WireTap Studio

WireTap Studio by Ambrosia Software allows you to record any sound from your Mac. Whether it be audio streaming off the internet, a DVD or music playing on iTunes, WireTap Studio can capture it. Of course, there's plenty of other pieces of software that will do something similar. What sets WireTap Studio apart is it's ease of use and non-destructive editing.

There's nothing I hate more than software that makes you feel like you need to read the manual to use it. That's why I like WireTap Studio. It's a breeze to learn.

Recently I needed to record some audio from a Quicktime movie for a presentation I was giving. I was going to use another program, but since I'd just received WireTap Studio I decided to give it a try.

Wow.

When I launched it I was met with one intuitive window where I would choose my source to record from (in this case, Quicktime) and push the record button. That was it. It recorded the audio from the Quicktime movie flawlessly.

From there I was able to export it to iTunes using the intuitively placed buttons at the bottom of the library window. You can also export to your iPhone, iPod and your email program as well as other options.

Editing the recording was also very intuitive - it worked along the same principle as iPhoto. Just draw a box around the portion of the recording you want to delete and click the delete or crop button and, viola, your recording is now edited.

But, after its ease of use, my favorite part of WireTap Studio is its nondestructive editing. I have a live music DVD that I've ripped to iTunes that I was always afraid to edit because I feared I would mess it up and have to start over. So it's one long recording with no breaks, which can be painful when I want to skip a song.

I didn't worry with WireTap Studio because I knew if I made a mistake I could return the recording to its original state.

Another use I found was converting AAC files in my iTunes library to MP3 for playback in my car. It records audio in MP3, MP4, AAC, AIFF, WAV, Quicktime and additional formats.

WireTap Studio can be purchased for $69 at Ambrosiasw.com. Ambrosia's website also offers a how-to video to get you going quickly.

Review by NCMUG member James Bleifus