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A few years ago there was a revolution in recording technology. As computers became more powerful, they started to replace traditional tape recorders that were the heart of most recording studios. Today, computers designed for home use are powerful enough to emulate an entire recording studio, and can be used for everything from multitrack recording to audio editing and scoring music for videos.

This “democratizing” of recording techniques has opened up the entire recording industry to anyone with the proper software and hardware. With software packages costing a few hundred dollars and professional-quality audio interfaces costing less than $100, anybody can have a virtual recording studio in their home.

Some of the big names in the audio recording field are Cubase, ProTools, Sonar and Sound Forge. Each of these Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) can be used for multi-track recording and editing and have the ability to combine recordings with “virtual instruments”.

Virtual instruments are computer-generated sounds that can be played via MIDI. Traditionally, MIDI was used to send music data to hardware devices like keyboards and sound modules, but computers are now powerful enough to emulate sound modules. Instead of hooking up cables to an external device to play MIDI tracks, virtual instruments can be loaded into the computer’s memory to play any type of sound.

MIDI tracks can be combined with audio tracks and all of it played back in perfect synchronization. All tracks can be processed with effects like reverb and chorus, and the entire mix can be compressed for a professional sounding result.

Although professional sound recording packages can be fairly expensive, you can get your feet wet by trying out one of the shareware programs that are available. They will allow you to see the capabilities of digital recording, and if you want to develop your interests further you can later buy one of the professional programs.

When it comes to adding audio to a website, there’s no shortage of audio editing software packages out there.  But before you shell out the big bucks on an overpriced multimedia suite, take a look at some of the top features you’ll want in your audio software package.  You could save $100 or more just by weeding out programs that DON’T have these options!

The first feature you’ll want is fast streaming and downloading.  Audio on a website is no good to anyone if all they hear is choppiness and static.  People on dialup especially dread audio because it tends to clog up their connection – and everybody hates waiting. That said, you’ll want to look for audio software which will play your recording within 10 seconds or less (no matter how long it is), on both broadband and dialup connections.

Secondly, you’ll want web audio software that lets you easily manipulate your file.  That means, with no prior audio editing experience, you should be able to convert to different formats, layer over professional music tracks or add introductory or exit music.  You should also be given the exact code you’ll need to place on your web page – as well as know exactly where to place it if you’re not familiar with web page editing.

Speaking of web page editing, you’ll also want the ability to customize the look and feel of your audio buttons.  Nobody wants to be struck with massive audio buttons that stick out and clash with your website’s design.  Ideally, you should  be able to tweak your buttons right down to the exact color of your website, so that you can have audio buttons that blend in seamlessly with your site’s look and feel.

Lastly, you’ll want software that will let you trigger specific events as they’re happening.  Lots of audio presentations are just that – presentations.  They fail to truly engage the user and sound more like a university lecture than an appealing and attractive invitation or introduction.  What if, for example, you could introduce your product via audio and then open a new window that gives the visitor more information as well as the opportunity to order.  How many more sales might you make as a result?  You’ll never know until you try it – and few website audio packages or services offer this type of feature today.

Now that you know what to look for, take a look below for recommended software which does all these things and much more.  You’ll never need to buy another audio editing program to put audio on your website again!