making audio CDs from Audacity files

[uh...clem]

help with making CDs from Audacity. using a PC i am recording many of my old vinyl LPs and cassettes, in order to make CDs out of them. when i create an audio file with Audacity, i'm supposed to save it (in what? .aup? .wav?) and transfer it to some other folder so i can make a CD out of it. I can't get the hang of where you export the new project and THEN how to make a CD from it. (the Audacity wiki doesn't help: it takes too much for granted) i guess i'm stuck with using iTunes or Nero for making CDs but still am not clear how to get the audio file i have created for making a CD. the instructions and tutorials don't help much (maybe i'm just confused or stupid). any suggestions where i can go for more help. i love Audacity and don't want to use Magix Audio cleaning lab anymore.

[kozikowski]

It's understandable you're confused. Audacity does not save sound files and you can't make anything out of Projects.

I know we published volumes on how to do this and I can't find any of it. The wiki search is a future product.

Here it is...

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 40&p=26022

Koz

[uh...clem]

thanks, koz. i finally figured it out -- using Nero rather than iTunes. and exporting in .wav rather than .aup. (i appreciated your ironic tone -- really! it made me feel a bit asshamed [misspelling deliberate])

[kozikowski]

If I seem short, it's because I'm doing this between other activities. It's like how fast can you type?

Koz

[waxcylinder]

i finally figured it out -- using Nero rather than iTunes...

Yes that is a good way to go - I use Nero myself on one of my PCs (and RecordNow on t'other). Also make sure that the WAVs are always 44.1kHz 16-bit PCM stereo (which is, part of, the Red Book standard for CDs).

Actually I believe that iTunes can do the job for you. But for best quality you would need to import the sound files into your library as WAVs rather than compressed AAC or MP3. And to do this you would need to temporarily reset your iTunes import preferences to WAV, do the import - and then reset back to AAC or whatever your normal preference is. And you would probably want to delete the WAVs from your library after the CD ois burnt as the WAVs will occupy too much soace in your library/iPod. All a bit of a bother really - hence go your Nero route...

IIRC iTunes can even burn a CD ftom compressed AAC or MP3 files - but to do that it "adds water" to make temporary copies that are "uncompressed" WAV (or AIFF?). Excetp they are not really "uncompressed" as the AAC/MP3 compression damage still exists - and will do so on the created CD. (It's a bit like adding water to powdered chicken soup - it's a bit like chicken soup, but it ain't real chicken soup.)

Tip: what I do when I have created CDs like this from my LPs is to use to CD to rip the tunes into my iTunes library. If I am lucky I even get it recognized by the Gracenote CDDB database and this then provides all the metadat - saving a lot of typing.

WC

[uh...clem]

thanks to you, too, WC, for the advice re: iTunes and Nero. not that it will matter to very many people, but i have discovered that iTunes won't allow burning a CD onto a CD-RW disc whereas Nero accommodates this desire. I use CD-RW for music and talk shows that i may only want to listen to a couple of times. If it is something important and i want a permanent copy,, like my original recordings of The Firesign Theater burned onto CD, naturally i don't want or need to be able to re-write.

btw, this Audacity forum is the first one i have ever consulted which actually gave me useful info. all the others in the past 14 years have been duds -- either too complicated, or no replies to my queries (maybe some of it was due to my lack of techno-savvy). well done, audacity team members and other contributors to our mutual enlightenment.

[waxcylinder]

clem,

just be careful using those CD-RWs. My understanding is that not all CD decks will happily play those (try testing on a few different decks that you can get your hads on.

WC

"Waiting for the electrician ...." "towel, batth - border" eh? - now that takes me back a bit

[uh...clem]

WC:
(off topic)
my user name is from their album, "I Think We're All Bozos on this Bus."

[waxcylinder]

Ahhh ....