Macromedia provides SoundEdit 16, a sophisticated capture, playback and editing tool for the Macintosh.
From the File menu one can: Open (a new program), Close, Save (as), Import (to add a track to current program), and Export spectral data.
From the Edit menu, special features include: labels (to mark an insertion point or waveform selection, e.g., a word spoken, to see in the display or to search for), cue points (to mark a time, to see on the timeline or to search for).
The View menu shows a Waveform, Spectrum or both. Rulers are available both horizontally (time, samples, frames --- film/PAL/NTSC, timecode) and vertically (amplitude --- decimal, percentage, hexadecimal --- and spectral --- KHz or radian). Various options determine how the Spectrum is computed and displayed. Fit in window uses horizontal space to the best advantage for a given track; a zoom control at the bottom of the overall window can vary the scale. Also at the bottom of the window is a display showing the number of bits per sample and the sampling rate.
The Sound menu lets one Play, Record, Pause, and Mix (to a new document in mono or stereo). One can Add or Delete tracks, and can Offset a track so it starts later than another, for example. The Sound Format can be set, giving the Sampling rate (5.5 kHz to 48 kHz), bits per sample (8 or 16), and Compression (3:1 or 6:1 MACE, 4:1 or 8:1 MacroMind). Recording options allow for various connections to outside devices, or using the internal CD drive. Playback options deal with volume. Instrument Pitch allows changing the pitch (and hence playback time) of the selection or of what will be played back. Set Loopback allows selections to be repeated.
The Effects menu begins with choices to modify the current selection. One can change the Amplitude by a factor, run a selection Backwards, adjust pitch with a Bender (that varies over the duration of a sound as marked by handles for a given pitch variation range), Delay (for a given period and with the repetition at a given % of the original, added to the original), Echo (like Delay but with higher echo strength can repeat multiple times and so amplify and distort), Emphasize to pass through high-pass filter to accentuate the high frequencies (add spice to a voice), Envelope (to adjust amplitude, much like Bender, using Handles, allowing cross fades of 2 channels, with Gain control to increase amplitude too), Equalizer (with 5 bands and gain control, so can build a low pass filter, etc.), Fade In (to increase amplitude, with handles, curves) or Out (to decrease amplitude), Noise Gate to remove hiss or noise or silent gaps, Normalize (like automatic gain control), Reverb (to add in reflections as in a concert hall or stadium), Shift Pitch (to raise or lower and hence shorten or lengthen), Smooth (removing sharp edges, clicks, pops --- simulating a low-pass filter and eliminate hiss and static), Tempo (to change speed of voice without changing its pitch).
The Effects menu also has tools for generation. FM Synthesis generates frequency-modulated signals like a siren (1500, .5, 1000, 100), buzzer, or bird chirp. Noise creates sound like static. Silence adds quiet. The Tone Generator allows waveform shape (sine for sweet/clean, square for harsh, sawtooth for rough), frequency or keyboard freq. selection, etc.
From the Windows menu, a Control palette allows clips to be recorded, played, paused or stopped. A Selection palette gives time for start, end, and duration.
Sound Edit also allows QuickTime sound recording, editing and synchronizing. One can add a soundtrack, effects, narration and music to movies. Audio CD tracks can be made into sound-only movies too.