Recently in Audio Recording Category

Don't be deceived by the name, Home Studio 4 looks like it will be an editing powerhouse with one of the best interfaces in the Pro-sumer market with up to 64 audio tracks.

From the press release:

Based on SONAR 4 technology, SONAR Home Studio brings the professional power of SONAR to musicians looking to take the first step into digital recording. SONAR Home Studio provides everything needed to take music from inspiration to finished CD with features that include: 64 audio and unlimited MIDI tracks; 24-bit, 192 kHz audio engine; Master Control Toolbar; Track Presets for easy track setup; Track Icons for quick visual orientation when recording and mixing; Track Inspector; Project Navigator; enhanced loop-based composition tools; music notation printing; customizable Console, color schemes, layouts, toolbars and keyboard commands; ASIO, WDM, DirectX, DXi, VST, ReWire Support; PowerStrip multi-effects processor and Cakewalk Audio FX1 and Audio FX2 plug-in suites; SFZ SoundFont player; Virtual Sound Canvas DXi and Dreamstation DXi; CD burning; and hundreds of megabytes of ACID-format loops.

SONAR Home Studio Version 4 Highlights

Record, edit, arrange, and mix 64 audio tracks and unlimited MIDI tracks
24-bit, 192 kHz audio engine
32-bit floating point audio engine
Dynamic Console view
Master Control Toolbar
Track Presets and Track Icons
Navigator view
Track Inspector
Project Navigator
Loop-based composition tools with enhanced loop construction toolset
Universal Bus Architecture (up to 16 busses simultaneously)
Advanced MIDI routing & synth layering
Audio metronome
Confidence recording of audio, MIDI, and automation
Music Notation
PowerStrip multi-effects
Cakewalk Audio FX1 and Audio FX2 effects suites
Virtual Sound Canvas DXi
Dreamstation DXi
SFZ SoundFont player
ASIO, WDM, DirectX, DXi, VST, ReWire Support
Hundreds of megabytes of ACID-format loops
CD burning with included Cakewalk Pyro Express

Read more about Home Studio 4

Ableton Live is a great app, but I haven't found an occasion to switch away from my other audio favorites. If you're Live curious, Ableton just opened the beta to the public. Test drive the app in beta to get your head around it's capabilities vs. your existing tools. Beta limitations are very minor, including no Japanese language support, no manual, no additional skins and a limited number of presets.

According to Ableton, "In creating Live 5, we faced the challenge of adding our most requested features while keeping Live simple, solid and inspiring to use. The new functionality simultaneously widens Live's scope and strengthens the qualities that make the program stand out. We would like to express our gratitude to the Live users who urged us to make this happen, and to make it happen in the right way. It is very important that we get your feedback during the beta test period, so that we can make Live 5 even better."

Join the Live 5 beta

Mac users may be more accustomed to apps like Bias Peak or even Pro Tools LE handling their primary audio editing duties, with Soundtrack relegated to providing audio tweaks for Final Cut. Not so says this review from Peter Kirn at MacWorld:

"Basic audio editors are like vacuum cleaners: you need them, but you rarely enjoy using them. Soundtrack Pro 1.0.1 is a rare exception: it makes day-to-day audio editing, cleanup, and sound-design chores fast and enjoyable. Despite its beginner-friendly interface, this program packs some amazing power, and its automation tools should attract video and sound pros alike. Soundtrack Pro isn't just an upgrade to Soundtrack; it's an entirely new application with broader capabilities."

Read the full review

My own experiences recording VoIP calls have varied between outstanding and awful depending on network traffic. Doug Kaye offers an excellent road map for proper audio routing to help insure optimum call recording every time you need to record using Skype. We used a very similar setup for live calls using Firefly and an Asterisk server on The Chris Pirillo Show and ultimately switched to POTS lines because streaming and VoIP on the same network connection proved to be an audible disaster. If you aren't streaming, it Doug's Skype recording recipe should work well.

More info on the Cakewalk / Edirol deal

Cakewalk made a killer announcement for anyone looking to break into the higher end of multitrack audio recording without going broke. Several Edirol products are now shipping with an LE version of Sonar 4.0, the Cakewalk flagship editing product. While Sonar LE isn't the full fledged version you get buying direct, it's certainly no slouch. With 24-bit/192 kHz recording, 14 audio effects, 4 MIDI effects, two included DX software synths, up to 64 audio and 256 MIDI tracks, drum editing, notation, ReWire support, DirectX and VST plugin support, this is a direct shot across the Pro Tools bow. A recent deal to enhance Pro Tools LE for M-Audio users looks like a waste of time from DigiDesign when compared to this Cakewalk offering. Pro Tools may still carry a ton of mindshare, but I've seen Sonar in action and I know it handles everything you could want from an audio system at a fraction of buying into the Pro Tools brand.