Software

VideoPad has been praised for being an easy-to-use video editor, and is one of the most popular programs NCH Software provides, but until now it has only been available for Windows. Today however our Mac customers can rejoice that VideoPad Video Editor is now ready to start making movies on OS X too.

VideoPad joins Prism Video Converter and Debut Video Capture to make a very useful video software toolbox for Mac users. Ensuring that platform support won't get in the way of anyone's ability to record, edit, or watch videos.

Where You Download From Matters

Software download sites are a dime a dozen. As a software publisher we want our programs available on download sites to make them as easy to find as possible, but people should know that all download sites are not created equal. It has become an increasingly common trend for download sites to wrap their own extras around the products that you download. These extras could offer you other applications to try, or install toolbars to create revenue for the site.

Some software download sites have been more open about if they are including anything else with a download than others. For example CNET, one of the largest download sites, has posted information about their download.com installer which has met mixed reviews.^{(1) (2) (3)}

CNET is has been a bit more up front about what they are adding than some providers. However, as a whole this trend has caused a great deal of confusion for users. NCH offers an toolbar in our standard installers which is optional, but if a download site installs a toolbar of their own and then a user opts out of the toolbar NCH has offered there is an incorrect perception that the opt-out decision was ignored.

With Google controlling 90% of worldwide search traffic,⁽⁴⁾ they are in a position make difference and in the interest of computer users they have been updating their software principles. The changes going into effect in February are designed to address some of the problems related to toolbar, but especially with some rules only applying to advertisers it is still important for users to realize that where you get your software from matters. Going directly to the source and downloading program like WavePad audio editor and VideoPad video editor from NCH Software directly will ensure you won't get any unwanted extras from the third party download site.