Can you use Audition as a DAW?
What is Adobe Audition?
Adobe Audition is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and audio editing software published by Adobe Systems. It provides tools to record, edit, mix, and restore audio content. Audition was originally created by Syntrillium Software as Cool Edit Pro, before being acquired by Adobe Systems in 2003.
Some key features of Adobe Audition include:
- Advanced audio editing tools for editing, mixing, restoring audio
- Multi-track editing capabilities
- Support for VST and AU audio plugins
- Tools for sound design, Foley, ADR
- Spectral frequency editing
- Batch processing and automation
Originally launched in the late 1990s, Cool Edit Pro became popular for its user-friendly interface. Adobe Audition has evolved to include more sophisticated tools for audio professionals, while retaining an accessible workflow for novices.
Audition’s Audio Editing Capabilities
Adobe Audition provides powerful and comprehensive audio editing capabilities for audio engineers and producers. According to Adobe’s website, “Audition is a comprehensive toolset that includes multitrack, waveform, and spectral display for creating, mixing, editing, and restoring audio content” (https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html).
Some of Audition’s key audio editing features include:
- Multitrack editing – Audition allows you to mix and edit multiple audio tracks together into a composite.
- Waveform editing – View and edit audio waveforms with sample-accurate precision.
- Spectral frequency editing – Visually edit audio frequencies and remove unwanted noise.
- Effects and processing – Tons of built-in effects like reverb, compression, equalization and more.
- Audio restoration – Tools to remove clicks/pops, reduce noise, and restore damaged recordings.
- Recording features – Record audio directly in Audition or import from other sources.
- Mixing capabilities – Mix multiple tracks and apply effects with adjustable parameters.
With this comprehensive toolkit, Audition provides audio engineers and producers with the capabilities needed for professional audio editing and post-production.
Using Audition as a DAW
Adobe Audition is a fully capable digital audio workstation (DAW) that can be used for music production, podcast editing, voiceover work, and more. While it may not be as popular as dedicated DAWs like Ableton Live or Pro Tools, Audition has all the core features you need in a DAW.
For music production, Audition lets you record, edit, and mix multiple tracks of audio and MIDI. You get tools like equalization, compression, reverb, delay, and more to sculpt your sounds. Audition supports VST plugins for adding instruments, effects, and other capabilities. The multitrack editing view provides a mixer-style interface for balancing levels, panning, and applying effects.
Audition also shines for podcast editing thanks to its tools tailored for working with speech. Features like auto heal quickly fix issues in vocal recordings. The spectrogram view makes it easy to visually edit vocals, remove breaths or mouth noises, and polish episodes. You can insert music beds, sound effects, and process each element.
For voiceover work, Audition provides a quick punch and roll recording mode along with a suite of effects to treat and enhance voice recordings. This makes it easy to capture clear narration or vocal takes. Essential tools like noise reduction and de-essing allow you to clean up recordings and prepare them for use.
So while Audition may not have the huge user base of traditional DAWs, it has professional-grade tools for core audio editing and mixing tasks. For podcast, music, and voiceover workflows, Audition has the capabilities you need in a digital audio workstation.
Sources:
https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html
Audition vs Traditional DAWs
When compared to popular traditional DAWs like Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Ableton Live, Adobe Audition has some key differences in features and capabilities:
Pro Tools is considered an industry standard DAW for professional music production and offers advanced editing tools, a large sound library, and robust mixing capabilities. However, it also comes with a steep learning curve and high price point, with subscription plans starting at $99 per month. Audition provides strong editing features at a more affordable price of $20.99 per month.
Logic Pro is known for its user-friendly interface, virtual instruments, MIDI sequencing, and software instruments. But Audition matches up with its editing precision, audio restoration tools, and integration with other Adobe apps. Logic Pro costs a one-time fee of $199 compared to Audition’s subscription model.
Ableton Live excels at clip-based song creation and live performance capabilities. Audition does not offer session view or the same real-time audio manipulation, but provides precision editing and multitrack recording. Ableton Live costs $99 for the cheapest version, compared to Audition at $20.99 per month.
Overall, while Audition lacks some specialized features of traditional DAWs like advanced MIDI sequencing or clip launching, it provides professional-grade editing and mixing capabilities in a more affordable and accessible package.
Sources:
https://www.cinemasound.com/adobe-audition-vs-pro-tools-everybody-showdown/
https://guitarspace.org/home-recording/adobe-audition-vs-pro-tools/
Audition’s Strengths as a DAW
Adobe Audition has many strengths that make it an appealing option to use as a DAW (digital audio workstation). Some of the notable benefits include:
Powerful audio editing tools – Audition provides robust tools for editing audio clips, like its spectral frequency editor that allows precise audio adjustments. It has tools for noise reduction, compression, pitch shifting and more (Source).
Effects and processing – Audition comes with a large library of high-quality effects ranging from reverb to distortion that can be applied to audio tracks. The effects rack interface makes it easy to add effects creatively.
Integration with other Adobe apps – Since Audition is part of Adobe Creative Cloud, it integrates seamlessly with other Adobe audio and video apps like Premiere Pro. This makes transferring projects between apps straightforward.
Customizable interface – Audition allows you to customize the interface by showing/hiding different panels. This helps optimize the workflow for music production, sound design, podcast editing and more.
Support for VST plugins – Audition supports third-party VST plugins which provides limitless options for additional effects and virtual instruments.
Audition’s Weaknesses as a DAW
Although Audition has many strengths as a digital audio workstation, it also has some limitations compared to more full-featured DAWs like Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and FL Studio. One of the biggest weaknesses of Audition as a DAW is its lack of virtual instruments and limited MIDI capabilities.
Unlike traditional DAWs, Audition does not come with any built-in virtual synthesizers, samplers, or software instruments. This makes it challenging to generate original MIDI content directly within Audition. The MIDI editor in Audition is also relatively basic compared to other DAWs. While you can input MIDI data and do some editing, the features are nowhere near as advanced for MIDI sequencing.
In addition, Audition has no MIDI effect plugins for tasks like arpeggiation, note repetition, chord triggering, etc. The lack of robust MIDI features makes productions relying heavily on virtual instruments and sequencing better suited for a more full-featured DAW platform.
Audition also does not support external MIDI hardware like keyboards, controllers, or drum machines. So there is no easy way to record and integrate external MIDI instruments into an Audition project. Producing electronic music with lots of synths and external gear would be extremely difficult or impossible in Audition.
Overall, while Audition provides some basic MIDI editing options, it lacks the comprehensive virtual instruments, sequencing capabilities, MIDI effects, and hardware integration of other digital audio workstations. For productions requiring intricate MIDI work, composers and producers would be better served by a different DAW.
Tips for Using Audition as a DAW
Here are some tips to help optimize your workflow and setup when using Adobe Audition as your main DAW:
Optimize your system performance by increasing RAM, using a high-speed SSD, and reducing background processes. Audition works best with at least 16GB RAM and an SSD for smooth playback and recording.
Use templates to speed up your workflow. Adobe provides a selection of templates for common tasks like multitrack recording, podcast editing, and vocal production.
Customize and learn keyboard shortcuts, especially for tasks like playback control, selecting tools, and editing. This will help you work faster.
Set up custom track views and window layouts optimized for mixing, editing, or other tasks. Save these as workspaces for quick access.
Use sidechaining to create space in your mix. Sidechain compressors and other effects using Audition’s built-in sidechain capabilities.
Add third-party VST instruments and effects to expand Audition’s capabilities for music production.
Use Audition’s built-in tools like Adaptive Noise Reduction to clean up recordings before editing and mixing.
Take advantage of Audition’s Session Folders to consolidate media assets for your projects in one place.
Use Audition’s live input effects monitoring while recording to hear processing in real-time.
Export stems from your mix to retain flexibility for future changes and remixes.
Audition DAW Templates and Resources
One of the best ways to get started with using Audition as your DAW is to take advantage of the many templates, presets, and tutorials available.
Adobe includes a selection of templates within Audition that provide a starting point for projects like podcast editing, DJ drops, and film editing sequences (source). The built-in templates help kickstart your creative workflow. You can also find additional Audition templates shared online by users that cover intros, vocal presets, and more (source, source).
There are many video tutorials available for using Audition as a DAW, covering recording, editing, mixing, and mastering workflows. Look for tutorials from professional users focused specifically on music production versus just general audio editing. Adobe’s official video series provides a great overview of using Audition for end-to-end music projects.
Joining Audition user forums and communities can provide recommendations for must-have templates, presets, and techniques from experienced users. Don’t be afraid to ask questions as you get started with your DAW workflow in Audition.
Notable Audition Users
Adobe Audition has gained popularity among musicians, podcasters, and audio producers as a versatile DAW and audio editor. Some notable users of Audition include:
Mike Shinoda, co-founder of Linkin Park, uses Audition extensively for music production and remixing. He has highlighted Audition’s editing capabilities like spectral editing and its integration with other Adobe products as key benefits (https://www.reddit.com/r/AdobeAudition/new/).
The podcasters behind Welcome to Night Vale use Audition to edit their award-winning fiction podcast. They cite Audition’s effects, restoration tools, and multitrack editing as essential to their creative process (https://www.reddit.com/r/AdobeAudition/about/).
Hip-hop producer Murda Beatz uses Audition for mixing and mastering tracks. In interviews he’s discussed Audition’s advanced audio cleaning and noise reduction as helping him creatively shape an artist’s sound (https://enlyft.com/tech/products/adobe-audition).
The Verdict on Audition as a DAW
Overall, while Audition is not a full-featured DAW like Pro Tools or Logic, it can definitely be used as a primary DAW for music production. Its comprehensive editing tools, multitrack mixing capabilities, effects, and integration with other Adobe apps make it a viable option for songwriting, recording, editing, and mixing.
However, it does lack some advanced features like comping, automatic pitch correction, virtual instruments, advanced MIDI sequencing, and robust automation options. The workflow is also more focused on audio editing vs MIDI. So for composers/producers who rely heavily on MIDI, virtual instruments, and scoring, other DAWs may be a better choice.
But for working with audio, sound design, podcasts, and basic music production, Audition has all the core DAW features covered. With its intuitive interface and seamless integration with Photoshop, Premiere, etc., it’s a great choice for video editors, podcasters, and all media creators looking for an efficient audio workstation.
While Audition may not be for every music producer, it certainly can be used as a fully capable DAW with the right projects and workflows. For many creative needs, Audition provides a lightweight, affordable, and intuitive DAW option.