From TNPC issue #4.05...

A Sound Investment - Cool Edit Plug-ins

by Al Gordon
March 8, 2001

When Syntrillium Software released the latest incarnation of its workhorse sound editor, CoolEdit 2000 (TNPC #3.02) I was pleased by its much needed updates, such as MP3 support, and was intrigued by its provision for future add-on modules to enhance its capabilities further. In the ensuing months, Syntrillium has rolled out a line up of modules, and it is time for another look.

Cool Edit 2000 itself was upgraded to v1.1, which did some bug fixing and added one or two new features, the main one being real-time previewing of effects you add to your sound files before they are applied. Since audio processing is system- resource intensive, this is a definite time saver. The upgrade is free to registered CE2K users, as are a DirectX Plug-In and Tremolo Plug-In. The former lets DirectX sound effects work with the program; the latter is a sample effect.

The key items on the plug-in list are Pro EQ, Audio Cleanup, and Studio; an equalizer, a noise removal utility, and a multi-track studio editor respectively.

Pro-EQ is a no-brainer addition. It allows 10, 20, or 30 band editing to make the finickiest audiophile happy. In keeping with CE2K practice, the equalizer has more than a dozen presets and users can create their own. Particularly with MP3 encoding, the sound quality of a recording can deteriorate and the equalizer can boost lacking bass and so on.

Audio Cleanup is an effective solution for analog sound files. It takes the "clicks" and "pops" out of LPs (for those of you old enough to remember them) and the hiss out of tapes. Take your cassettes, connect your player to your PC sound card and record digitally with CE2K, then run Audio Cleanup and get cleaner tunes. There also is a clipped audio feature for fixing recordings when you had the gain up too high.

Studio provides four-channel mixing capabilities. It isn't going to allow you to start up your own record label (Syntrillium's $400 Cool Edit Pro does that), but it would let you massage a demo tape for your garage band. More important, it lets you assemble a sophisticated soundtrack for presentations or videos. Voiceover on one track, background music on another, sound effects on a third, whatever on the fourth... timed, transitioned, and volume controlled to your satisfaction.

The Tweakin' Toys and Phat Pack plug-ins are packages of sound effects, which like all such efforts are somewhat a matter of taste. But they do a good job of providing things such as concert hall reverb or synthetic stereo from mono sources.

The downside of the plug-ins is cost: $49 each. That makes buying all five a $250 investment, made all the pricier by the fact that CE2K itself is only $69. There is a $98 CoolEdit plus Studio plug-in package. Syntrillium should think about some twofer, threefer, etc. offers.

Check out Cool Edit and its plug-ins here:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/405/tr.cgi?al3

You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com

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