5 Best Audio Mixer for Mac

If you’ve ever considered singing, you might look for the ideal audio mixer that allows you to record, edit, and seamlessly mix audio. The suitable audio mixer for Mac enables you to create the best tracks for your audience. Even for professionals, a suitable audio mixer is essential for music producers because it helps them create good music and deliver crisp audio.

Even with quality sounds, you might find that your audio file comes with many traffic noises and unnecessary chatter. The ideal audio mixer will ensure your audio piece stands out. However, we know that finding the ideal audio mixer that’s compatible with the Mac operating system can be challenging. That’s why we’ve done the essential research for you and compiled this impressive list. So, let’s jump straight into the comprehensive list to determine the best audio mixer for you.

Audacity

We’re going to start with a veteran in the audio mixing world. Audacity has been around since 2000 and has continually updated its features to become a quality audio mixer. This explains why it is the best audio editing software out there. Audacity is free, open-source, and works across different platforms. It is also relatively simple to use by professionals and beginners; you don’t need to have any previous audio mixing experience to use this tool.

There are varying activities you can carry out on Audacity. For example, it allows you to record, edit, and add effects to your audio like distortion, reverb, echoes, and auto-tune. With Audacity, you can also digitize recordings from various media files. In addition, many keyboard shortcuts work with Audacity; using these shortcuts allows for a faster and more seamless workflow.

Using this tool, you can visualize the audio in frequencies using the spectrogram mode. It also offers professional-grade plugins to improve the mixing process. If you’d like to improve the sound quality of your file, you can choose to export in 24-bits or 32-bits. Beyond the Mac OS, Audacity also supports Linux and Windows. You should consider Audacity if you want a free editor with many audio mixing functions.

Pros

• It is intuitive and easy to use
• Offers varying plugins for easy mixing
• Keyboard shortcuts improve workflow
• Rich features to enhance overall sound quality

Cons

• Audacity tends to crash on Mac

Adobe Audition

We all know that Adobe only offers excellent software, and you can expect nothing different from Adobe Audition. This is a great audio mixer for editing and polishing your audio, making it into an impeccable sound. It allows you clean, mixes, and fine-tune your sound file by offering a smooth workflow. In addition, Adobe Audition offers a spectral display and a crucial sound panel that helps you restore audio. This tool also helps users achieve a professional-level quality even if you’re a beginner with little to no audio-mixing experience. You can also make audio remixes on this audio mixing software; you can achieve this by rearranging the different tacks to fit various durations.

The many features available on this Mac audio mixer allow you to record and convert audio files into lossless WAV files. If you’re looking to run a radio station, you can do that with Adobe Audition by downloading your audio files to the server after mixing. In addition, you can convert your audio files into MP3 format to use on varying devices if necessary. One of its excellent features is processing and analyzing various audio files.

Adobe Audition also offers users diagnostic tools like DeHummer, DeClipper, diagnostic panel, and audio reduction to determine and fix issues on audio files. It is made for different purposes, as you can always count on this tool to provide you with crisp, quality sounds. In addition, you can visualize the edits on your audio file on this software in real-time.

Pros

• Offers varying mixing and editing features
• Users can import and export audio files in various formats
• It comes with a spectral display for restoring audio files
• Features diagnostic tools for fixing audio file issues
• Interactive and easy-to-use interface

Cons

• Limited free version

WavePad

Another impressive audio mixer with basic and advanced features that you should explore is WavePad. This software is excellent for audio editing, recordings, and music productions. The best part is that it supports the major audio formats and allows users to trim, cut, split, copy, equalize, and amplify audio tracks within a few seconds. WavePad also offers you several options to minimize noise and access advanced tools like TFFT, FFT, and spectral analysis that help you understand video frequencies better.

This audio mixer is excellent for streaming and offers voice-over features. The developers continually update WavePad, and if you have issues, the customer support options on the website allow you to get help immediately. If you like to edit lots of soundtracks and would like to save them as you edit, then you would enjoy the batch processing feature. This feature is ideal for busy producers who want to mix their audio quickly. This versatile tool isn’t just compatible with Mac and works on Chromebook, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

Pros

• Allows batch processing
• Allows you to amplify and equalize sounds
• It comes with an intuitive user interface
• Excellent customer support options

Cons

• The free version is limited

TwistedWave

Another audio mixer for Mac that allows you to record, mix, master, convert and batch-process your audio is TwistedWave. This tool is an all-in-one solution for everything audio-related. The best part is that it comes with an intuitive interface that’s easy for anyone to use. TwistedWave works with Mac OS alone and is available at a premium price. If you want to master audio with inbuilt effects and make quick, effective edits to audio files, this is the tool for you. In addition, a responsive interface can process large audio files in the background.

Its vast features allow for the seamless mixing and editing of audio files. It features a smart silence detector that detects silences, removes them, and exports the remaining audio as individual files. The batch processor also comes with effects like AU and VST plugins. If you’re uncomfortable with the effects, you can create your effect stacks and then utilize them with just a click. TwistedWave isn’t a basic editor as it has advanced features like pitch shifting, professional time stretching, and multichannel editing. This audio mixing tool also supports up to 32-bit audio and is great if you want a professional and crisp audio output.

Pros

• It easily detects silence points for easy splitting
• Corrects pitch and speeds it up seamlessly
• You can work on present audio tracks while loading large files in the background
• You can create your custom audio stack
• Offers professional-grade plugins

Cons

• No free version
• It can be difficult for beginners to use

Logic Pro

Apple’s Logic Pro is an excellent audio mixer that you can utilize to carry out some professional editing and audio-producing activities. This audio mixer has impressive features like Sampler, Step Sequencer, Quick Sampler, and many more. These features help you build melodic patterns and drum beats. You can also use them to transform various sounds into instruments within a few seconds. So if your goal is to improve your music, Logic Pro makes it relatively easy.

You can also create new music using this tool and, in the process, play different music arrangements on a cell grid and identify the best sounds for you. You can also add the sounds to your timeline before you get started. With Logic Pro, you can add DJ-style effects to your audio file. You can also play any instrument and record clean and high-quality audio to add to your existing file. Logic Pro also allows you to add new music to your track without disturbing its tempo; you can also correct pitch with this tool.

Another tool from Logic Pro is the mountable sound card which allows up to 24-track recording. It also features unique digital effects. Some features it comes with include delay, chorus, ping-pong delay, reverb, and many more. Logic Pro supports several popular audio formats and also allows multi-tracking editing. There’s also a library of royalty-free songs you can explore with this tool.

Pros

• It helps you identify the best sounds
• Users can implement DJ-style effects on audio files
• It offers many impressive features
• Impressive recording features

Cons

• Too complex for beginners

Alternative Option: Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora is the best software to carry out different audio mixing activating. You can easily edit your audio to ensure a clean and crisp audio output. In addition, this tool offers excellent features like silence detection and auto-beat sync. Beyond this, it offers features like an auto montage maker, which evaluates your audio file and informs you of its best points. It is also useful for adding soundtracks to video files when necessary.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Wondershare Filmora allows you efficiently adjust pitch and speed. You can also minimize or increase the volume of your sound file or add sound fading in and out features to your audio file. The best part about this tool is that you can share the mix on social media after mixing and editing audio files. The steps to mix audio files using Wondershare Filmora are easy; check them out below.

Step1Download Wondershare Filmora from the official website and install it on your device following the installation guide.

Step2Launch the audio mixing software and choose ‘create new project’ on the homepage.

Step3Import media files by clicking on ‘import media files’ on the media menu.

Step4Choose the audio file you want to mix and click the ‘import media’ option. Alternatively, you can choose to drag and drop the audio file to the software’s timeline.

Step5Start editing your media file by clicking the ‘audio mixer’ option. It will provide various tools to mix and edit your audio file.

Step6click the master icon to decrease or increase audio volume. Once you’re done, hit the ‘OK’ button.

Step7After mixing, hit the ‘export’ button and choose the location you want to save your edited file. You can also choose to share directly on social media platforms.

Final Thoughts

Audio mixing and editing are sometimes essential to creating an excellent music track. However, finding an audio mixer for Mac can be difficult; we reviewed the 5 best audio mixers for Mac to provide you with options. With this list of best Mac audio mixers, you can transform your audio files into professional quality.

Adobe Audition

We all know that Adobe only offers excellent software, and you can expect nothing different from Adobe Audition. This is a great audio mixer for editing and polishing your audio, making it into an impeccable sound. It allows you clean, mixes, and fine-tune your sound file by offering a smooth workflow. In addition, Adobe Audition offers a spectral display and a crucial sound panel that helps you restore audio. This tool also helps users achieve a professional-level quality even if you’re a beginner with little to no audio-mixing experience. You can also make audio remixes on this audio mixing software; you can achieve this by rearranging the different tacks to fit various durations.

The many features available on this Mac audio mixer allow you to record and convert audio files into lossless WAV files. If you’re looking to run a radio station, you can do that with Adobe Audition by downloading your audio files to the server after mixing. In addition, you can convert your audio files into MP3 format to use on varying devices if necessary. One of its excellent features is processing and analyzing various audio files.

Adobe Audition also offers users diagnostic tools like DeHummer, DeClipper, diagnostic panel, and audio reduction to determine and fix issues on audio files. It is made for different purposes, as you can always count on this tool to provide you with crisp, quality sounds. In addition, you can visualize the edits on your audio file on this software in real-time.

Pros

• Offers varying mixing and editing features
• Users can import and export audio files in various formats
• It comes with a spectral display for restoring audio files
• Features diagnostic tools for fixing audio file issues
• Interactive and easy-to-use interface

Cons

• Limited free version

WavePad

Another impressive audio mixer with basic and advanced features that you should explore is WavePad. This software is excellent for audio editing, recordings, and music productions. The best part is that it supports the major audio formats and allows users to trim, cut, split, copy, equalize, and amplify audio tracks within a few seconds. WavePad also offers you several options to minimize noise and access advanced tools like TFFT, FFT, and spectral analysis that help you understand video frequencies better.

This audio mixer is excellent for streaming and offers voice-over features. The developers continually update WavePad, and if you have issues, the customer support options on the website allow you to get help immediately. If you like to edit lots of soundtracks and would like to save them as you edit, then you would enjoy the batch processing feature. This feature is ideal for busy producers who want to mix their audio quickly. This versatile tool isn’t just compatible with Mac and works on Chromebook, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

Pros

• Allows batch processing
• Allows you to amplify and equalize sounds
• It comes with an intuitive user interface
• Excellent customer support options

Cons

• The free version is limited

TwistedWave

Another audio mixer for Mac that allows you to record, mix, master, convert and batch-process your audio is TwistedWave. This tool is an all-in-one solution for everything audio-related. The best part is that it comes with an intuitive interface that’s easy for anyone to use. TwistedWave works with Mac OS alone and is available at a premium price. If you want to master audio with inbuilt effects and make quick, effective edits to audio files, this is the tool for you. In addition, a responsive interface can process large audio files in the background.

Its vast features allow for the seamless mixing and editing of audio files. It features a smart silence detector that detects silences, removes them, and exports the remaining audio as individual files. The batch processor also comes with effects like AU and VST plugins. If you’re uncomfortable with the effects, you can create your effect stacks and then utilize them with just a click. TwistedWave isn’t a basic editor as it has advanced features like pitch shifting, professional time stretching, and multichannel editing. This audio mixing tool also supports up to 32-bit audio and is great if you want a professional and crisp audio output.

Pros

• It easily detects silence points for easy splitting
• Corrects pitch and speeds it up seamlessly
• You can work on present audio tracks while loading large files in the background
• You can create your custom audio stack
• Offers professional-grade plugins

Cons

• No free version
• It can be difficult for beginners to use

Logic Pro

Apple’s Logic Pro is an excellent audio mixer that you can utilize to carry out some professional editing and audio-producing activities. This audio mixer has impressive features like Sampler, Step Sequencer, Quick Sampler, and many more. These features help you build melodic patterns and drum beats. You can also use them to transform various sounds into instruments within a few seconds. So if your goal is to improve your music, Logic Pro makes it relatively easy.

You can also create new music using this tool and, in the process, play different music arrangements on a cell grid and identify the best sounds for you. You can also add the sounds to your timeline before you get started. With Logic Pro, you can add DJ-style effects to your audio file. You can also play any instrument and record clean and high-quality audio to add to your existing file. Logic Pro also allows you to add new music to your track without disturbing its tempo; you can also correct pitch with this tool.

Another tool from Logic Pro is the mountable sound card which allows up to 24-track recording. It also features unique digital effects. Some features it comes with include delay, chorus, ping-pong delay, reverb, and many more. Logic Pro supports several popular audio formats and also allows multi-tracking editing. There’s also a library of royalty-free songs you can explore with this tool.

Pros

• It helps you identify the best sounds
• Users can implement DJ-style effects on audio files
• It offers many impressive features
• Impressive recording features

Cons

• Too complex for beginners

Alternative Option: Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora is the best software to carry out different audio mixing activating. You can easily edit your audio to ensure a clean and crisp audio output. In addition, this tool offers excellent features like silence detection and auto-beat sync. Beyond this, it offers features like an auto montage maker, which evaluates your audio file and informs you of its best points. It is also useful for adding soundtracks to video files when necessary.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Wondershare Filmora allows you efficiently adjust pitch and speed. You can also minimize or increase the volume of your sound file or add sound fading in and out features to your audio file. The best part about this tool is that you can share the mix on social media after mixing and editing audio files. The steps to mix audio files using Wondershare Filmora are easy; check them out below.

Step1Download Wondershare Filmora from the official website and install it on your device following the installation guide.

Step2Launch the audio mixing software and choose ‘create new project’ on the homepage.

Step3Import media files by clicking on ‘import media files’ on the media menu.

Step4Choose the audio file you want to mix and click the ‘import media’ option. Alternatively, you can choose to drag and drop the audio file to the software’s timeline.

Step5Start editing your media file by clicking the ‘audio mixer’ option. It will provide various tools to mix and edit your audio file.

Step6click the master icon to decrease or increase audio volume. Once you’re done, hit the ‘OK’ button.

Step7After mixing, hit the ‘export’ button and choose the location you want to save your edited file. You can also choose to share directly on social media platforms.

Final Thoughts

Audio mixing and editing are sometimes essential to creating an excellent music track. However, finding an audio mixer for Mac can be difficult; we reviewed the 5 best audio mixers for Mac to provide you with options. With this list of best Mac audio mixers, you can transform your audio files into professional quality.

The Truth About Digital Studios: Separating Myths From DAW Reality

What Is DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) -Myth Solved

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

If you’re just starting in the field of music production, you must have heard about DAW. Every YouTube tutorial on music production talks about choosing the right DAW software before everything else.

So, what does DAW mean, and more importantly, why do you need DAW for music production? If you’re also struggling to find answers to these questions, let us help. In this guide, we’re going to explain what DAW is and how it can help a music producer in his career.

• Part 1: What is DAW
• Part 2: Types of DAW
• Part 3: How to Choose DAW
• Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW

Part 1: What is DAW

DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation . It is a dedicated software that’s designed to handle various tasks associated with music production, including instrument recording, audio editing, audio mixing, looping, etc.

While many people compare DAW to audio editors, that’s not true. Audio editors are only used to edit an audio file. A DAW, on the other hand, can be used to record different audio tracks and mix them to compile a full song.

Digital Audio Workstations are used by the most popular DJs and music producers in the world, mainly for composing hip-hop and EDM tracks. Today, the market is stacked with dozens of Digital Audio Workstations, ranging from novice to professional level.

And, these tools are available for Windows as well as Mac operating systems. It means that regardless of your PC’s operating system, you have the liberty to choose the right DAW from a wide variety of options.

Part 2: Types of DAW

Now that you know what a DAW is in music let’s take a look at how DAW software first came into the picture and why they ended up becoming a vital tool for every music producer.

In the earlier years, there wasn’t a dedicated software for compiling the entire track. Usually, four different types of tools were used to perform different operations on a single music track. These four programs included:

• Digital Audio Processor (Used to record, edit, and mix audio files)
• MIDI Sequencer (Used to Record, edit, and mix MIDI information)
• Music Notation Editor (Used to put different notes on the digital audio sheet)
• Virtual Instrument (Used to record sounds from different virtual instruments by decoding the MIDI information)

For any music composer, these four tools were essential to compile a single track. However, with time tech-giants decided to compile these four different programs into a unique software and name it DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

As a result, DAW became a one-stop-solution to create, edit, mix, record different audio tracks without having to manage four different stand-alone tools. Over the years, several companies have released their DAW tools, boasting an extensive range of features to help creators compile a full audio track with minimal efforts.

Part 3: How to Choose DAW

Since there are too many options to choose from, it is most likely to get confusing while choosing the right DAW for composing music. So, here are a couple of golden rules that you should always remember while choosing a Digital Audio Workstation from such full availability.

• First of all, it’s imperative to understand that every DAW will do the same thing at the end, i.e., produce music tracks. What separates these tools from each other is their set of features and the workflow. While some of these tools have a straightforward workflow, others have a steep learning curve. So, it’s better to familiarize yourself with the workflow and features of different DAWs and then make the right decision accordingly.
• For beginners, ease of use will also be one of the significant factors while deciding what DAW software that’ll help them compose tracks without going through too much hassle is. If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a DAW that offers a user-friendly interface and a smooth workflow.
• If you’re not sure, it’s better to use the free demo to decide if a particular DAW will be suitable for your requirements or not.

Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW?

Again, deciding which is the best DAW will depend on your objectives. Anyhow, here are the top three Digital Audio Workstations that offers an easy-to-use interface and a hassle-free workflow.

Free DAW Software

If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a free DAW software and get familiar with the features and work process of composing music. While these free tools don’t have advanced features, they’re perfect for people who want to compose music for hobby or want to learn the basics first. Since free software won’t have clutter like an advanced DAW, it would become easier to implement different functions and compile a 3-minute long track.

Some of the best free DAW software include:

• Garageband
• Cakewalk by BandLab
• Cubase LE
• Ableton 9 Lite
• Pro Tools First

1. Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X is one of the most popular DAWs, designed by Apple, which is exclusively available for Mac. If you’re a Mac user, there’s nothing that comes closer to the features of Logic Pro X.

With this software, Apple has focused on boosting the idea of automation, and that’s why the tech giant has added hundreds of built-in plug-ins. You can add these plug-ins to your audio tracks and directly add different sound effects.

Moreover, Logic Pro X offers a seamless workflow, thanks to its intuitive design, which makes it extremely easy for the user to work with different modules at the same time.

2. Avid Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is one of the earliest commercialized DAWs in the market. However, even after a long life-span, the tool remains a popular choice, especially in the world of hip-hop. From Dr. Dre to Kanye West, many iconic music producers use Pro Tools to place their beats and compose heart-touching audio tracks.

If you’re looking to enter the professional world and want to give your songs a professional-touch, there’s nothing more suitable than Avid Pro Tools.

Conclusion

We hope that the above guide helped you understand what does DAW mean. Although it’s important to understand that music production isn’t a piece of cake. It takes dedication, hard work, and creativity to compose an iconic music track. Of course, having the best DAW software will ease-out the process of compiling the entire track. So, analyze your requirements and choose the most appropriate DAW accordingly.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

If you’re just starting in the field of music production, you must have heard about DAW. Every YouTube tutorial on music production talks about choosing the right DAW software before everything else.

So, what does DAW mean, and more importantly, why do you need DAW for music production? If you’re also struggling to find answers to these questions, let us help. In this guide, we’re going to explain what DAW is and how it can help a music producer in his career.

• Part 1: What is DAW
• Part 2: Types of DAW
• Part 3: How to Choose DAW
• Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW

Part 1: What is DAW

DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation . It is a dedicated software that’s designed to handle various tasks associated with music production, including instrument recording, audio editing, audio mixing, looping, etc.

While many people compare DAW to audio editors, that’s not true. Audio editors are only used to edit an audio file. A DAW, on the other hand, can be used to record different audio tracks and mix them to compile a full song.

Digital Audio Workstations are used by the most popular DJs and music producers in the world, mainly for composing hip-hop and EDM tracks. Today, the market is stacked with dozens of Digital Audio Workstations, ranging from novice to professional level.

And, these tools are available for Windows as well as Mac operating systems. It means that regardless of your PC’s operating system, you have the liberty to choose the right DAW from a wide variety of options.

Part 2: Types of DAW

Now that you know what a DAW is in music let’s take a look at how DAW software first came into the picture and why they ended up becoming a vital tool for every music producer.

In the earlier years, there wasn’t a dedicated software for compiling the entire track. Usually, four different types of tools were used to perform different operations on a single music track. These four programs included:

• Digital Audio Processor (Used to record, edit, and mix audio files)
• MIDI Sequencer (Used to Record, edit, and mix MIDI information)
• Music Notation Editor (Used to put different notes on the digital audio sheet)
• Virtual Instrument (Used to record sounds from different virtual instruments by decoding the MIDI information)

For any music composer, these four tools were essential to compile a single track. However, with time tech-giants decided to compile these four different programs into a unique software and name it DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

As a result, DAW became a one-stop-solution to create, edit, mix, record different audio tracks without having to manage four different stand-alone tools. Over the years, several companies have released their DAW tools, boasting an extensive range of features to help creators compile a full audio track with minimal efforts.

Part 3: How to Choose DAW

Since there are too many options to choose from, it is most likely to get confusing while choosing the right DAW for composing music. So, here are a couple of golden rules that you should always remember while choosing a Digital Audio Workstation from such full availability.

• First of all, it’s imperative to understand that every DAW will do the same thing at the end, i.e., produce music tracks. What separates these tools from each other is their set of features and the workflow. While some of these tools have a straightforward workflow, others have a steep learning curve. So, it’s better to familiarize yourself with the workflow and features of different DAWs and then make the right decision accordingly.
• For beginners, ease of use will also be one of the significant factors while deciding what DAW software that’ll help them compose tracks without going through too much hassle is. If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a DAW that offers a user-friendly interface and a smooth workflow.
• If you’re not sure, it’s better to use the free demo to decide if a particular DAW will be suitable for your requirements or not.

Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW?

Again, deciding which is the best DAW will depend on your objectives. Anyhow, here are the top three Digital Audio Workstations that offers an easy-to-use interface and a hassle-free workflow.

Free DAW Software

If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a free DAW software and get familiar with the features and work process of composing music. While these free tools don’t have advanced features, they’re perfect for people who want to compose music for hobby or want to learn the basics first. Since free software won’t have clutter like an advanced DAW, it would become easier to implement different functions and compile a 3-minute long track.

Some of the best free DAW software include:

• Garageband
• Cakewalk by BandLab
• Cubase LE
• Ableton 9 Lite
• Pro Tools First

1. Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X is one of the most popular DAWs, designed by Apple, which is exclusively available for Mac. If you’re a Mac user, there’s nothing that comes closer to the features of Logic Pro X.

With this software, Apple has focused on boosting the idea of automation, and that’s why the tech giant has added hundreds of built-in plug-ins. You can add these plug-ins to your audio tracks and directly add different sound effects.

Moreover, Logic Pro X offers a seamless workflow, thanks to its intuitive design, which makes it extremely easy for the user to work with different modules at the same time.

2. Avid Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is one of the earliest commercialized DAWs in the market. However, even after a long life-span, the tool remains a popular choice, especially in the world of hip-hop. From Dr. Dre to Kanye West, many iconic music producers use Pro Tools to place their beats and compose heart-touching audio tracks.

If you’re looking to enter the professional world and want to give your songs a professional-touch, there’s nothing more suitable than Avid Pro Tools.

Conclusion

We hope that the above guide helped you understand what does DAW mean. Although it’s important to understand that music production isn’t a piece of cake. It takes dedication, hard work, and creativity to compose an iconic music track. Of course, having the best DAW software will ease-out the process of compiling the entire track. So, analyze your requirements and choose the most appropriate DAW accordingly.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

If you’re just starting in the field of music production, you must have heard about DAW. Every YouTube tutorial on music production talks about choosing the right DAW software before everything else.

So, what does DAW mean, and more importantly, why do you need DAW for music production? If you’re also struggling to find answers to these questions, let us help. In this guide, we’re going to explain what DAW is and how it can help a music producer in his career.

• Part 1: What is DAW
• Part 2: Types of DAW
• Part 3: How to Choose DAW
• Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW

Part 1: What is DAW

DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation . It is a dedicated software that’s designed to handle various tasks associated with music production, including instrument recording, audio editing, audio mixing, looping, etc.

While many people compare DAW to audio editors, that’s not true. Audio editors are only used to edit an audio file. A DAW, on the other hand, can be used to record different audio tracks and mix them to compile a full song.

Digital Audio Workstations are used by the most popular DJs and music producers in the world, mainly for composing hip-hop and EDM tracks. Today, the market is stacked with dozens of Digital Audio Workstations, ranging from novice to professional level.

And, these tools are available for Windows as well as Mac operating systems. It means that regardless of your PC’s operating system, you have the liberty to choose the right DAW from a wide variety of options.

Part 2: Types of DAW

Now that you know what a DAW is in music let’s take a look at how DAW software first came into the picture and why they ended up becoming a vital tool for every music producer.

In the earlier years, there wasn’t a dedicated software for compiling the entire track. Usually, four different types of tools were used to perform different operations on a single music track. These four programs included:

• Digital Audio Processor (Used to record, edit, and mix audio files)
• MIDI Sequencer (Used to Record, edit, and mix MIDI information)
• Music Notation Editor (Used to put different notes on the digital audio sheet)
• Virtual Instrument (Used to record sounds from different virtual instruments by decoding the MIDI information)

For any music composer, these four tools were essential to compile a single track. However, with time tech-giants decided to compile these four different programs into a unique software and name it DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

As a result, DAW became a one-stop-solution to create, edit, mix, record different audio tracks without having to manage four different stand-alone tools. Over the years, several companies have released their DAW tools, boasting an extensive range of features to help creators compile a full audio track with minimal efforts.

Part 3: How to Choose DAW

Since there are too many options to choose from, it is most likely to get confusing while choosing the right DAW for composing music. So, here are a couple of golden rules that you should always remember while choosing a Digital Audio Workstation from such full availability.

• First of all, it’s imperative to understand that every DAW will do the same thing at the end, i.e., produce music tracks. What separates these tools from each other is their set of features and the workflow. While some of these tools have a straightforward workflow, others have a steep learning curve. So, it’s better to familiarize yourself with the workflow and features of different DAWs and then make the right decision accordingly.
• For beginners, ease of use will also be one of the significant factors while deciding what DAW software that’ll help them compose tracks without going through too much hassle is. If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a DAW that offers a user-friendly interface and a smooth workflow.
• If you’re not sure, it’s better to use the free demo to decide if a particular DAW will be suitable for your requirements or not.

Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW?

Again, deciding which is the best DAW will depend on your objectives. Anyhow, here are the top three Digital Audio Workstations that offers an easy-to-use interface and a hassle-free workflow.

Free DAW Software

If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a free DAW software and get familiar with the features and work process of composing music. While these free tools don’t have advanced features, they’re perfect for people who want to compose music for hobby or want to learn the basics first. Since free software won’t have clutter like an advanced DAW, it would become easier to implement different functions and compile a 3-minute long track.

Some of the best free DAW software include:

• Garageband
• Cakewalk by BandLab
• Cubase LE
• Ableton 9 Lite
• Pro Tools First

1. Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X is one of the most popular DAWs, designed by Apple, which is exclusively available for Mac. If you’re a Mac user, there’s nothing that comes closer to the features of Logic Pro X.

With this software, Apple has focused on boosting the idea of automation, and that’s why the tech giant has added hundreds of built-in plug-ins. You can add these plug-ins to your audio tracks and directly add different sound effects.

Moreover, Logic Pro X offers a seamless workflow, thanks to its intuitive design, which makes it extremely easy for the user to work with different modules at the same time.

2. Avid Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is one of the earliest commercialized DAWs in the market. However, even after a long life-span, the tool remains a popular choice, especially in the world of hip-hop. From Dr. Dre to Kanye West, many iconic music producers use Pro Tools to place their beats and compose heart-touching audio tracks.

If you’re looking to enter the professional world and want to give your songs a professional-touch, there’s nothing more suitable than Avid Pro Tools.

Conclusion

We hope that the above guide helped you understand what does DAW mean. Although it’s important to understand that music production isn’t a piece of cake. It takes dedication, hard work, and creativity to compose an iconic music track. Of course, having the best DAW software will ease-out the process of compiling the entire track. So, analyze your requirements and choose the most appropriate DAW accordingly.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

If you’re just starting in the field of music production, you must have heard about DAW. Every YouTube tutorial on music production talks about choosing the right DAW software before everything else.

So, what does DAW mean, and more importantly, why do you need DAW for music production? If you’re also struggling to find answers to these questions, let us help. In this guide, we’re going to explain what DAW is and how it can help a music producer in his career.

• Part 1: What is DAW
• Part 2: Types of DAW
• Part 3: How to Choose DAW
• Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW

Part 1: What is DAW

DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation . It is a dedicated software that’s designed to handle various tasks associated with music production, including instrument recording, audio editing, audio mixing, looping, etc.

While many people compare DAW to audio editors, that’s not true. Audio editors are only used to edit an audio file. A DAW, on the other hand, can be used to record different audio tracks and mix them to compile a full song.

Digital Audio Workstations are used by the most popular DJs and music producers in the world, mainly for composing hip-hop and EDM tracks. Today, the market is stacked with dozens of Digital Audio Workstations, ranging from novice to professional level.

And, these tools are available for Windows as well as Mac operating systems. It means that regardless of your PC’s operating system, you have the liberty to choose the right DAW from a wide variety of options.

Part 2: Types of DAW

Now that you know what a DAW is in music let’s take a look at how DAW software first came into the picture and why they ended up becoming a vital tool for every music producer.

In the earlier years, there wasn’t a dedicated software for compiling the entire track. Usually, four different types of tools were used to perform different operations on a single music track. These four programs included:

• Digital Audio Processor (Used to record, edit, and mix audio files)
• MIDI Sequencer (Used to Record, edit, and mix MIDI information)
• Music Notation Editor (Used to put different notes on the digital audio sheet)
• Virtual Instrument (Used to record sounds from different virtual instruments by decoding the MIDI information)

For any music composer, these four tools were essential to compile a single track. However, with time tech-giants decided to compile these four different programs into a unique software and name it DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

As a result, DAW became a one-stop-solution to create, edit, mix, record different audio tracks without having to manage four different stand-alone tools. Over the years, several companies have released their DAW tools, boasting an extensive range of features to help creators compile a full audio track with minimal efforts.

Part 3: How to Choose DAW

Since there are too many options to choose from, it is most likely to get confusing while choosing the right DAW for composing music. So, here are a couple of golden rules that you should always remember while choosing a Digital Audio Workstation from such full availability.

• First of all, it’s imperative to understand that every DAW will do the same thing at the end, i.e., produce music tracks. What separates these tools from each other is their set of features and the workflow. While some of these tools have a straightforward workflow, others have a steep learning curve. So, it’s better to familiarize yourself with the workflow and features of different DAWs and then make the right decision accordingly.
• For beginners, ease of use will also be one of the significant factors while deciding what DAW software that’ll help them compose tracks without going through too much hassle is. If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a DAW that offers a user-friendly interface and a smooth workflow.
• If you’re not sure, it’s better to use the free demo to decide if a particular DAW will be suitable for your requirements or not.

Part 4: Which One is the Best DAW?

Again, deciding which is the best DAW will depend on your objectives. Anyhow, here are the top three Digital Audio Workstations that offers an easy-to-use interface and a hassle-free workflow.

Free DAW Software

If you’re a beginner, it’s better to choose a free DAW software and get familiar with the features and work process of composing music. While these free tools don’t have advanced features, they’re perfect for people who want to compose music for hobby or want to learn the basics first. Since free software won’t have clutter like an advanced DAW, it would become easier to implement different functions and compile a 3-minute long track.

Some of the best free DAW software include:

• Garageband
• Cakewalk by BandLab
• Cubase LE
• Ableton 9 Lite
• Pro Tools First

1. Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X is one of the most popular DAWs, designed by Apple, which is exclusively available for Mac. If you’re a Mac user, there’s nothing that comes closer to the features of Logic Pro X.

With this software, Apple has focused on boosting the idea of automation, and that’s why the tech giant has added hundreds of built-in plug-ins. You can add these plug-ins to your audio tracks and directly add different sound effects.

Moreover, Logic Pro X offers a seamless workflow, thanks to its intuitive design, which makes it extremely easy for the user to work with different modules at the same time.

2. Avid Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is one of the earliest commercialized DAWs in the market. However, even after a long life-span, the tool remains a popular choice, especially in the world of hip-hop. From Dr. Dre to Kanye West, many iconic music producers use Pro Tools to place their beats and compose heart-touching audio tracks.

If you’re looking to enter the professional world and want to give your songs a professional-touch, there’s nothing more suitable than Avid Pro Tools.

Conclusion

We hope that the above guide helped you understand what does DAW mean. Although it’s important to understand that music production isn’t a piece of cake. It takes dedication, hard work, and creativity to compose an iconic music track. Of course, having the best DAW software will ease-out the process of compiling the entire track. So, analyze your requirements and choose the most appropriate DAW accordingly.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Audio Engineering Simplified: Utilizing Dynamic Ducking Techniques in Final Cut Pro X for Professional Results

How to Do Automatic Audio Ducking in Final Cut Pro X

Benjamin Arango

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

If you are working in post-production, then you might be familiar with the concept of audio ducking. In nutshell, it is a process in which the background sound of a clip is reduced and the voiceover is amplified. Therefore, with the help of sound ducking, we can focus on the dialogues without a noisy background track.

Lately, a lot of people have asked us about the process to do automatic audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X. Since it is a clip-based editing tool, it lacks a dedicated mixer to help us do FCPX audio ducking. Thankfully, there are third-party plugins and tools (like the FCPX AutoDuck) that can help us do the same. In this post, I will let you know how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro and its best alternative.

If you don’t want to use any plugins, see this article: How to sync in FCPX.

Part 1: How to Perform Audio Ducking in Final Cut Pro X?

If you have a video in which you have background music and a voiceover, then you can perform sound ducking in it. This will automatically enhance the quality of the voiceover and would mellow down the background music selectively. Sadly, the feature of audio ducking in Final Cut Pro has to be done manually as there are no instant automatic options in the tool presently.

Therefore, you can use any reliable third-party FCPX tool like Audified or AutoDuck to meet your requirements. For instance, let’s consider the example of FCPX AutoDuck, which is a paid macOS application. To perform FCPX audio ducking, you first have to export the music and voiceover as two dedicated files. Later, you can import them to FCPX AutoDuck to perform auto-ducking of the music.

Step 1: Export the Music Files

To perform audio ducking in Final Cut Pro, you can first launch the application on Mac and open your project. Since there is no FCPX audio ducking option, you first have to export the music files.

For this, you can just go to the main menu on Final Cut Pro and select File > Share > Master File. This will help you explore and save all the media files from Final Cut Pro.

Now, once the Master File window would be opened, you can go to the “Role” tab and select “Audio Only” as the output role. This will display a list of the background music and the voiceover file.

You can now select the files of your choice and click on the “Next” button to save them to any desired location on your Mac.

Step 2: Use FCPX AutoDuck to Do Automatic Sound Ducking

Great! Now, you can just open the FCPX AutoDuck application on your Mac via its Application or Spotlight. You can just give it a project name and drag-and-drop the speaker (voiceover) and the music files here. If you want, you can also import a filler file of your choice.

FCPX will also let you select the level of music ducking from its dedication option. There are also different options to set up things like setting up the window or pre-roll for the audio.

In the end, you can click on the “Duck” button and let FCPX AutoDuck perform automatic audio ducking on the files.

Step 3: Insert the Modified File to your Project

Once the FCPX audio ducking process is completed, it will generate an XML file. You can now just drag the XML file and drop it to your project in Final Cut Pro. Here, you can choose to select the XML file in the same project.

You can now copy the modified music clip, go to the timeline, and paste it at the starting of the video. Here, you can just mute the previous music clip and let the auto-duck audio play instead.

Part 2: The Best FCPX Alternative for Mac to Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

As you can see, it is pretty tough to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro as there is no automatic feature in the tool. Therefore, you can consider using Wondershare Filmora for Mac to perform automatic sound ducking and save your time. It is an inbuilt feature in Filmora that would perform auto-ducking instantly, and you can also mark the level of ducking in the video.

Ideally, you can perform audio ducking on voiceover or another soundtrack in Wondershare Filmora. To perform music ducking via Wondershare Filmora on Mac, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Import the Video Clip or Record Your Audio

To begin with, just launch Wondershare Filmora on your Mac and just drag-and-drop your media files to the application. You can also go to its menu and choose to import media files.

Once your video is imported, you can drag it to the timeline at the bottom to work on it. If you want, you can click on the voiceover icon (adjacent to the preview section) to record dialogues right away.

Apart from that, you can also import music files to your video or use the extensive range of royalty-free audio files that are available in Filmora.

Step 2: Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

Great! Now, on the timeline of Filmora, you can see your video and the music track. From here, you need to select the track that you want to amplify (like the voiceover).

Afterward, right-click the audio track and select the “Adjust Audio” option from the context menu.

This will open a dedicated Audio Mixer window on the screen. Just go to the Audio tab and enable the “Ducking” option to lower the volume of other audio tracks. You can also select the desired level for music ducking to implement.

Step 3: Export the Edited Video

That’s it! After performing audio ducking on Filmora, you can preview the results and further make the needed changes. In the end, you can click on the “Export” button and save the file in the format and resolution of your choice.

There you go! After following this guide, you can easily learn how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X easily. Since there is no inbuilt FCPX audio ducking option, you can use a third-party tool like FCPX AutoDuck. Apart from that, if you are looking for a better alternative to do sound ducking, then simply use Wondershare Filmora. It is a user-friendly and resourceful application that would let you perform automatic music ducking like a pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

If you are working in post-production, then you might be familiar with the concept of audio ducking. In nutshell, it is a process in which the background sound of a clip is reduced and the voiceover is amplified. Therefore, with the help of sound ducking, we can focus on the dialogues without a noisy background track.

Lately, a lot of people have asked us about the process to do automatic audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X. Since it is a clip-based editing tool, it lacks a dedicated mixer to help us do FCPX audio ducking. Thankfully, there are third-party plugins and tools (like the FCPX AutoDuck) that can help us do the same. In this post, I will let you know how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro and its best alternative.

If you don’t want to use any plugins, see this article: How to sync in FCPX.

Part 1: How to Perform Audio Ducking in Final Cut Pro X?

If you have a video in which you have background music and a voiceover, then you can perform sound ducking in it. This will automatically enhance the quality of the voiceover and would mellow down the background music selectively. Sadly, the feature of audio ducking in Final Cut Pro has to be done manually as there are no instant automatic options in the tool presently.

Therefore, you can use any reliable third-party FCPX tool like Audified or AutoDuck to meet your requirements. For instance, let’s consider the example of FCPX AutoDuck, which is a paid macOS application. To perform FCPX audio ducking, you first have to export the music and voiceover as two dedicated files. Later, you can import them to FCPX AutoDuck to perform auto-ducking of the music.

Step 1: Export the Music Files

To perform audio ducking in Final Cut Pro, you can first launch the application on Mac and open your project. Since there is no FCPX audio ducking option, you first have to export the music files.

For this, you can just go to the main menu on Final Cut Pro and select File > Share > Master File. This will help you explore and save all the media files from Final Cut Pro.

Now, once the Master File window would be opened, you can go to the “Role” tab and select “Audio Only” as the output role. This will display a list of the background music and the voiceover file.

You can now select the files of your choice and click on the “Next” button to save them to any desired location on your Mac.

Step 2: Use FCPX AutoDuck to Do Automatic Sound Ducking

Great! Now, you can just open the FCPX AutoDuck application on your Mac via its Application or Spotlight. You can just give it a project name and drag-and-drop the speaker (voiceover) and the music files here. If you want, you can also import a filler file of your choice.

FCPX will also let you select the level of music ducking from its dedication option. There are also different options to set up things like setting up the window or pre-roll for the audio.

In the end, you can click on the “Duck” button and let FCPX AutoDuck perform automatic audio ducking on the files.

Step 3: Insert the Modified File to your Project

Once the FCPX audio ducking process is completed, it will generate an XML file. You can now just drag the XML file and drop it to your project in Final Cut Pro. Here, you can choose to select the XML file in the same project.

You can now copy the modified music clip, go to the timeline, and paste it at the starting of the video. Here, you can just mute the previous music clip and let the auto-duck audio play instead.

Part 2: The Best FCPX Alternative for Mac to Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

As you can see, it is pretty tough to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro as there is no automatic feature in the tool. Therefore, you can consider using Wondershare Filmora for Mac to perform automatic sound ducking and save your time. It is an inbuilt feature in Filmora that would perform auto-ducking instantly, and you can also mark the level of ducking in the video.

Ideally, you can perform audio ducking on voiceover or another soundtrack in Wondershare Filmora. To perform music ducking via Wondershare Filmora on Mac, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Import the Video Clip or Record Your Audio

To begin with, just launch Wondershare Filmora on your Mac and just drag-and-drop your media files to the application. You can also go to its menu and choose to import media files.

Once your video is imported, you can drag it to the timeline at the bottom to work on it. If you want, you can click on the voiceover icon (adjacent to the preview section) to record dialogues right away.

Apart from that, you can also import music files to your video or use the extensive range of royalty-free audio files that are available in Filmora.

Step 2: Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

Great! Now, on the timeline of Filmora, you can see your video and the music track. From here, you need to select the track that you want to amplify (like the voiceover).

Afterward, right-click the audio track and select the “Adjust Audio” option from the context menu.

This will open a dedicated Audio Mixer window on the screen. Just go to the Audio tab and enable the “Ducking” option to lower the volume of other audio tracks. You can also select the desired level for music ducking to implement.

Step 3: Export the Edited Video

That’s it! After performing audio ducking on Filmora, you can preview the results and further make the needed changes. In the end, you can click on the “Export” button and save the file in the format and resolution of your choice.

There you go! After following this guide, you can easily learn how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X easily. Since there is no inbuilt FCPX audio ducking option, you can use a third-party tool like FCPX AutoDuck. Apart from that, if you are looking for a better alternative to do sound ducking, then simply use Wondershare Filmora. It is a user-friendly and resourceful application that would let you perform automatic music ducking like a pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

If you are working in post-production, then you might be familiar with the concept of audio ducking. In nutshell, it is a process in which the background sound of a clip is reduced and the voiceover is amplified. Therefore, with the help of sound ducking, we can focus on the dialogues without a noisy background track.

Lately, a lot of people have asked us about the process to do automatic audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X. Since it is a clip-based editing tool, it lacks a dedicated mixer to help us do FCPX audio ducking. Thankfully, there are third-party plugins and tools (like the FCPX AutoDuck) that can help us do the same. In this post, I will let you know how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro and its best alternative.

If you don’t want to use any plugins, see this article: How to sync in FCPX.

Part 1: How to Perform Audio Ducking in Final Cut Pro X?

If you have a video in which you have background music and a voiceover, then you can perform sound ducking in it. This will automatically enhance the quality of the voiceover and would mellow down the background music selectively. Sadly, the feature of audio ducking in Final Cut Pro has to be done manually as there are no instant automatic options in the tool presently.

Therefore, you can use any reliable third-party FCPX tool like Audified or AutoDuck to meet your requirements. For instance, let’s consider the example of FCPX AutoDuck, which is a paid macOS application. To perform FCPX audio ducking, you first have to export the music and voiceover as two dedicated files. Later, you can import them to FCPX AutoDuck to perform auto-ducking of the music.

Step 1: Export the Music Files

To perform audio ducking in Final Cut Pro, you can first launch the application on Mac and open your project. Since there is no FCPX audio ducking option, you first have to export the music files.

For this, you can just go to the main menu on Final Cut Pro and select File > Share > Master File. This will help you explore and save all the media files from Final Cut Pro.

Now, once the Master File window would be opened, you can go to the “Role” tab and select “Audio Only” as the output role. This will display a list of the background music and the voiceover file.

You can now select the files of your choice and click on the “Next” button to save them to any desired location on your Mac.

Step 2: Use FCPX AutoDuck to Do Automatic Sound Ducking

Great! Now, you can just open the FCPX AutoDuck application on your Mac via its Application or Spotlight. You can just give it a project name and drag-and-drop the speaker (voiceover) and the music files here. If you want, you can also import a filler file of your choice.

FCPX will also let you select the level of music ducking from its dedication option. There are also different options to set up things like setting up the window or pre-roll for the audio.

In the end, you can click on the “Duck” button and let FCPX AutoDuck perform automatic audio ducking on the files.

Step 3: Insert the Modified File to your Project

Once the FCPX audio ducking process is completed, it will generate an XML file. You can now just drag the XML file and drop it to your project in Final Cut Pro. Here, you can choose to select the XML file in the same project.

You can now copy the modified music clip, go to the timeline, and paste it at the starting of the video. Here, you can just mute the previous music clip and let the auto-duck audio play instead.

Part 2: The Best FCPX Alternative for Mac to Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

As you can see, it is pretty tough to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro as there is no automatic feature in the tool. Therefore, you can consider using Wondershare Filmora for Mac to perform automatic sound ducking and save your time. It is an inbuilt feature in Filmora that would perform auto-ducking instantly, and you can also mark the level of ducking in the video.

Ideally, you can perform audio ducking on voiceover or another soundtrack in Wondershare Filmora. To perform music ducking via Wondershare Filmora on Mac, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Import the Video Clip or Record Your Audio

To begin with, just launch Wondershare Filmora on your Mac and just drag-and-drop your media files to the application. You can also go to its menu and choose to import media files.

Once your video is imported, you can drag it to the timeline at the bottom to work on it. If you want, you can click on the voiceover icon (adjacent to the preview section) to record dialogues right away.

Apart from that, you can also import music files to your video or use the extensive range of royalty-free audio files that are available in Filmora.

Step 2: Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

Great! Now, on the timeline of Filmora, you can see your video and the music track. From here, you need to select the track that you want to amplify (like the voiceover).

Afterward, right-click the audio track and select the “Adjust Audio” option from the context menu.

This will open a dedicated Audio Mixer window on the screen. Just go to the Audio tab and enable the “Ducking” option to lower the volume of other audio tracks. You can also select the desired level for music ducking to implement.

Step 3: Export the Edited Video

That’s it! After performing audio ducking on Filmora, you can preview the results and further make the needed changes. In the end, you can click on the “Export” button and save the file in the format and resolution of your choice.

There you go! After following this guide, you can easily learn how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X easily. Since there is no inbuilt FCPX audio ducking option, you can use a third-party tool like FCPX AutoDuck. Apart from that, if you are looking for a better alternative to do sound ducking, then simply use Wondershare Filmora. It is a user-friendly and resourceful application that would let you perform automatic music ducking like a pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

If you are working in post-production, then you might be familiar with the concept of audio ducking. In nutshell, it is a process in which the background sound of a clip is reduced and the voiceover is amplified. Therefore, with the help of sound ducking, we can focus on the dialogues without a noisy background track.

Lately, a lot of people have asked us about the process to do automatic audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X. Since it is a clip-based editing tool, it lacks a dedicated mixer to help us do FCPX audio ducking. Thankfully, there are third-party plugins and tools (like the FCPX AutoDuck) that can help us do the same. In this post, I will let you know how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro and its best alternative.

If you don’t want to use any plugins, see this article: How to sync in FCPX.

Part 1: How to Perform Audio Ducking in Final Cut Pro X?

If you have a video in which you have background music and a voiceover, then you can perform sound ducking in it. This will automatically enhance the quality of the voiceover and would mellow down the background music selectively. Sadly, the feature of audio ducking in Final Cut Pro has to be done manually as there are no instant automatic options in the tool presently.

Therefore, you can use any reliable third-party FCPX tool like Audified or AutoDuck to meet your requirements. For instance, let’s consider the example of FCPX AutoDuck, which is a paid macOS application. To perform FCPX audio ducking, you first have to export the music and voiceover as two dedicated files. Later, you can import them to FCPX AutoDuck to perform auto-ducking of the music.

Step 1: Export the Music Files

To perform audio ducking in Final Cut Pro, you can first launch the application on Mac and open your project. Since there is no FCPX audio ducking option, you first have to export the music files.

For this, you can just go to the main menu on Final Cut Pro and select File > Share > Master File. This will help you explore and save all the media files from Final Cut Pro.

Now, once the Master File window would be opened, you can go to the “Role” tab and select “Audio Only” as the output role. This will display a list of the background music and the voiceover file.

You can now select the files of your choice and click on the “Next” button to save them to any desired location on your Mac.

Step 2: Use FCPX AutoDuck to Do Automatic Sound Ducking

Great! Now, you can just open the FCPX AutoDuck application on your Mac via its Application or Spotlight. You can just give it a project name and drag-and-drop the speaker (voiceover) and the music files here. If you want, you can also import a filler file of your choice.

FCPX will also let you select the level of music ducking from its dedication option. There are also different options to set up things like setting up the window or pre-roll for the audio.

In the end, you can click on the “Duck” button and let FCPX AutoDuck perform automatic audio ducking on the files.

Step 3: Insert the Modified File to your Project

Once the FCPX audio ducking process is completed, it will generate an XML file. You can now just drag the XML file and drop it to your project in Final Cut Pro. Here, you can choose to select the XML file in the same project.

You can now copy the modified music clip, go to the timeline, and paste it at the starting of the video. Here, you can just mute the previous music clip and let the auto-duck audio play instead.

Part 2: The Best FCPX Alternative for Mac to Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

As you can see, it is pretty tough to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro as there is no automatic feature in the tool. Therefore, you can consider using Wondershare Filmora for Mac to perform automatic sound ducking and save your time. It is an inbuilt feature in Filmora that would perform auto-ducking instantly, and you can also mark the level of ducking in the video.

Ideally, you can perform audio ducking on voiceover or another soundtrack in Wondershare Filmora. To perform music ducking via Wondershare Filmora on Mac, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Import the Video Clip or Record Your Audio

To begin with, just launch Wondershare Filmora on your Mac and just drag-and-drop your media files to the application. You can also go to its menu and choose to import media files.

Once your video is imported, you can drag it to the timeline at the bottom to work on it. If you want, you can click on the voiceover icon (adjacent to the preview section) to record dialogues right away.

Apart from that, you can also import music files to your video or use the extensive range of royalty-free audio files that are available in Filmora.

Step 2: Perform Automatic Audio Ducking

Great! Now, on the timeline of Filmora, you can see your video and the music track. From here, you need to select the track that you want to amplify (like the voiceover).

Afterward, right-click the audio track and select the “Adjust Audio” option from the context menu.

This will open a dedicated Audio Mixer window on the screen. Just go to the Audio tab and enable the “Ducking” option to lower the volume of other audio tracks. You can also select the desired level for music ducking to implement.

Step 3: Export the Edited Video

That’s it! After performing audio ducking on Filmora, you can preview the results and further make the needed changes. In the end, you can click on the “Export” button and save the file in the format and resolution of your choice.

There you go! After following this guide, you can easily learn how to do audio ducking in Final Cut Pro X easily. Since there is no inbuilt FCPX audio ducking option, you can use a third-party tool like FCPX AutoDuck. Apart from that, if you are looking for a better alternative to do sound ducking, then simply use Wondershare Filmora. It is a user-friendly and resourceful application that would let you perform automatic music ducking like a pro.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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