Speaker 1: I guess I should have expected that. Well, folks, the numbers are in, and today we're gonna cover the top five most popular audio recording softwares for voice actors, DAWs as we call them, as listed by you guys, our voiceover community. Okay, coming in at number five, we have GarageBand. Now, I'm not actually overly surprised that GarageBand made this list. I'm pretty sure that it comes pre-installed on just about every Apple computer, so it makes sense that a lot of us are gonna use this software because of its convenience. It's free if you have a Mac computer, and it has most of the features that you'd ever need for voiceover. Now, GarageBand definitely has a bit of a slant towards music production and songwriting, and it would be considered a bit of a beginner's option as far as audio production goes, but can definitely be used for voiceover, very cool. Coming in at number four, we have Logic Pro. Now, I'm actually kind of surprised that this wasn't higher up on the list. Logic Pro is also made by Apple, and it's considered to be a massive upgrade from GarageBand, and like GarageBand, it's only available on Mac computers. Although, unlike GarageBand, Logic Pro is not free. Currently costs around 200 US dollars, and Logic Pro is a massive step up, though it provides the granularity, the tools, the flexibility that a professional audio editor would demand from their software. In the music recording industry, it's one of the most widely used, likely overkill for voiceover work, and it may be a bit intimidating, but definitely has the tools to get the job done. Coming in at number three, we have Pro Tools. Now, Pro Tools is an audio production software aimed at songwriters, musicians, and producers, and engineers, and it's the industry standard for large format recording studios. Because so many large studios use Pro Tools, it's a really great tool for voice talent to familiarize themselves with that software, because their clients will be using it. Again, like Logic Pro, some voice talent may find Pro Tools to be a little bit cumbersome, a little bit over the top for their needs, and it comes with a small handful of plugins, but most people will install a collection of third-party plugins into the software to get the most out of Pro Tools. Not to mention, it's one of the most expensive options with subscription plans. They range from $9 a month right up to $99 a month. Okay, coming in at number two, we have Audacity. I guess I should have expected that. Audacity is probably one of the most popular starter DAWs out there. It's free to download, it's open source, it runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, any other system that you have. The interface is also translated into a bunch of languages, so it's really widely used. It's got all the built-in tools that you'll need for voiceover that can be quite useful. Where I think Audacity really falls short is that it uses destructive editing. So this means anything you do in your audio editor is kind of stuck that way. It's a really outdated style of editing, and it's really best for people who aren't working in professional audio environments with larger budgets. It also makes it harder to recall past work if clients need punch-ins or revisions later on down the process. I think Audacity is a great option for people who are maybe new to recording and need to dip their toes in on the cheap and in a way that doesn't intimidate them. Plus, you can't go wrong with free when you're just getting started. All right, and at number one, number one here, no surprise at all, Adobe Audition. I have to say, I think Adobe Audition has the best included set of tools for voice talent, from multi-track sessions to the waveform editing to the spectral frequency display for editing and restoring audio. Not to mention they include a bunch of really nice tools like noise reduction, de-reverb, a suite of built-in plugins. Don't get me started on noise reduction, though. Always good to avoid that stuff unless you absolutely need it. My rant's over, okay. Audition really has every tool that a voice actor could need. Unfortunately, they also have a subscription model, which is a whole other rant of mine, but at least it's only around $20 a month, which if this is a business expense for you, it's really not that bad. It's like a coffee a day. Not too shabby. Are you surprised to see that Reaper didn't make the list? Me too. Let me know what DAW you're using down in the comments below. As always, happy auditioning, and we'll see you guys in the next one. ♪ Voices ♪