Audacity files will not play in audio players like Windows Media Player and iTunes. You have to convert it into different audio formats (e.g. MP3) to play in media player. FFmpeg is a library that allows us to import and export any other audio formats.
Are you looking for the best Audacity plugins? Audacity is an excellent open-source platform not just for recording, but also for editing audio or sound. It is available in different operating systems. It has many useful features especially for someone who loves to create multi-tracks. There are necessary tools for basic editing and loaded with effects that can give life to your recordings. However, just like any other application, Audacity has its limitations.
The reason why plugins existed is to extend the functionalities of this software. You have to download the plugins and add them to the Audacity’s library to enable the effects. So, we will cover the top 5 best Audacity plugins you need to get for your sound projects.
Audacity M4a Plugin
A plugin (add-in or extension) is a software made by third-party developers. Its primary purpose is to add special features to an existing computer program like pitch correction, synthesizers, compressor and many more.
Audacity supports numerous plugins that are built-in with the application. Some plugins are free to download and can add to Audacity’s library. Among those plugins, there are five (5) that are the most popular and used by many. Each of them has its capabilities on how to expand the features of the audio recording software.
Contents- Installing the FFmpeg Import/Export Library on Windows. The optional FFmpeg library allows Audacity to import and export a much larger range of audio formats including M4A (AAC), AC3, AMR (narrow band) and WMA and also to import audio from most video files.
- The optional FFmpeg library allows Audacity to import and export a much larger range of audio formats including M4A (AAC), AC3, AMR (narrow band) and WMA and also to import audio from most video files. Because of software patents, Audacity cannot include the FFmpeg software or distribute it from its own websites. Instead, use the following instructions to download and install the free.
- Importing M4A (AAC) and MP4 files. M4A(AAC) and MP4 files can be imported into Audacity on Mac as shipped. On Windows and GNU/Linux you need to download and install the optional FFmpeg library. See the Windows or Linux instructions.
Audacity M4a To Wav
Audacity M4a Plugin
5 Best Audacity Plugins
Before you download these plugins, you must be familiar with the interface of Audacity, so that you can enable or disable them if you want. Check How to Use Audacity article for the know-how.
1. LADSPA
Linux Audio Developer’s Simple Plugin API (LADSPA) is an application that enables audio filters and signals processing effects. LADSPA plugin is considered being the most common for Audacity for Linux devices because it is a Linux-based program. But it is also available in Audacity for Windows and Audacity for Mac. LADSPA plugin is free to download and add to your Audacity.
2. Nyquist
Nyquist is a written by Roger Dannenberg, a co-founder of Audacity. This programming language is based on Lisp and is developed for sound synthesis. It runs on different platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Audacity has built-in support for Nyquist. You can also download it for free and has no limit to its usage, no matter what platform you are using. What makes it unique is that it allows its users to create their plugin using the Nyquist programming language.
3. Audio Unit Plugins
If you own an Apple computer, Audio Unit is great for Mac and iOS users. It is a plugin architecture for Apple devices that was developed by Core Audio (Apple Inc). Its purpose is to process, generate, and manipulate audio streams in near-real-time. Some features of the Audio Unit are; it allows pitch modification, sample rate conversion, and stream over a LAN. It has equalizers and delays reverb function.
4. VST Plugins
VST Plugins is one of the best plugins for Audacity. It runs within a digital workstation to enable effects and provide additional features to audio editing software.
VST comes with virtual instruments that simulate the characteristics of the original tool. It is an excellent plugin for Audacity that will be useful for musicians who cannot afford a real one. It has a selection of virtual musical instruments that can be very useful in adding effects or background to your sound or audio.
5. LV2
This application is an improved version of the LADSPA plugin and is also made for Linux-based devices. This software can run on any other platform. It is one of the best Audacity plugins you can download for free.
LV2 supports almost any feature you need in Audacity. It has an audio controller that controls the audio-rate or voltage. It can also control units like Hertz, octaves, and decibels. Aside from the plugins, Audacity also requires you to download an encoder to complete your audio project. This program has something to do with importing and exporting files from your computer to Audacity and vice versa. Two of the standard libraries for Audacity are LAME and FFmpeg.
- LAME is an mp3 encoder that allows Audacity to save or export an audio file in MP3 format. Audacity files will not play in audio players like Windows Media Player and iTunes. You have to convert it into different audio formats (e.g. MP3) to play in media player.
- FFmpeg is a library that allows us to import and export any other audio formats. These include M4A, WMA, and AC3. It has also the capability to import audio from video files.
Conclusion
You can use Audacity alone, without these plugins. But remember that this software has its limitations. If you want to produce a high-quality sound that comes with effects, I recommend you to get these best Audacity plugins now.
However, if you have Audacity alternative for plugins, please leave a comment below. We will look at them and probably feature them in the future as well.
Jul 15,2019 • Filed to: Record Audio • Proven solutions
Have you ever encountered the situation that your audacity downloader is not working ? And are you tried of downloading the lastest version of Audacity through the official audacity page, as always it takes you to a fosshub link where the download starts automatically. Here in this article, we will show you the full guide of tips to solve audacity download not working, and we will also recommend some best audacity alternatives.
Audacity is cross-platform, open source software that offers free unlimited audio editing and recording. This application allows user to import and export audio files; to do multitrack mixing, add effects and plug-ins, recording and playing back sounds; and to reduce noise, scrubbing and more. This Application is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and other operating systems. Its application's interface is also translated into many languages.
Here are some of the features offered by Audacity Software Application:
- Convert tapes and record into digital recordings or CDs
- Put numerous effects like change of speed and pitch
- Edit WAV, MP2, AIFF. MP3, FLAC or Ogg Vorbis sound files
- Records live Audio or Video
- Cut, Copy, Splice or mix sounds together
- Supports multi-channel modes
- Allows user to adjust tempo while maintaining the pitch
- Amplitude envelope editing
- It also offers feature of modern multi-track audio software that includes zoom and single track edit, navigation control, audio file manipulation, project pane and XY project and non-destructive and destructive effect processing.
However, Audacity has some limitations. It does not support 64-bit systems or VST plugins. It can’t also import and export native files like WMA, AAC, AC3 and other restricted formats. When the disk is low, there’s no warning that shows. If it runs out of disk while editing, it will be corrupted.
Part 2. Why Audacity Download Not Working?
Common issues in downloading Audacity
Audacity Software can be downloaded over the internet; however, there are some issues with internet downloading that audacity is currently facing. So it's a must to be eligible on downloading software online because it might contain viruses that may result to unwanted issues to your computer. Here are some of the issues commonly encountered when downloading audacity software:
Computer outdated - when downloading software applications, making sure of its compatibility is a must. Audacity will not download properly if the browser you're using is a lower or older version. And it may also cause security issues since an older version of browser may have security problems.
Free download link not working - common issue we usually meet is clicking links that are not reliable. Some of the links we see on the internet are linked-page connected to their own site. So we must be careful in choosing sources to download this software application.
Download with malware or virus - Along with clicking unreliable links is downloading it with malware or virus. Hackers sometimes offer free. software downloads, but embed malware or viruses on the application to easily hack your computer or to break your computer.
Part 3. Fix the Problem of Audacity Download Not Working
To address these issues, make sure that you keep your computer up to date, choose only trusted sites and secure anti-virus. I also recommend downloading Audacity alternative, the iMusic. The iMusic is a software application designed to record unlimited free music online from YouTube, AOL, Yahoo music, iTunes Radio, Pandora, Spotify, BBC radio, Rhapsody and more. By just one click, you can continuously record played music and also get rid of those unnecessary noise while recording. This feature comes with special features that will definitely make your audio recording the best.
Gives ID3 Tag support
Title, artist and album are the 3 ID tags that help you identify the music you're looking for. iMusic allows you to manually edit ID3 tag if it comes to mistake.
Record Audio from Online video streaming
This Aimersoft Audio recording feature is designed with recording online played music. For example: You're listening music in yahoo music, you can just simply click the record button and it will start recording the music played with high quality.
Record High Quality MP3/ M4A music
This feature allows the user to customize low quality recording in high quality. According to their website, this feature can record exactly the same quality as what is played on the videos or music site you're playing.
Directly record music to iTunes
This feature contains 'add iTunes' button which allows the user to directly record the music played into iTunes. It also comes with Music management and music playback. Music playback enables the user to play recorded music while music management allows the user to manage their audio recorded file.
These are just some of the features offered by iMusic software that will surely help you record and manage your music playlist easily.
The Audacity Audio recorder application is 100 percent safe software; however, it depends on how and where you download it. Prevention is better than cure as they say. We cannot always be sure if we’re clicking the correct link. So, in order to prevent unsafe downloading, I recommend following these:
- Choose only trusted websites to download. Trusted sites are those sites that are virus-free and tested. Always check the review page of the site before clicking download to avoid downloading software with hidden malware or viruses.
- Ensure that anti-virus or anti-malware is installed on your computer in order to prevent virus from destroying your computer. Here is a list of some of the free anti-virus you can install in your computer.
- Avast Free Antivirus
- AVG AntiVirus Free
- Ad-Aware Free Antivirus +
- Avira Free Antivirus
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Panda Cloud Antivirus
- HerdProtect
- Kingsoft Antivirus
- VirCleaner
- Baidu Antivirus
- ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus Plus Firewall
- Roboscan
- ClamWin
- Comodo Antivirus
- Keep your browser and OS up to date to avoid security issues. According to google support website, older version of browser or operating system can sometimes have a security problem that criminals can use to easily get to your data. So it's a must to always update your browser and OS to ensure security and to avoid your computer being hacked and your files corrupted.
- Windows (8/7/Vista/XP)
- Mac (Universal binary for Mac OS X 10.5 to 10.10.x)
- GNU/Linux (source code)
- Download music from more than 3000 music sites by copying and pasting the URL.
- Record unlimited music from any website for playback in your computer with just one click.
- Built-in music library let you browse and preview the lattest and hottest music.
- Automatically save downloaded/recorded music to library for management and easy transfer.
- Identify and tag music with artist, title, album, genre, and more with the latest technology.
- Transfer downloaded music from iPhone/iPod/iPad/Android to iTunes/Windows/Mac/iPhone/iPod/iPad/Android easily.
- 1 click to burn music to CDs with original quality.
Part 5. Top 5 Sites for Audacity Free Download
Download only Audacity software via reliable Links:
As what I had mentioned above about linking issues, it’s a must to know what those links that are reliable download sources. Here are the top 5 list for me that will give you the correct audacity software:
Official downloading Website of Audacity Audio Recorder:http://audacityteam.org/download/.
5 star review website for Audacity downloads:http://www.fosshub.com/Audacity.html.
A Freeware licensed and certified as trusted and tested website for Audacity downloads:http://www.techradar.com/downloads/audacity.
4.8 star review website for Audacity downloads:http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/.
4 Star review website for Audacity downloads:http://download.cnet.com/Audacity/3000-2170_4-10058117.html.
These websites offer the latest version of Audacity, the 2.1.1 version available for the following:
Keep an eye on what you click and download. Always read pop-up messages just to make sure that you're not putting your computer at risk. Sometimes, we're too confident to click and click the next buttons without reading what it says. We don't know, maybe what we are clicking is already a hidden virus.
iMusic is a new software product developed by Aimersoft to let users experience Online recording with zero quality loss. iMusic offers unlimited recording from online sites like YouTube, Myspace, Sirius radio and more. Over 500 radio stations and online music sites are supported by this application. Here are some of the features offered by this software app for MAC OS:
iMusic - Best Audacity Alternative to Record Audio with Original Quality
Why Choose This Audacity Alternative:
1. Record Audio with 100% Original Quality
According to its website, this 100% quality recording happens because they used a virtual sound card to capture audio and save as M4A or MP3 file. It gives you high quality recording and eliminate unwanted noise while recording.
2. Allows user to record audio from video websites
It's now easier for the user to record audio online because this application enables users to do recording while playing videos online. Simply click the record button and start recording.
3. Identify songs and get Music Info
Aimersoft Audio recording uses ID3 tag identification to quickly identify the songs and get information directly. Users can also search directly by using either of the title, the artist or the album of the music.
4. Transfer recorded Music to iTunes Library
iMusic for Mac also offers 'add iTunes' button to directly record the music currently playing in iTunes. Together with this feature, you can manage and arrange your music and perform playback once the audio is recorded.
How to Use Audacity Alternative to Record Audio
Step 1. Start iMusic
Download and install iMusic on your computer, then start it. The program will display the main interface of discovering music.
Step 2. Choose RECORD Option
Now choose the RECORD option at the top middle of the main interface, and the program will show you the main interface of recording music.
Step 3. Record Music to MP3
Click the round Record button at bottom, and the program will get ready for recording. Now you can play the Youtube music on your computer, and the program will automatically start recording the Youtube music file. By default, iMusic will record the music file to MP3 audio file.
Step 4. Locate Recorded Music
When the recording process is done, you can choose ITUNES LIBRARY option at the top middle of the main inteface, and then choose the Microphone icon at the upper left corner to view the recorded music in Recorded playlist.
NOTE: This application needs an audio recorder driver to function properly. So better install it prior to the installation of this application.
Hope this article informed you about audacity and how to fix or prevent issues that may occur when downloading it. Also, hope that you get to know about the alternative software application of Audacity, the iMusic and its features offered. How it works and what its advantages are.