GoldWave
Encyclopedia
GoldWave is a popular commercial digital audio editing software product developed by GoldWave Inc, first released to the public in April 1993. It is used in dozens of schools and universities around the world and is mentioned in numerous research papers covering a wide variety of topics, including neuropsychology, bioacoustic signals, seismic analysis, and engine and animal identification.
All versions up to 4.26 can run on any Windows
operating machine. Since 2004, GoldWave has stopped supporting Windows versions such as 95, 98, and 98SE (although GoldWave will still run on Windows 98SE, albeit unsupported) and renders the software unusable on those systems. Also, the system requirements have increased slightly, since now a Pentium III
of 700 MHz and DirectX
8 are now part of the minimum system requirements compared to the Pentium 2 of 300 MHz and DirectX 5 required by previous versions.
Features
GoldWave has an array of features bundled which define the program. They include:- Real-time graphic visuals, such as bar, waveform, spectrogramSpectrogramA spectrogram is a time-varying spectral representation that shows how the spectral density of a signal varies with time. Also known as spectral waterfalls, sonograms, voiceprints, or voicegrams, spectrograms are used to identify phonetic sounds, to analyse the cries of animals; they were also...
, spectrumSpectrumA spectrum is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum. The word saw its first scientific use within the field of optics to describe the rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a prism; it has since been applied by...
, VU meterVU meterA VU meter is often included in audio equipment to display a signal level in Volume Units; the device is sometimes also called volume indicator ....
, etc. - Basic and advanced effects and filters such as noise reduction, compressor/expander, volume shaping, volume matcher, pitch, reverb, resampling, parametric EQ, etc.
- Effect previewing
- Saving and restoring effect presets
- DirectX Audio plug-in support
- A variety of supported audio file formatAudio file formatAn audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. This data can be stored uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size. It can be a raw bitstream, but it is usually a container format or an audio data format with defined storage layer.-Types of...
s, including but not limited to WAVWAVWaveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, Windows Media AudioWindows Media AudioWindows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
, OggOggOgg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
, FLACFLACFLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...
, AIFFAIFFAudio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
, AUAu file formatThe Au file format is a simple audio file format introduced by Sun Microsystems. The format was common on NeXT systems and on early Web pages. Originally it was headerless, being simply 8-bit µ-law-encoded data at an 8000 Hz sample rate. Hardware from other vendors often used sample rates as...
, Monkey's AudioMonkey's AudioMonkey's Audio is a file format for audio data compression. Being a lossless format, Monkey's Audio does not discard data during the process of encoding, unlike lossy compression methods such as AAC, MP3, Vorbis and Musepack....
, VOX, mat, snd, voc, etc. - Batch processing and conversion support lets you convert a set of files to a different format and apply effects.
- Multiple undo levels
- Edit multiple files at once
- Support for large file editing
- Storage option available to use RAM
Previous versions and current compatibility
A version prior to the version 5 series still exists for download of its shareware version at the official website.All versions up to 4.26 can run on any Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating machine. Since 2004, GoldWave has stopped supporting Windows versions such as 95, 98, and 98SE (although GoldWave will still run on Windows 98SE, albeit unsupported) and renders the software unusable on those systems. Also, the system requirements have increased slightly, since now a Pentium III
Pentium III
The Pentium III brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26, 1999. The brand's initial processors were very similar to the earlier Pentium II-branded microprocessors...
of 700 MHz and DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
8 are now part of the minimum system requirements compared to the Pentium 2 of 300 MHz and DirectX 5 required by previous versions.
Highlights
- GoldWave has been used for historic recording analysis in the Moon landingMoon landingA moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
, as reported on BBC and the Houston Chronicle. It was mentioned by name in the pilot episode of the television series Supernatural.
- The US Coast Guard has used GoldWave to clean up radio calls and in evaluating personnel (ON SCENE The Journal of U. S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue, Spring 2003). The US Navy has used it for podcasts.
- GoldWave was used to establish the "missing word" from astronaut Neil ArmstrongNeil ArmstrongNeil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
's famous lineApollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
as he landed on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. - Adam Young (aka Owl CityOwl CityOwl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...
) used GoldWave to record all his vocals on his debut album "Ocean Eyes".