Audiophiles Guild

SynthFont

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:41:07 GMT

A great tool for converting MIDIs to WAVs. You can even listen to the MIDI-converted-to-Audio-Data form before saving it as a WAV file. I first heard about it while reading the manual for the Adventure Construction Kit 3.2 by Chris Hopkins. Infact, I used to use the Adventure Construction Kit (2.2 for the longest time) before ever joining BYOND. My first use of that program was around 2000.

Anyhow, enjoy this great program:
http://www.synthfont.com/

Note: Can also be saved to some of the other file types like the supported OGG type. :D

Gold Audio Suite

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:08:04 GMT

Gold Audio Suite is free only for today at giveawayoftheday.com

"Gold Audio Suite is a mighty and handy application to match all you requires with audio data. It can record audio from microphone, internet radio, CD and any sound you can hear from your computer, besides converting audio files between popular audio formats based on your need with best quality. This unique digital audio editing software is intuitive, full-featured and flexible."

Features:

Record any sound passing through your sound card, such as sound from internet streaming, CD, cassette, mic, etc.
Convert audio files into the format you need with detailed adjustment.
Easily editing audio files and add effects with few clicks.
Fast video to audio extraction with high output quality.
Audio CDs ripping gets the music you like onto your hard disk.
Burning audio CDs has never been so easy â€“ even for a newbie.

Terms and Conditions Please note that the software you download and install during the Giveaway period comes with the following important limitations:

No free technical support
No free upgrades to future versions
Strictly personal usage

THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITATION, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWABLE BY LAW, END USER ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

WavePad Sound Editor (Free Version)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:11:54 GMT

Another tool that I just learned about recently for "professional audio editing" is the WavePad Sound Editor. It comes in two versions, the free version, which I'm sharing here, and the Masters version, which has a few extra features. I haven't used the software much yet, but it seems to support a lot of the same features as Gold Wave Editor Pro (posted previously, but not free), including text-to-speed functions. Don't know how it compares with Audacity, so if you're familiar with these kinds of programs you can leave a comment on how they compare.

From here out, I'll just quote what the web sites says about WavePad and its list of features.

This sound editing software is a full featured professional audio editor for Windows, Mac OS X or Pocket PC. It lets you record, 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.

We make this program free with the hope you will like it so much you will be tempted to upgrade to WavePad Master's Edition. The Master's Edition has additional effects and features and is a comprehensive audio editing software application for serious sound engineers.

Features:

Sound editing functions include cut, copy, paste, delete, insert, silence, autotrim and more.

Audio effects include, amplify, normalize, equaliser, envelope, reverb, echo, reverse, sample rate conversion and more.

Full featured Mp3 editing software support.

Supports a number of other file formats including wav (multiple codecs) vox, gsm, real audio, au, aif, flac, ogg and many more.

Batch processing supports up to 32000 files allowing you to apply effects and/or convert your files as a single function.

Tools include spectral analysis (FFT) and speech synthesis (text-to-speech).

Recorder supports autotrim and voice activated recording and more.

Audio restoration features including noise reduction and click pop removal.

Supports sample rates from 6000 to 96000Hz, stereo or mono, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits.

Includes its own CD ripper with 'ultrafast 'rip mode and cddb music database lookup.

Works directly with MixPad multi-track audio mixing software.

Links directly to the Express Burn CD Recorder to burn your sound files to CD.

Edit tracks for the Zulu DJ software.

Easy to use interface will get you started editing in just minutes.

Gold Wave Editor Pro, Free for Today (Expired)

Sat, 23 May 2009 12:49:20 GMT

THIS IS EXPIRED. SORRY, YOU MISSED IT.

Gold Wave Editor Pro is free only for today at Giveaway of the Day.

"Gold Wave Editor Pro is an ideal solution for audio editing and mastering. The program contains everything you need to create great sounding recordings and audio CDs, including professional tools for recording, analysis and editing. The Gold Wave Editor Pro user interface was designed with speed, accuracy and ease of use in mind."

Features:

Included all the great features of Gold Wave Editor - and much more - with Gold Wave Editor Pro!
Tools include Audio File Merger. Easy-to-use tool to merge audio files in one large file.
Tools include Audio CD Ripper. Copies music tracks from audio CD's and saves them as Ogg Vorbis, WAV and MP3 files. Free CDDB Supported.
Tools include Audio CD Burner/Eraser. Create audio CDs from MP3 collection or WAV files.
Change WMA metadata/WMA tags. Simple-to-use tag editor that allows you to change tagged information about your WMA music files.
More professional. Gold Wave Editor Pro is designed to be a very easy and intuitive to use audio editing package. Within minutes you will be able to open or record a file and edit it. But if you take time to explore the other features you will find many powerful tools designed with the professional sound engineer in mind.

I mention this because I've been using a demo of Gold Wave for years to work with sound effects. I'm sure there are better sound tools out there, but if you don't have anything else, this is a great tool to use (especially for free!).

I'd also like to mention that if you install it today, you can reinstall it any time in the future by downloading the standard Gold Wave Editor Pro installation files, installing those, then copying the Gold Wave Editor Pro directory from the Giveaway of the Day install on top of it. Finally, use the registration keys provided by GotD to register it again.

Please note that the software you download and install during the Giveaway period comes with the following important limitations:

No free technical support

No free upgrades to future versions

Strictly non-commercial usage

Reformat The Planet

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:10:47 GMT

For one week only, Reformat The Planet, a documentary on the chiptune scene, will be available in streaming video on Pitchfork.tv. I'm not sure when the week started so watch it now if you're interested.

From the site:

It started with sequencing 8-bit chipsets on Nintendo Game Boys, but the Chiptune scene has now expanded well beyond game systems. Directed by Paul Owens, Reformat the Planet is the essential introduction to this awesome new genre, and proves it's more than just a blip.

http://pitchfork.tv/week/reformat-the-planet/

sfxr -- You need this

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:57:02 GMT

sfxr is a small utility designed to generate sounds as easily as possible, and it is extreemly good at it's job. Need some sounds for your game? Click a couple buttons and within 30sec you'll have more explosions than the game will ever need. Need samples for use in a mod file? Play with the sliders for 3min and you'll roughly have the instrument you were looking for. Really, I can't think of anything to say to properly hype sfxr; you need it, download it.

More info here: sfxr home page

Samples:
get_item.wav
lasers.wav
no_clue.wav
step_in_snow.wav
sword_swipe2.wav
sword_swipe.wav

Mod Tracking Tutorial: Part 1

Sun, 11 May 2008 16:37:39 GMT

Ahoy again! The next section of our Mod Tracking tutorial is now available. In part 1 I go over how to use the basic features of Mad Tracker, such as the instrument editor, the metrics editor, module modes, and (finally!) placing notes. Have no clue what any of that is? Don't worry, it's all explained for the absolute beginner (like me).

Mod Tracking Tutorial: Part 1

Though the tutorial uses Mad Tracker throughout it's examples, the other programs I've used have similar enough interfaces, so most should carry over.

Mod Tracking Tutorial: Introduction

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:27:12 GMT

Ahoy! If this is the first time you've visited the Audiophiles guild, allow me to introduce our community. Whether you're talking music or sound effects, we're hear to make Audio as simple to make, and as present on BYOND, as either programming or graphics.

How do we get BYOND-user made music in our games? Mod Tracking is part of the answer.

Mod Tracker Tutorial: Introduction

Want more? Join up for notifications on future tutorials and resources, or to ask your questions on the forum.

Instrument Waveforms, and Audacity

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:09:35 GMT

I downloaded Audacity about a month ago, but wasn't able to do much with it because of my lack of experience in audio. However, I was recently looking through some samples, seeking a good pipe organ, and didn't see exactly what I wanted, but found some things close to what I wanted.

What happened next was a break through for me. I accidentally opened the sample (one note) in audacity, and was able to view the wave form for that one note. Using the "generate tone" command to generate a second or so of square waves, I then was able to use the "envelope" tool to make a wave form that was a compromise between several of the samples I had found.

With that success, I've turned to making samples like those you might find on the NES or other pre-32bit era consoles. First, I find a .wav sample I like (of a violin, for instance) and examine the wave form. Then, I generate either a square wave or a "triangle" wave, and then use the envelope editing tool to reproduce that wave form.

I've had a lot of success with this technique, and as soon as I get some time I'll post some images. In the meantime, try downloading Audacity and examining various instrument samples that can be downloaded for free.

Tracking Software Chosen

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:31:21 GMT

A temporary ModTracker has been chosen for the guild to use in any tutorials or other materials (in other words, if I post a tutorial, it'll be aimed at how to use that tracker to produce a mod file). Please respond on the forums (members only for now).

Anyone interested in learning how to make mod files should download the software. If you're feeling adventurous, you can attempt to make your own files right off the bat using whatever info you can find online. For those who don't want to waste hours digging around random forums, I'll be providing a very basic tutorial sometime in the next week.