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Jul 01, 2020 The US English voices Julie and Paul are very high quality TTS voices and they sound the most natural to me. I like how you can change the speed, pitch, break, and volume of the voices by using simple VTML in the editor. Overall, this software I would give a 9/10 just for its simplicity and quality of the voices. The synthesized Mac voices were used to entertain many a Mac aficionado at user group meetings across the world. The Software Update mechanism handles the download and installation process. With our easy to use editor, use a Youtube video or your own to mark the times when the voiceover should happen. Time the duration of each text block. Merge with the video and get it ready to publish! Supporting up to 15 voices and 13 languages, the ultimate tool to.
As I write this, it's the Macintosh's 29th birthday. This takes me back to the Mac's very early days in the mid-eighties when, even then, its operating system was outfitted with synthetic speech capabilities. Heck, we even used to have a talking moose! And, who can forget young Steve Jobs introducing the new Macintosh on-stage in 1984? Using software called MacinTalk, it announced itself to the world by saying, 'Hello. I'm Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag.'
Jan 23, 2019 A digital audio workstation (DAW) is a more heavy-duty version of voice recording software. This kind of software can handle more inputs and tracks, has wider file format compatibility, and generally produces higher quality audio files. Because DAWs are more powerful, they cost more and are predominantly made for audio professionals. Jul 14, 2020 What is Other on Mac Storage? Just like the ‘Other’ on iPhone and iPad, it is home to several files, cached data, and more.This section houses a mix of junk and important files. In the simplest of terms, the “Other” category is a combination of files.
The Talking Moose provided many Mac old-timers with hours of silly fun.
Early voices were highly robotic and astonishingly crude by today's standards. Nevertheless, back then, it was downright awe-inspiring. This was something from the future! The synthesized Mac voices were used to entertain many a Mac aficionado at user group meetings across the world.
Vestiges of early artificial-sounding voices are still present today as novelties for some light-hearted, geeky entertainment – or for the nostalgic. In a bit,I'll show you how to try these out for yourself.
When OS X 10.5 Leopard was uncaged back in 2007, Apple included some new high-fidelity text-to-speech capabilities in the form of a single new voice called Alex. This mellifluous male voice included breath and pause control to augment comprehension of the spoken words and phrases. As a result of this vast improvement, I immediately found the use of synthetic speech to finally provide value for me. I began using Alex to read articles and other text to me while I was engaged doing something else, and I found that I no longer needed to listen closely, straining to understand what was being said.
The technology in Alex presents a huge advantage to those who, due to visual impairment, regularly require screen-reading capabilities. Additionally, the higher quality voice is quite valuable to Mac users who might be learning english pronunciation and sentence formation.
As for me, aside from the fact that text-to-speech is a huge help when my aging eyes are tired after a long day at the keyboard, I have found this capability to be incredibly useful as a proofreading tool for the very same articles you read in my How-To column here at TMO. Simply reading to catch typos and punctuation errors is one thing. Having an entity read the article to me is invaluable. It helps me to hear how my words flow and how clearly the concepts and ideas express themselves.
Alex is wonderful. But, he's overworked, and I have sent him out to pasture.
Allow me to introduce you to someone. Say hello to my little friend, Samantha. She is a Alex's sibling – a high-quality American English female voice which I find to be quite soothing and highly coherent. Starting with OS X Lion, Alex, Samantha and several other high-quality voices are available for you to choose from. Additionally, choices include international voices that will support several languages and dialects.
Most of the high-quality voices are not pre-installed because the software voice files are quite large in size. But they are selectable, and you can sample them before deciding to automatically download and install them free-of-charge from Apple's servers.
Let's jump in and see how this works.
For OS versions prior to Mountain Lion, the voice options and controls are located in the Speech System Preferences panel. Starting with Mountain Lion, this has been renamed to Dictation & Speech. Once in the panel, be sure to click on the Text to Speech tab.
The Dictation and Speech System Preferences panel in Mountain Lion.
Click the System Voice pop-up menu to reveal voices already installed in your system. The voices are organized by language, and the one marked with a check is the one currently set as your System Voice.
Clicking on System Voice pops up a list showing all the installed voices. The checked one is the currently selected System Voice.
For the really good stuff, select Customize at the bottom of the System Voice pop-up list. This will reveal a pane containing quite a few other voices available in several languages. High-quality voice, Alex, is pre-installed. Notice that you can play a sample of any voice without actually having it installed. Simply select a voice and click the Play button.
In the Customize pane, you can sample all voices and select ones to download and install.
By ticking a checkbox, the selected voice will be added to your working list of ones shown in the System Voice popup menu. A yellow warning sign appearing beside the checked voice indicates that it is one of the new high-quality voices that you can obtain for free. The voice file is downloaded when you click OK. The Software Update mechanism handles the download and installation process.
As you can see back in the Preferences panel for Text to Speech, you can select other features controlling behavior characteristics of the System Voice. For example, selecting the checkbox labeled “Speak selected text when the key is pressed' lets you configure a keyboard shortcut to have the System Voice speak any selected text.
Inside the Customize pane, you can sample and activate the goofy Novelty Voices.
What about those goofy, but ageless, legacy voices I mentioned earlier? You know, the ones like Zarvox that makes your Mac sound like a constipated robot. Or... how about Hysterical making your Mac sound like it has worked for days without any sleep? Check these and more retro voices located in the 'English (United States) – Novelty' section of the Customize pane.
Your System Voice can be used in many practical ways. I use Samantha most often for reading back selected text. One way I activate this is by right-clicking (or Control-clicking) on any selected text and choosing Speech > Start Speaking in the contextual pop-up menu.
Right-clicking on selected text will allow you to have the text spoken with the System Voice.
You don't have to be afflicted by poor vision to take advantage of the Mac's speech capabilities. I encourage you to play around with this feature, and explore the many interesting ways the System Voice can enhance your workflow.
If you're a musician or simply like to produce music, a great music editing apps is the best way to go about turning your recordings into well-produced masterpieces. Whether you're just a novice or a seasoned pro, a DJ or an acoustic guitar player, there's a music editing app for you!
GarageBand
Apple includes their entry-level GarageBand music editing app with every new Mac. That means, if you're new to music or a hobbyist, GarageBand is where it's at. GarageBand uses the same Drummer digital session player as Logic Pro X (though to a lesser extent in terms of available sounds) and is the perfect app to help you start creating and mixing songs — especially if you're a super novice.
The interface is easy to use and though the app is powerful and full of controls, it's not overwhelming or as involved as some of the more professional audio editors.
You can upload your own recordings to GarageBand and mix them with the digital instruments, or you can create an entire song using just your recordings or just the instruments found in GarageBand. If you're not satisfied with the instruments available, you can also purchase instrument packs to get different sounds. Use iCloud to store your projects or share them with friends for collaboration. You can even start a song on your iPhone and then finish it on your Mac!
If you want to get into music production and also want to keep things convenient and within the Apple ecosystem, GarageBand is the best place to start.
- Free with new Macs or $4.99 - Download now
Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X is Apple's pro-level music editing software that still manages to be accessible to beginners. The powerful app has all the tools you could want for mixing, editing, and songwriting, with a massive library of instruments and effects. If you're looking to make polished, professional-sounding recordings, without a ton of complexity, then Logic Pro X is where it's at.
The 64-bit architecture supports projects featuring hundreds of tracks and instruments, so if you're a composer, it's like heaven. I have to say: As a drummer, I hate canned drum sounds. Logic Pro X's Drummer is top-notch when it comes to producing authentic acoustic drums sounds, and sometimes I actually can't tell the difference (I know, shame on me).
The app does come at a professional-level price, at $200, but if you're serious about music editing on the Mac and enjoy songwriting and composing on a grand level, it's easily one of, if not the best choice out there.
- $199.99 - Download now
Pro Tools
Pro Tools, by Avid, is one of the most popular music editing apps in the industry. It can be used to record, mix, master, and much, much more. You can lay down up to 128 tracks per session, with 32 inputs and over 60 plugins, and you can create an unlimited number of sessions.
Pro Tools is definitely not for the faint of heart and isn't necessarily an app you can just pick up and go with. I had to go to school to learn how to use it (before all these damn YouTube tutorials made school obsolete!). That being said, it isn't beyond the pale to learn the basics and get yourself up and running fairly quickly. Importing audio is as easy as dragging from the Finder window and placing it on the timeline (so long as your current session supports that file format).
From there, you can add a plethora of effects to your audio and edit it like mad, controlling volume, speed, pitch, tone, and much more. Honestly, the stuff you can do with Pro Tools seems just about endless. It is one of the most robust audio editing apps available, and is definitely for those looking to tackle things on a professional level.
That being said, if you have the cash, go for it, and learn all there is to know!
Pricing is what you'd expect: $24.92 per month with a 12-month agreement or $29.99 month-to-month, $599 to buy it outright.
Free Voices For Mac
djay Pro
For the performance DJ (or even the hobbyist, really) djay Pro has all the effects, compatibility, and mixing capabilities you could ask for. You can sample from iTunes and Spotify simultaneously, and you can even mix in video from the extensive video library for the ultimate experience.
You can mix from four decks and create mashups and transitions galore, and you can edit playlists on the fly, use external displays and AirPlay, and there's Pioneer CDJ/XDJ integration for even more versatility.
If you're a pro DJ or just want a fun way to mix at a house party, djay Pro's price might be its best selling feature, at only $40.
- $39.99 - Download now
Mac Software List
Audacity
Audacity is a free open source audio editing and recording software that lets you cut, copy, paste, and delete audio. It isn't exactly the most powerful when it comes to music editing, but if you're wanting to slap together some demo material or something like that, it's perfect. You can import audio in many formats, though for MP3, you'll have to install a separate, optional encoder library.
You can edit and mix a large number of tracks at once and even alter individual sample points, though you can't add effects or do any sort of mastering. Audacity may be better-suited to podcasting, but, like I said, if you're putting together demos or just need to create rough ideas, it's perfect, because FREE.
- Free - Download now
Are you a mixmaster?
Voices Creating Software For Mac Download
What's your favorite music editing app for Mac? Are you a pro or is it more of a hobby? Let us know in the comments below!
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