Audacity

[The Barbarian]

Does anyone use Audacity

Im trying to split a large music file, scrap one half, record the other to CD. Ive wasted the best part of two hours tonight farting about but nop it aint sinking in..Totally & utterly not cut out for all this digital malarky!

Anyone.

:steam:

[mr sneff]

Hi Andre, I've used Audacity, what;s the problem, you should just be able to highlight the portion of the file you want to cut, save the remainder that you want to keep and then burn to CD. If you're tearing your hair out you can send me the file and I'll edit it for you. The only problem I can forsee is if the file is very large you may run out of memory,

[The Barbarian]

Im ok with highlighting the part i want in grey but it disregarding the reast that beats me. & how to put the remainder on CDee.

[Andrei]

If you use digital files a lot it is worth the learning curve to get some familiarity with Audacity.
The one thing you have to know is how to 'select'.
Open the file and hold the left mouse button down while dragging. Stop at the point where you want.
Go the File Menu and select 'Export Selection'
You will have a choice of formats.
Basic windows functions from there.
You may wish to use the magnifying glass with the + symbol to help you fine tune where you want to stop. It is an icon towards the top left, but probably in the menu system somewhere as well.
Another thing you may wish to play with is the 'fade in' function. Select one second (or whatever) on the front using the same selection method. Then go the 'Effects' menu and choose 'Fade In'. Likewise you may wish to fade out.
You can do the job in one hit or you can take it in stages - it is pretty flexible.

Tip. Before you begin make a copy of the file so that no matter how badly you screw up you can start again.

I chopped off the beginning seconds of Lights Of Louisianne by Jennifer Warnes as the squeezebox opening was not to my taste.
Stick with it as it will get easier as you go. In the end you will be having a lot of fun.
Incidentally, Audacity is an excellent music player.

[Rothchild]

This should be useful to you: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Keyboard_Shortcut_Reference

If you just want one half of the file you've got put the play head (the line that tracks through the file) at the spot you want the edit and pres Ctrl + I, that will split the file. Click the one you don't want and hit delete. Drag the portion you do want to the begining of the timeline (if it's not there already) and then use the save as and/export functions to save a new file (ensuring you're maintaining the appropriate format and applying dithering if your reducing the bit depth). If you're going to put it on CD for use in a 'regular' cd player the file needs to be 16bit 44.1kHz Stereo.

If the bit you want is a section within the overall file you can use Ctrl + I too but you need to select the area you want to keep, the file will then be split at the boundaries of the selection area and you can 'top and tail' the spare bits out of your project.

I've not used Audacity for a while so I'm not sure if you can burn files directly to a CD from there, you might need to use a different app.

EDIT: Just to confirm as Andre says, you should make sure you're working on a copy of the file until you know what you're doing so if you break it irrevesibly then you have a back up version.

[Gordon Steadman]

Hi Andre,

Audacity is my standard way of grabbing bits to keep from digital files. Dead easy really!!

Andrei has pretty much spelled it out. I assume you have a PC so I'm not sure about the burning to disc, I tend to use iTunes because its dead easy to do.

Anyway, the process in pics. 1) Waveform. 2) Selection point. 3) Click and drag back. 4)Cut. then 'NEW' and 'PASTE'. Export to whatever format you need, I assume WAV.

If you import into iTunes you can then make a playlist and burn it. Mind you. once its in iTunes, do you need a disc?

[YNWaN]

I use Audacity on occasion and often split/edit the file - extremely easy to do.

[The Barbarian]

Thanks the important bit is putting on a disc as standard audio playback in CDP.

[Gordon Steadman]

Thanks the important bit is putting on a disc as standard audio playback in CDP.
In that case, the only way I use is iTunes. Import your WAV files into iTunes (free, have you got a copy?) create a playlist of your tunes. Burn to disc. I assume the PC version is roughly the same as the Mac one so we can talk you through it if you need us to.

[The Barbarian]

Um i can't be doing with all this tbh..

What's the best CD recorder you can buy on the market without costing the earth?

[Gordon Steadman]

Um i can't be doing with all this tbh..

What's the best CD recorder you can buy on the market without costing the earth?

But you still have to get the files into the recorder! I used to have a Philips which was very good. How big is the file? If you use dropbox, you could always upload it there and I could put it onto CD for you.

[rossman]

Andre,

are you using windows? This is how I do it -

click on the saved file (I save as a wav file when editing in Audacity) and send to your windows media play list

name and save (enter) the playlist

load blank CD

drag and drop the newly saved playlist into/under the burn tab

click "start burn" and in a few minutes you will have the CD ready to play.

Hope this helps :)

[Gordon Steadman]

Andre,

are you using windows? This is how I do it -

click on the saved file (I save as a wav file when editing in Audacity) and send to your windows media play list

name and save (enter) the playlist

load blank CD

drag and drop the newly saved playlist into/under the burn tab

click "start burn" and in a few minutes you will have the CD ready to play.

Hope this helps :)
Ah excellent. Someone who uses windows. I'm never sure if any changes are made to iTunes and know nothing about Windoze media players. Strangely I have just found a copy for the Mac hidden in my apps folder. Have to have a play.

[rossman]

I'm sure there are plenty of people with much more computer nous than me. I found Audacity very frustrating at first. It's a good job that I have an excellent tutor (otherwise known as my oldest daughter) to help me out :lol:

[The Barbarian]

Ok many thanks ill give this ago in the morning..

[mr sneff]

Andre, if you find Audacity too demanding I use a little program called Wavosaur for simple editing http://www.wavosaur.com/ simpler to use than Audacity.
I have to say that editing with software is much easier, quicker and, if you make a copy of the file before you start as a backup, non-destructive. Back in the day when I used magnetic tape to make loop tapes I once spent an afternoon recording some sounds, marking up the tape with a chinagraph pencil and splicing the samples together. Only thing was I didn't rewind the tape to the right point and, after several hours work, I put the loop on the tape deck - silence, I'd cut out the wrong portions! :lol:

[tim_bissell]

My Audacity workflow is:

Record an entire album as one take; record first side; hit pause whilst turning LP over then hit record again for second side.

Save the project!

Delete gaps at beginning, end and between sides by selecting the silent areas and hitting Ctrl-K (find the start and end of silences by selecting an area and hitting 'play' - note the times.

At this stage I might repair any annoying pops in quiet sections, and maybe 'normalise' the levels if the the sound is quiet.

Find the beginning of each track and mark with 'Ctrl-B' - type in the track name at this time.

Set up the metadata for the LP (File > Edit Metadata...) - save it to a file, and set it as default.

Export the tracks (File > Export Multiple...) - as AIFF, 44.1KHz/16 bit if you want to save to CD

Import the files into iTunes, check the track metadata is correct, and burn to CD.

[Gordon Steadman]

My Audacity workflow is:

Record an entire album as one take; record first side; hit pause whilst turning LP over then hit record again for second side.

Save the project!

Delete gaps at beginning, end and between sides by selecting the silent areas and hitting Ctrl-K (find the start and end of silences by selecting an area and hitting 'play' - note the times.

At this stage I might repair any annoying pops in quiet sections, and maybe 'normalise' the levels if the the sound is quiet.

Find the beginning of each track and mark with 'Ctrl-B' - type in the track name at this time.

Set up the metadata for the LP (File > Edit Metadata...) - save it to a file, and set it as default.

Export the tracks (File > Export Multiple...) - as AIFF, 44.1KHz/16 bit if you want to save to CD

Import the files into iTunes, check the track metadata is correct, and burn to CD.

Thanks TIm,

That is really useful. Its great to have someone who knows what they are doing to point the way. I have groped around Audacity but clearly I've never really learnt some of the features. Your method will save me a lot of time:cool:

[rossman]

Thanks TIm,

That is really useful. Its great to have someone who knows what they are doing to point the way. I have groped around Audacity but clearly I've never really learnt some of the features. Your method will save me a lot of time:cool:

+1 I usually edit a track at a time, export it then use the return to previous feature and have to delete the first track and carry on which is rather laborious. I'll try what Tim has suggested next time :)

[Gordon Steadman]

+1 I usually edit a track at a time, export it then use the return to previous feature and have to delete the first track and carry on which is rather laborious. I'll try what Tim has suggested next time :)
Tried it this morning and its so much quicker. I've lost many hours of my life doing it one at a time:(

[The Barbarian]

Ok managed to suss it out but the file was too long for a CD

:lol: o stuff all this digital malarky i'll stick to Analogue Tape in real time.

:D

[Gordon Steadman]

Ok managed to suss it out but the file was too long for a CD

:lol: o stuff all this digital malarky i'll stick to Analogue Tape in real time.

:D

Cut it in half and do two CDs:)

[tim_bissell]

+1 I usually edit a track at a time, export it then use the return to previous feature and have to delete the first track and carry on which is rather laborious. I'll try what Tim has suggested next time :)


Tried it this morning and its so much quicker. I've lost many hours of my life doing it one at a time:(

Thanks chaps! I think I worked it out using google and the Audacity Wiki - but there is plenty more on there for me to read...

-- Tim

[nat8808]

Ok managed to suss it out but the file was too long for a CD

:lol: o stuff all this digital malarky i'll stick to Analogue Tape in real time.

:D

But with that you'd have to listen to the first half which you were actively trying to dispose of... Unless you mean still record digitally, then record what you want in real time to tape?

You can do that to digital too - just play the bit you want and link it back to the line-in on your computer, all in real time.

You'd get the same problem if your tape wasn't long enough anyway. So this isn't a digital problem, only a problem of the specific media you're using not being suitable, same as if trying to use a C60 cassette for an 80 minute program, you're using a 74 minute CD.

What you really need is a digital file player - get one for free, someone's old ipod they would otherwise be chucking out.

Or, if you like the idea of physical media - get a DAT recorder for very cheap! There are DVD recorders for audio too, and of course handheld digital recorders recording on to SD cards (if you want a removeable media) - you can treat them all like tape. They are all cheap these days secondhand (maybe not the DVD recorders, they are normally pro jobbies) .

Edirol is a cheap home enthusiast brand so even cheaper secondhand.

All the flexibility and real-time recording and copying you talk of is available very cheaply for digital - just that the advantage of digital is that you can also do not in real time - you have both options rather than only one with tape. It's only that perhaps you think of digital as being "CD". That's like only thinking C60s exist (or something).