Last edited: 04/29/08, added: Tartini: a GPL program designed as a practical music analysis tool for singers and instrumentalists
Small linklist: useful audio/acoustic/music related tools (freeware):
Tools CD/MP3/Recording/Playing/Burning/Transcoding VST/ASIO MIDI Analyzing/Testing Acoustic/music related Magix Samplitude/Sequoia RME Sound cards Other great websites
| Tools... [back]
RIFF File Viewer: shows the internal structure of WAV, DLS, SF2 and other RIFF files
WAV File Inspector: screenshot
Header Investigator: displays and changes header informations
Wav Saver: recovers data from a corrupt wav file
Interleaver: interleaves multiple mono files (screenshot)
EDLTranslate: exchanges projects between various DAWs
BWF Combiner/BWF Splitter: batch converter to interleave monophonic BWF-M files to polyphonic BWF-P files and vice versa ('buyware')
BWF Manager: analyzes BWFs and creates mono files of poly format files (screenshot)
sdTwoWav: batch converts Sound Designer 2 (sd2) files (and also raw-files) to BWF (WAV) files
THE Rename: for renaming great amounts of files and folders
Bulk Rename Utility: allows you to easily rename files and directories, based upon extemely flexible criteria
Peters Little WaveEditor: modify text and import icons into wav files (german, screenshot)
Nero InfoTool and Nero CD-DVD-Speed
ASPICHK: checkes your current ASPI installation
Virtual Audio Cable: transfers audio streams ('buyware')
WaveClone: allows sharing of MME ports ('buyware')
VSoft with its experimental tools
Seamless Looper: finds seamless sustain loops in single instrument samples (buyware)
Endless WAV: another looper (buyware)
FX Teleport: a unique and revolutionary DAW networking solution: use as many computers as you want for your DAW
Silence Remover: a standalone application that allows for batch processing wave files
Comparisonics: uses colors to convey the frequency content of audio data, provides the ability to
SIR: a free impulse response processor
FreeTime: timecode calculator - works like a regular calculator but on timecode
| CD/MP3/Recording/Playing/Burning/Transcoding... [back]
plain CD-Player (incl. deemphasis and cd-text support - *.zip, 412 kB), screenshot 1, screenshot 2
vuplayer: multi-format audio player for Windows, supporting many formats
Foobar2000: advanced audio player with many useful features (+ 3rd party foobar2000 components and advanced userinterface)
Mp3tag: the universal tag editor
flac: lossless wav-compression
Monkey's Audio: another lossless audio compressor
WinLAME: encoder for several audio formats, uses the LAME mp3 encoding library
SUPER: Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) - encodes/plays any multimediafile one can think of...
BeSweet: all-in-one tool for audio transcoding, including batch-processing, highly customizable
CDBurnerXP Pro: very fine burning program
Exact Audio Copy: very fine ripper and much more! and incredibly: it comes for free! (postcardware)
CDex: Ripper, extracts digital audio data from an Audio CD, supports many encoders, like MPEG (MP2,MP3), VQF, AAC
Audacity: a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux
Kristal Audio Engine: multi-track recorder, audio sequencer and mixer
REAPER: an interesting new powerful audio recording and editing software, small of size, reads samplitude edl's, no dongle needed, incredibly fast updates (screenshot)
Soundbooth Beta: a new application built in the spirit of CoolEdit, provides easy handling for non-audio-specialists
DVD audio tools: a set of free software-tools to enable the authoring of DVD-Audio disks
Audioplex (beta): a LPCM multiplex/demultiplex utility for DVD-Video with md5 verification. Creates full-resolution "audio-only" dvd-video discs from wav/flac filesets, and extracts unencrypted LPCM audio from dvd-video to wav/flac
MPEG Audio Collection: an utility for organizing your audio collection - many useful features included
Ensonido: virtual surround sound with any set of stereo headphones, optional head-tracking functionality
| VST/ASIO... [back]
MiniHost: a powerful and full-fledged ASIO host that loads a VST plugin (instrument or effect) and processes it in realtime.
VSTHost: another one
VST-Scanner: allows you to test and register VST plugins
VB Plug-Manager: helps you to manage plug-ins registered on your system
ASIO4ALL: independent universal ASIO driver interface for Windows WDM drivers.ASIO2KS: another one
ASIO Latency Test Utility: measures the true round-trip latency of your computer audio setup, from input to output via an ASIO driver
ASIO Buffer Splitter: lets you use two or more audio applications using a single audio card (ASIO multi-client) with different buffers (latency) settings
Sonogramm sg-1: a free real-time VST sonogramm
| MIDI... [back]
MIDI-OX: the world's greatest all-purpose MIDI Utility
MIDI YOKE: virtual MIDI patch cable (+registry patch for high polyphony)
JAZZ++: a full featured, audio capable midi sequencer for Linux and Windows
Bome's MIDI Translator: translates and routes MIDI messages.MIDITest: a small utility that tests the speed and functioning of a MIDI hardware device.
TGTQPC Test Tool: compares MIDI relevant timers TGT vs QPC on your system and outputs the difference between the two timers on your PC after 20 seconds (NOT the midi lag in ms)
MidiViaNet: routes MIDI between two computers via high-speed ethernet connection.
KeyKit: an awk-like language, designed specifically for manipulating MIDI data
uCApps: non-commercial DIY Projects for MIDI Hardware Geeks
| Analyzing/Testing... [back]
RightMark Audio Analyzer for testing quality of analog/digital paths of any audio device
KProbe (discussion, screenshot, download): for testing your CD-Rs against C1/C2-errors with LiteOn drives
Sample Champion (buyware, trial available): an accurate and easy to use audio measurement software with amazing features
ARTA: a collection of programs for audio measurements and analysis in acoustical and communication systems
Tau Analyzer: trys to determine wether the possible source of a cd was an original studio record or a reconstruction from a lossy encoded data (eg mp3)
Mr QuestionMan: an audio-inspector; shows useful information, like average bitrate, used encoder and settings
PCABX: for performing "double blind" audio-tests (screenshot)
ABX-Player: another one (screenshot)
| Acoustic/music related: [back]
Praat: doing phonetics by computer: analyzes, synthesizes and manipulates speech and creates high-quality pictures. Very interesting!
Formant synthesizer: a vowel synthesizer based on fundamental sinusoids modulated by fundamental frequency (available upon request)
TTMusik: hear, analyze and understand tunings/temperaments/modulations
alternate tuning mailing list: yahoo mailing list, intended for exchanging ideas relevant to alternate musical tunings, >1000 members
TuneLab: turns any Windows laptop computer into a full-featured high-quality Electronic Tuning Device, for laptops, pocket pc's and even smartphones (+ german manuals)
and Temperament Designer: a tool that can be used to calculate the 12 offsets of an historical temperament based on aural tuning instructions
Temperament File Designer for Hauptwerk
Reiner Janke's temperaments for Hauptwerk (website | download)
MyOrgan: play virtual pipe organs (Open Source!) (screenshot)
Toccata: another virtual organ
Free-/Shareware sample sets (organs and harpsichords), hosted by crumhorn-labs. Differing quality...
Aeolus: a synthesised (i.e. not sampled) pipe organ emulator for linux
OrganAssist: MIDI software for recording and sequencing your organ music
PipeTune: useful utility for tuning a register/organ from one tuning system to another (database included), shifting the pitch of an organ/stop, creating new stops from others
Amazing Slow Doner: provides the means to slow down the music, so you can learn the music in real-time by playing it from a CD, MP3, WAV and WMA
BestPractice: a musician's practice tool, to slow down or speed up music
Tartini: a GPL program designed as a practical music analysis tool for singers and instrumentalists
Simple Feedback Trainer: simulate the process of 'ringing out' a sound system and train the user to recognise frequencies by ear
HTTS Hörtest-Programm: test your ears
Feedback Trainer: as the name says...
Solfege: advanced ear training
| Magix Samplitude/Sequoia: [back]
customized keypad by unempty (screenshot | download)
optimized keyboard-template (layout) and ssc-files (for german keyboards, by andiT)
Samplitude Helper: autohotkey macros, including the concept of "double pressing" keys (author: Daniel L.)
custom-built fade shapes for samplitude: examples, how-to (*.zip, 15 kB) (note: apparently this 'hidden feature' has been removed in v8.2 - that's real marketing: please buy Sequoia ;-/
SideKick: finally ducking for Samplitude - sidechain emulator for the VST platform (screenshot)
VIP Collector: for analyzing, searching, restoring vips
+ TeenyWeeny Mixer Skin / FourButton Mixer Skin: kind of "toolbar" versions of the Minimixer (author: Simonmax)
+ B-30 / B-40 Transport: gigantimous transport skin (screenshot), author: B.G. Kendall)
+ Unempty Vintage (author: Daniel Lundin)
SamLogon (english, german, french): a little program for Microsoft Windows XP which can customize your logon screen with a Samplitude or Sequoia theme (author: dJul), screenshot
POINT Recorder Compatibility Test tool: checks the compatibility of CD or DVD drives for samplitude
SamMon: monitors sam's activities and displays the current progress upon startup
various user-skins for HDSP Mixer:
original: screenshots: mixer, matrix
skin 1: screenshots: mixer, matrix | download (author: Mats Helgesson)
skin 2: screenshots: mixer, matrix | download (author: Vladimir Karan)
skin 3: screenshot: mixer | download (author: Vladimir Karan)
skin 4: screenshot: mixer | download (author: "UKN")
skin 5: fireface-mixer (nuendo-style): screenshot: mixer download (author: Sander Borst)
skin 6: screenshot: mixer | download, author: Mats Helgesson
(note: you will eventually need Resource Hacker to modify hdspmix.exe)
| Other great websites: [back]
Hydrogenaudio: huge forum - information related to all facets of audio technology
Gearslutz: the knowledge of 20.000 members
the great dither shootout: most of the current dithering algorithms in a direct shootout for comparison
MusicXP.net: good resource for advice and guidance on setting up and tuning Windows XP for professional audio applications
KVR: the Internet's number one news and information resource for open standard audio plugins
VST freeware overview at Xelenio
Voxengo: Aleksey Vaneev's great VST plugins and more...
Noisevault: premier source for impuls responses - and all about convolution
Echochamber: many impulseresponses
SRC Comparison: informative and clearly arranged RMAA tests of 30 audio editors regarding src (by infinitewave)
FindSounds: a free site where you can search the Web for sound effects and musical instrument samples
The Freesound Project: a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds
Melodyhound: search Musipedia or the World Wide Web for a melody even if the melody is all you know
T-Powering for Condenser Microphones: links and schematics
48V Phantomspeisung für Kondensatormikrofone (by ELKO, german)
DC-DC Converter - integrated circuit to transform 13,5-26 V into 48V
MicrophoneData: a truly comprehensive guide to microphones in professional use
Microphone Database: another one - all the technical data and a short description of almost all the studio microphones on the market
ESP Projects Pages: a mixture of audio related basic designs
Sengpielaudio: Tonmeister Eberhard Sengpiel shares his enormous knowledge: lecture documents, basic, advanced and very special audio principles, corrections of popular fallacies, questions&answers and much more... - plus very useful online calculators/converters, huge linklist etc.: a must for all audio people!
Impressum
