Aviary launched an online audio editing application called Myna today, and it's all kinds of awesome. Don't get me wrong, it's not exactly Pro Tools or Adobe Audition and it doesn't come with all the audio effects you would expect from those applications. But here's what it does and does well: It lets you create and edit multitrack audio recordings using a Flash-based web interface that's so natural to use you would swear it was a desktop application.

When you first load Myna you can either upload audio files from your computer or record audio tracks up to a minute using your computer's sound card and/or microphone. You can also import clips from a library that Aviary provides.

The editor itself is very easy to use for anyone who has spent time using virtually any audio editing software, from Audacity to Garage Band to Pro Tools. You just drag your tracks from the clip library or imported tracks area to the timeline and drag and drop them into place. One thing that did take me a few moments to figure out was that in order to split a track you need to click the "selection" tool from the toolbar on the right side of the screen, highlight a section of the audio file, and then click the Edit menu to split a track. This means it's tough to create a truly precise split point.

You can trim tracks just by grabbing the beginning or end point and dragging. And you can zoom in and out either by hitting the zoom buttons int he toolbar or by grabbing the edge of the slider above the audio timeline. You can also add fades, pans, or other automation points by clicking the "auto" button on any track. There are also a handful of effects including Reverb, Flanger, and EQ effects.

I haven't tried using Myna to mix down music yet, but my background in audio production is as a radio news journalist. And I can say without a doubt that Myna provides about 90% of the tools I would need to file a story on the go if I didn't have access to a computer with audio editing software installed. Of course, it does take longer to upload audio tracks to Myna for editing than it would to edit them on the desktop, but once a track is uploaded, you can import it into other projects in the future.

Myna has been in the works since Aviary acquired DigiMix in March. You can check out an overview video of Myna in action after the break.

[via CNet]

I really wish the folks behind open source, cross-platform audio editing utility Audacity would take the beta label off the Audacity 1.3 branch. It's so much better than the last stable release, Audacity 1.2.6 it's not even funny. But it's still considered beta software because it's still under construction and doesn't come with complete documentation or translation into languages besides English.

This week the team released Audacity 1.3.8 beta. Some of the new features include faster equalization and noise removal tools. There's also a new "mixer board" view with per-track volume meters. And mute, solo, gain, and track height information is now saved when you save a project. You can find more changes in the release notes.

Reaper is a powerful multitrack digital audio editor for Windows and OS X. And it's dirt cheap compared to comparable apps like Pro Tools or Adobe Audition. While a full license will set you back $225, you can purchase a discounted license for just $60 if you're buying it for personal or non-profit use.

The company's also cool with you're paying for a discounted license if you're a for-profit, but you make less than $20,000 a year. Oh, and there's absolutely zero difference in a fully licensed copy of Reaper and a version with a discounted license. There's also a 30 day free evaluation period, after which you're hit with a nag message every time you launch Reaper.

Last week the team released Reaper 3.0. If you've been following the app's progress, you shouldn't be surprised by any of the new features. It seems like there's a new point release every week or two. But here are some of the major changes and improvements since Reaper 2.5.x:

• Improved memory use
• Native graphics rendering engine
• Automation lanes
• Multiple tabbed projects
• Improved MP3 seek accuracy
• Nested track folders
• Multichannel (greater than stereo) media support, including MOGG
• FX parameter controls on track and mixer control panels
• Customizable toolbar icons and actions

[via Making Music]

Aviary offers a suite of web-based image editing tools. Most of the basic features are free, while Aviary charges a subscription fee for full-featured Pro accounts.

If Aviary is something of a web-based version of PhotoShop, DigiMix is a web-based Pro Tools alternative. The web application is a multitrack digital audio workstation in a browser. Digimix is build on Adobe Flex and Flash technology, and supports editing up to 15 tracks with real-time mixing.

DigiMix launched a public alpha last year, but the service is currently unavailable to the public.

Today Aviary announced that it has acquired DigiMix and plans to incorporate the audio editor into its suite of applications. It's not clear at the moment how long it will be until we see a public version of DigiMix, or whether the service will be free, subscription based. My guess is that Aviary will use the same sort of freemium model it offers for its other tools, providing some features for free and charging power users a monthly fee.

In the meantime, you can check out a demo video of DigiMix after the jump.

MeTeoR is a multi-track digital audio workstation (DAW) designed for Windows Mobile. It has all the basic features you'd expect from a full-fledged desktop DAW like Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, or Reaper. But it runs on Windows Mobile.

That means it's not going to be quite as fast or efficient at applying effects or mixing down large projects as the big guys. But here's a little secret. While most people use their cellphones and PDAs to do things like make phone calls and track appointments, many modern phones have more processing power than a computer from 10 years ago. And there's been decent digital audio editing software for PCs for much longer than 10 years. Now when somebody shows me a good digital video editing package for Windows Mobile I'll be surprised.

MeTeoR has a multi-track recorder plus windows for editing wave forms, mixing audio levels and pan settings, and importing audio. You can also add several effects including reverb and EQ effects. The full program costs $29.95, but there's a free trial available.

The program works with Windows Mobile 2003 and newer devices. A 400MHz or faster processor is recommended.

[via Create Digital Music]

The Audacity team has released another update to their popular cross-platform, open source digital audio editing application. The Audacity 1.3.x beta line features a ton of options that aren't available in the 1.2.x stable versions. For example, it's much easier to move sound files from one track to another or to split and manipulate audio tracks.

Audacity 1.3.4 beta features a ton of small, but important updates, including:

• A new welcome screen
• Enhanced Windows Shell integration, meaning you should be able to access Audacity from Windows dialogs like "open with."
• New keyboard commands and shortcuts
• The solo track button actually does what you'd expect and mutes all other tracks
• Metadata editor added for OGG, FLAC, and WAV/AIFF exports

Audacity 1.3.4 beta is available for Windows and Linux. The most current version of Audacity for OS X is still 1.3.3 beta.

The folks behind the digital audio editing application Reaper just don't seem to know when to stop. We just noticed that the digital audio workstation got bumped up to version 2.0, and by the time we went to download it Reaper 2.002 was out.

Sometimes it seems like there's an update every time we blink. And unfortunately, there's no automated updater, so you have to download and install a new version every time you upgrade.

That said, Reaper 2.0 looks sweet. There's a new default theme which is pretty sexy, but there are also a ton of tweaks under the hood. Here are a few highlights:

• New pitch and time-stretch modes
• New extended mixer views
• New pitch-shifter plugin
• New automation options
• Improved plug-in compatibility
• Performance enhancements and bug tweaks galore

You can download an evaluation copy of Reaper and use it for free for 30 days. After that point, a message pops up every time you load it asking you to register, but the program remains completely functional. A full commercial license will set you back $225, but if you plan to use the software for non-commercial use, you can buy a license for $50.

[via Making Music]