Review of Sound Forge

In the music industry, the audio content version has changed drastically. As a result, music production and marketing are growing faster than ever, and only those with proper, updated tools and skills are capable of surviving in this era.

Audio editing tools are in demand for different purposes, such as adding effects to audio and removing pauses from a webinar session. Choosing an audio editor depends on many factors, such as price range, the purpose of using an editor, and skill level. The best editing program can help you get the best audio finishing - MAGIX Sound Forge.

If you are new to the music industry or a professional searching for an audio editor, this article will help you learn everything about Sound Forge.

Part 1. A Quick Verdict of Sound Forge

Sound Forge is one of the best software for professionals, beginners, and enthusiasts due to its simple and essential restoration tools that can help remove unnecessary background noises. However, this music software can remove 70% of the noise, leaving some cracks and pops, but still, users get a lot of improvement in the audio quality.

You can record and extract audio from video files. The customizable toolbars, interfaces, and a wide variety of presets give you a complete audio editing experience with Sound Forge.

The only drawback is that the software cannot handle multiple audio files and plugin effects together in the free version, making it useless for batch processing. However, you can get these features in the paid version.

Part 2. What is Sound Forge?

Sound Forge is an audio editor for newbies and professionals and has two versions, i.e., Sound Forge pro 12 and Sound Forge Audio Studio 13, released in April 2018 and January 2019, respectively. Although the software was developed in the US, MAGIX is doing further developments, so you get American originality and German modifications in one program.

The innovative features such as fast and powerful processing, editing, and workflow are why many producers, including Grammy winners, have chosen this tool globally for the past 20 years.

MAGIX has developed the latest version of this software, Sound Forge Pro 16 suite, setting new audio quality standards with advanced plug-ins.

Part 3. MAGIX Sound Forge 16 Review

Now that you know about Sound Forge and its origin, let's review the software regarding price, features, and user ratings.

How much does Sound Forge cost?

Sound Forge is a paid software but excellent value for money and offers a wide range of features and plug-ins that make audio editing fun and easy.

The different versions are available at different pricing, and monthly or yearly subscriptions are also available.

Sound Forge Audio Studio 365 is available at 3-5$ per month per year with a starting price of 60$. Sound Forge Pro is available for 279$, Sound Forge Pro Suite for 399$, Sound Forge Pro 365 for 14.99$ per month, and Sound Forge Pro Suite 365 for 19.99$ per month.

Innovative features of Sound Forge

Here are some unique Sound Forge features that make it ideal for audio editing needs.

• Professional and Comprehensive audio editing: The improved workflow of the software allows you to edit, splice, and adjust audio files with just a few clicks and deliver a professional audio finish as precisely as you want.
• Audio restoration: Sound Forge restores vinyl and tapes into digital audio such as CDs, transforming outdated sound into exceptional studio quality. However, you need to have a vinyl converter turntable for this purpose.The Audio Studio version lacks the audio restoration plugins that the Pro Studio version offer.
• Recording any sound up to 32-bit/384 kHz: With Sound Forge, you can record podcasts, singing, webinars, and do a voice-over up to 32-bit/384 kHz and view the process with a live waveform display and real-time monitoring.
• Effects and effects presets: Sound Forge provide 11 DirectX audio effects and 90 effects preset to get the right sound for you. Furthermore, the software can let you preview the effects before applying them to your audio recordings.
• Import and export audio file: You can import or export any audio file into standard (MP3, FLAC, WAV, RAW, ASF, CDA, AIFF, VOX, OGG, MUS, and W64) formats with Sound Forge Audio Studio 16.

Score on G2

The overall G2 (a famous software review website) rating of Sound Forge is 4.3 out of 5. Users rated the software on the G2 platform as:

• 4 for "Ease of use
• 4 for "Quality Support
• 9 for "Ease of Setup

To help you have a better overview of MAGIX Sound Forge 16, we have prepared a review video below.

Video - New Features and Workflows of MAGIX Sound Forge 16

Part 4. Pros and Cons of MAGIX Sound Forge

Below are some Sound Forge pros and cons to help you make a quick decision about the software.

Pros of Sound Forge

• User-friendly: The top-notch software comes with a user-friendly interface, making it easy to learn and simple to control for beginners in the audio editing field.
• Compatibility: The high-quality audio software solution is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.
• Customizable software: Sound Forge is the most customizable software, offering customization of toolbars to get the exact tools you need and letting you change audio editing windows arrangement.
• Support VST plugin: Sound Forge supports the VST plugin that is used to integrate software audio effects and effect plugins to help you create a more compelling final product.

Cons of Sound Forge

• No Batch Processing: one main drawback of Sound Forge is that it cannot do batch processing, making it useless to process multiple audio files and plug-ins together.
• Noise reduction/ Noise cancellation: The software does not do much for noise reduction; its "Noise Gate Technology" distort the recording instead of filtering the noise.

Part 5. MAGIX Sound Forge vs. Audacity

Both Sound Forge and Audacity are audio editing and mixing software. By comparing their features, you can get an idea to which one to use for your audio editing projects.

What is Audacity?

Audacity is free and open-source software developed by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg and released on May 28, 2000. In April 2021, Muse group acquired the Audacity trademark but kept the application free and open source.

Audacity offers a great variety of features, such as a playback/record tool, editing options, and a wide range of effects that help professionals to adjust soundtracks, import and export audio files in any standard format, and analyze sound frequencies.

Comparing Sound Forge and Audacity

Our Recommendations

Due to the advanced features and high scores on G2, we recommend using Audacity. However, other factors always come into play as the audio editing demands and needs change with time. So, Sound Forge can be a good option for you as a nomad in the music editing industry.

Most companies (with 50-200 employees and 1M-10M revenue) and the higher education industry in the United States are using Sound Forge.

On the other hand, businesses often use Audacity for marketing purposes, such as making Podcasts. The software can record audio for PowerPoint presentations to help visually impaired employees.

Conclusion

In this article, we've introduced Sound Forge, its price, the software's features, and what the users think about it. Later in the guide, we compared Sound Forge with one of the leading music editors, Audacity, and learned how they stack up against each other.

Hopefully, you can now decide better about choosing a music editing software for your audio recording and editing needs.