Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 8

Other products by Sony

Product Features

• Everything needed to produce professional-quality audio on your home computer
• Record, edit, and restore audio; create streaming media; convert audio files
• Apply studio-quality audio effects such as EQ, delay, chorus, reverb, and more
• Burn CDs; 1,001 Sound Effects; import/edit music from CDs and MP3s
• Show Me How tutorials provide interactive, step-by-step help while you work

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AOZ7KO
• Item model number: SFAS8000
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 3, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,020 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Product Description

Sound Forge Audio Studio software is everything you need to produce professional-quality audio on your home computer. Record just about anything, edit and restore audio, burn your own CDs, create streaming media, and convert audio files — all using simple commands such as cut, copy, and paste. Apply studio-quality audio effects such as EQ, delay, chorus, reverb, and more. Liven up recordings with the included 1,001 Sound Effects. Import and edit your own music from CDs and MP3s. Eliminate clicks, pops, and other noise. Exclusive Show Me How tutorials provide interactive, step-by-step help while you work. Perfect for podcast creation!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice piece of software, January 16, 2006

By	Jason Cisarano (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not an audio expert by any means, but Sound Forge impressed me with its power and simplicity. I needed to clean up and edit a few audio tracks for use in Flash, and Sound Forge did the job no problem. I was able to cut and paste parts of my tracks, adjust output levels, and save them so that they were ready for my other application. There are plenty of other features that I didn't try out (e.g. special effects and various tools to improve the quality of your tracks).

I'm using the 30 day free trial version (which is full-featured but time-limited), but when I'm ready to buy, this will be the one.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, December 30, 2006

By	Gregor Wollmann (Blacksburg, Va USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an absolute beginner with sound recording and sound editing. However, judging from the various reviews, this program seemed easy enough to use. I bought it to help with
- restoration of digitized vinyl and tape recordings
- simple instrument and voice recordings and mixing
- editing of video sound tracks.

Initially I found the manual very frustrating and confusing. The manual covers both the full version of Sound Forge and Sound Forge Audio Studio, which is a souped down version of the former. They try to clearly identify which features are/are not available in Audio Studio, but they do not succed entirely. For example, the scrubbing tool (a tool to slow down playback for editing) is not marked as being exlusive to the full version, yet it is nowhere to be found in Audio Studio.

Another unpleasant surprise was the lack of an MPEG decoder. This is needed to edit the sound track of mpg video files. On the box it is stated that such files could be opened and saved, but when trying to do so, you are directed to Sony's web site where they offer the decoder for sale for close to $30.00. Only after that did I find the tiny note on the box (1/25 in. letter size, faded white on red background) advising that an extra purchase would be required.

If you are new to sound recording and editing, there is a bit of a learning curve to understanding what all the tools do. The manual is focused on the mechanics of the program user interface, but provides very little background information. It also took some effort to get the right sound recording equipment together: I purchased a nice microphone (Shure SM57)for $80, but then found out that the sound could not be sufficiently amplified when the microphone was plugged directly into the computer (it took a couple of trips to get all the right plugs together, too). So I tried running the microphone through my son's electric guitar amplifyer and from there into the computer and that works great.

Having overcome these initial hurdles, I now find that this program is a lot of fun and quite easy to use. Sound tracks and snippets of sound tracks can be simply cut or copied, moved around and pasted, and unwanted audio is easily trimmed off. Special effects (for example echo, reverb, etc.) can be easily pre-audited and adjusted while auditing. I particularly like the audio restoration tool. It is supposed to remove clicks and noise from digitized vinyl recordings and it really works.

Except for the deceptive advertising and the confusing manual, this is a great product.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Won't work with Windows Vista, March 12, 2007

By	Louis Castaing (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I really can't rate the operation of this program because I couldn't load it. I now run Windows Vista and couldn't get it to load on two different computers running Vista. I went to Sony's site and found out that Sony will not support the program under any other operating system but XP and 2000. I even tried using the compatibility mode but that did not work either. So don't make the mistake I did and assume that it will work under Vista.