Hello. I am new to Audacity, to sound editing in general, and a lot of the terminology is new to me. I am otherwise quite computer literate. I have figured out how to enable my sound card properly and to install the MP3 add-on.
I have a string of songs that I wished to put on a CD to play in the car. I eventually succeeded but it was a lot more work than I thought it should have been so I think I did it the hardest way.
I started by capturing the string of songs, there was a solid, flat line between each of them on the sound graph. As it was, I could export it as an MP3 and burn a playable disk but I could not jump to different songs, it was a single MP3 file so all I could do is fast-forward to other songs.
Next, I went back to my project file, selected the individual songs one by one, exporting each as an MP3. I then burned all of the individual MP3s to a new disk. This worked, I have a disk full of a dozen songs that will play consecutively or I can skip from one track to the next in my player but, as I said, I feel I did it the hard way.
So, starting with a project file that is, say, a dozen connected songs, what is the easiest way to get to a finished CD of a dozen individual tracks? Can I do it from the project file in a batch, or do I actually have to do it the way I did it already, one song at a time?
If you’re making a standard audio CD, you don’t need to convert to MP3, in fact it is best not to. MP3 is a “lossy compression” format, which means that some of the audio data is thrown away to make the file size smaller (which reduces the sound quality). For making a CD it’s much better to export in WAV format.
Steve,
Thank you. I was able to go back to my original project file, add labels, “Normalize” the recording, and export it as separate tracks in a batch operation without having to do the songs one by one and it did save time and effort. I then burned a new audio disk with the .wav files and it plays perfectly.
I took the time to go back and forth between the .mp3 disk and the .wav disk. I did not hear a big difference with my old ears, but I have to admit the source was not great quality to begin with.
I took the time to go back and forth between the .mp3 disk and the .wav disk. I did not hear a big difference with my old ears, but I have to admit the source was not great quality to begin with.
Good! A good high-bitrate MP3 can sound identical to the original uncompressed file. But it does throw-away information, so it’s best avoided unless you want/need MP3 as your final format. And, if you open an MP3 in a “regular” audio editor (like Audacity) it will be de-compressed. That means if you re-save as MP3, you are going through a 2nd lossy compression step. If you want MP3 as your final format, it’s best to compress once as the final step.
A good quality MP3 file is around 1/5th the size of an uncompressed WAV from a CD, and when the file is de-compressed, ALL of the bytes are different from the original. (That doesn’t actually mean that 80% of the data is thrown-away, because MP3 uses a combinatino of lossy & non-lossy compression, and if all goes well none of the audible data is thrown away.)
But, if you “rip” a CD to WAV and then burn the songs to another CD, the audio data will be bit-for-bit identical (assuming no errors). CDs don’t have WAV files on them, but the underlying data uses the same uncompressed 44.1kHz, 16-bit stereo PCM format .
I eventually succeeded but it was a lot more work than I thought it should have been
People saving their existing music library to Music CD are always dismayed how much work it is. The On-Line/iTunes downloads look better and better as you crank through capture, noise reduction, level correction, cut, export, and burn. Oh, and that burned disk, although it plays perfectly, doesn’t come with song titles or cover art, unless you’re good with database management and a digital camera. And it’s not permanent/archive, so don’t throw the vinyl away.
People post on the forum desperate to automate the process the first time they complete one album. Unfortunately, each album is just different enough to require hands-on. I digitized some records for my sister for Christmas and it was pure pain the whole way.
This does work if you have non-reissued work, if it’s unique, but that’s not likely because music companies are keen to maximize their library return. I found almost my entire life’s collection of music on-line.
There was one Cylinder of Wendell Willkie they didn’t have.