It may have been around since 2000, but not only does free and open-source audio editor Audacity refuse to die, it continues to evolve. Version 3.2 has now landed, and it promises to take “large strides” towards transforming the software into an “end-to-end production tool”. Or, to put it another way, a fully-fledged DAW.
While this claim might have the slight whiff of hyperbole, a glance at Audacity 3.2’s ‘What’s new?’ list indicates that this is indeed a significant update. There’s now realtime effects support, meaning that processing can be applied non-destructively and parameters can be tweaked on-the-fly, and effects can be ‘stacked’, too.
In other news, the interface has been cleaned-up - stripped back, simplified and made more ‘DAW-like’ according to Audacity developer Muse Group. VST3 plugin support is also part of the v3.2 package.
Finally, we have audio.com, a new audio sharing platform that enables you to back up your Audacity projects to the cloud directly from the software. You can then share your content publicly or privately.
While, in our book, Audacity would have to get MIDI support to be considered a full-on DAW, these updates certainly indicate that Muse Group has big plans to keep taking the software forward. It runs on PC, Mac and Linux and can be downloaded now on the Audacity website.
