How to Add Audio Effects in Cool Record Edit Pro

1. Open your file and select the part to change

Open Cool Record Edit Pro and choose File → Open (Ctrl+O). Open an audio file you want to edit and listen before processing it. Keep your source file so you can return to it after experimenting.

Drag across the waveform to select a short section. Check the Start, End and Duration values above the waveform: the example below selects 2.000–5.000 seconds of a 12-second practice file. Choose a region that includes the sound you want to change and a little context, then play it.

For an effect on the entire recording, select the whole file. For a fade, select only the beginning or ending that should change. Selecting the right range is the first step to avoiding an effect that starts too early or ends too late.

2. Match the audio effect to the job

Open the Effects menu. Start with one process, listen to its result, then decide whether another is needed. These are current menu names, so you can find the same controls in the application.

3. Add reverb, preview it and compare

With the test range selected, choose Effects → Reverb. The dialog is called Apply Reverb to selected range. It provides Time, Decay and Wet sliders, a Presets list, Preview, Toggle Bypass, Apply and CANCEL.

1. Start with a preset such as Small Room, or keep the initial controls while you learn the sound.
2. Adjust Wet to change how much processed sound is mixed in. If words or musical attacks become hard to distinguish, reduce it.
3. Change Time and Decay one at a time while listening. A setting that suits a sustained instrument may blur spoken words.
4. Use Preview to audition the selection and Toggle Bypass to compare it without the effect. Keep playback volume consistent.
5. Click Apply when the result is useful, or CANCEL to leave the file unchanged. Replay the transition into and out of the selected range.

If the applied result is too strong, use Edit → Undo and try a smaller change. Repeatedly applying the same effect adds more processing; it is not the same as revising the original settings.

4. Add a fade without changing the whole track

1. Close any effect dialog and select the beginning of the waveform. For a quick transition, try a short selection first.
2. Choose Effects → Fade In. This applies the fade to the selected audio directly; there is no Reverb-style parameter dialog.
3. Play from the beginning and listen to the transition. Undo if necessary, select a different duration and apply it again.
4. To finish a clip, select its ending and choose Effects → Fade Out. Replay from just before the fade to the end.

A fade changes volume over time. It does not cut the selected audio or remove a pause after it. Trim unwanted material separately, as described in the audio editing guide.

5. Use repair tools for clicks, hum and harsh sounds

A creative effect and a repair process solve different problems. Reverb will not remove a repeated hum. For repair work, open Process → Repair Studio…, select the processing you need and analyze a representative section. The available repair controls include De-click, De-hum, De-clip, De-ess and De-breath.

Use Preview dry and Preview wet to compare the original and processed audio before Apply repair. Start with the relevant repair option rather than enabling every process. Check that desired consonants, breaths or musical attacks have not been weakened. De-clip can attempt to improve damaged peaks; it cannot guarantee recovery of information missing from the source.

6. Export the processed audio as a new WAV file

After comparing the result, use File → Convert / Export… (Ctrl+Shift+X). Choose Whole file to save the finished recording, or Selection only when you need just the selected clip. Check this choice: exporting only the test selection will produce a shorter file.

1. Set Format to WAV (PCM).
2. Keep the existing sample rate and channels unless you have a specific delivery requirement. Choose the bit depth appropriate for the application receiving the file.
3. Click Export WAV, choose a destination and use a new filename so the source is preserved.
4. Open the saved file in a player. Check its beginning, ending, length and processed sections before sharing it.

If the effect does not sound right

• Only part of the file changed: check the selected range. Undo, select the intended region and apply again.
• The result is muddy or distant: reduce the wet amount or use less reverb. Listen to speech intelligibility and phrase endings.
• The output is harsh or distorted: undo the last level boost and check the loudest section. Louder is not necessarily clearer.
• The exported clip is too short: check whether Selection only was chosen. Export Whole file if that is what you need.
• You want to record new audio first: follow the microphone and computer audio recording guide, then return to these effects steps.

Questions about adding audio effects

Continue editing

• Trim and edit an audio file
• Audio effects and repair overview
• Record microphone or computer audio