Happy Jack Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Please DON'T immediately jump in and tell me I need Audacity. I already tried it. Twice. I have no interest in an editor that omits vital files & plug-ins due to "copyright issues" and invites me to source them elsewhere and plug them in. So, once we step away from the Audacity base-camp, what's out there? My needs are VERY simple ... take a WAV file from a rehearsal or a gig (perhaps 2Gb, usually less), save individual tracks as mp3 files, maybe apply some amplification, maybe opt for a fade-in & fade-out, erm, that's about it. Free would be nice but NOT essential. I've spent far too long looking through obviously fake 5-star reviews of crap features and virus-ridden malware, and I'm well aware that almost all of the 'free' downloads are a disaster waiting to happen. I just don't know which ones (if any) are safe to use. I'm talking Windows here, not Mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1472468123' post='3121272']... My needs are VERY simple ... take a WAV file from a rehearsal or a gig (perhaps 2Gb, usually less), save individual tracks as mp3 files, maybe apply some amplification, maybe opt for a fade-in & fade-out, erm, that's about it. ... [/quote] Reaper will do all of this (and much, much more, of course...), and can be trialled for 60 days, with complete functionality, for free. If a licence is desired, it's a modest $60 for personal use. Import (or 'drag'n'drop'...) the WAV into Reaper, delimit the required sections, 'normalise' the volume, apply 'volume automation' in a couple of 'clicks' for fade-in-out if required and render the designated regions to mp3. Easy-peasy, rapid, full control, excellent audio quality... Try it and see..? There are excellent 'mastering' options, too, either within Reaper, or by external treatment (I use AAMS...) which can do wonders in enhancing a rough 'whole band' stereo track. Simple as pie (without, maybe, the polish of a totally 'pro' studio session...); the difference can be striking. Just sayin'. Edited August 29, 2016 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1472469947' post='3121298'] Reaper will do all of this (and much, much more, of course...), and can be trialled for 60 days, with complete functionality, for free. If a licence is desired, it's a modest $60 for personal use.[/quote] Very much agree, Reaper's an awesome bit of software for almost no dosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) What if you could have a copy of Audacity that already included everything you needed, would it fit the bill otherwise? There will be free simple tools out there to convert files, but if you're wanting to amplify, apply fades etc, then you are in audio editor territory and Audacity is probably your best bet when it comes to free tools unless you don't mind paying for something a bit fancier. Edited August 29, 2016 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) Alternatives: http://alternativeto.net/software/audacity/ Looks like there are quite a few free options to investigate at least! Edited August 29, 2016 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1472472238' post='3121333'] Alternatives: [url="http://alternativeto.net/software/audacity/"]http://alternativeto...tware/audacity/[/url] Looks like there are quite a few free options to investigate at least! [/quote] Of these, I used to use Goldwave quite happily. But I defected to (wait for it...) Audacity cos it's simpler! The feature that's going to be hard to replicate is the splitter. Setting up a number of cue points and hitting "split on cue" is pretty straightforward in A*d*c*ty but it's not something that DAWs I've used are geared up to. (Stands by to be corrected...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Audacity has a bit of a quirk concerning mp3 rendering. I don't pretend to know why, but one has to import a couple of files for it to work. A 'one-time' bit of a faff (technical term...) which HJ apparently objects to; he has his own reasons. I use Audacity quite a lot, but for shear ease of use, I'd still choose Reaper for the usage HJ describes above; that could be simply down to familiarity on my part, though, as Audacity is certainly capable of it. Of the alternatives, Wavosaur is a decent enough option which I use, too, and can recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 [quote name='ras52' timestamp='1472472520' post='3121335'] Of these, I used to use Goldwave quite happily. But I defected to (wait for it...) Audacity cos it's simpler! The feature that's going to be hard to replicate is the splitter. Setting up a number of cue points and hitting "split on cue" is pretty straightforward in A*d*c*ty but it's not something that DAWs I've used are geared up to. (Stands by to be corrected...) [/quote] There are, indeed, threshold detection bits'n'bobs in Reaper, but I'd probably just do it by eye for such a simple task (I've done it many times...). It's very easy to see any blanks, slice 'em out, drag to another track and refine, do the next one, render the lot once finished... It can be done by auto-detection, but it's probably not worth setting it all up for so little. Should take more than a few minutes, I'd say..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I'll just ping the guy I know that maintains this to see if he can bundle all the plugins and LAME MP3 converter... This would allow you to launch Audacity plus all bundled plugins from any Windows machine with a web browser: https://turbo.net/hub/audacity/audacity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Installing LAME first then Audacity really isn't as big a deal as you're making out - you'd think someone had asked you to sacrifice a goat before you can use the software I use Audacity for the exact process you describe and it's perfect for such a trifling little audio editing job - highlight track, ctrl-c, ctrl-n, ctrl-v and the cut out bit is there in a fresh new window waiting for you to further crop, fade in/out, normalise etc. before exporting as MP3. Bish bash bosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 If it's only LAME stopping Audacity creating mp3 files then I'd also say just get LAME - I use foobar2000 as a player and have used that to convert a whole album of separate tracks from various other formats to mp3 but it also needs LAME as its mp3 encoder. LAME is a legitimately free piece of software (it's open source) and there's obviously no point in reinventing the wheel. I've also used Goldwave and have been happy with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I have Creative Wave Studio for editing in WAV, and freac for conversion to mp3 or other formats. Both free IIRC and dead easy to use - I was just doing some when I read your thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I use Ableton live for mixing rehearsal recordings. It doesn't output mp3s, though. I just convert the wavs into m4a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Frankly I'm disappointed. When I stipulated very clearly NO AUDACITY it never occurred to me that so few people could be arsed to tell me that I should use Audacity. Only four so far? Come on, Audacity fan boys, don't be shy! I know there's more of you out there ... Meanwhile, back OT, Dad, thanks for the suggestion - I'll try that later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Well, I guess you don't need a nose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167485] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) If you want to convert a WAV file into MP3 in Reaper you simply choose one of the variations of 'render to MP3'. At this point a window will open in Reaper saying 'mp3 encoder not loaded'. Then you go to lame and download the codec and stick it in the appropriate directory. It's dead easy; if you've used Audacity you'll have no problem. Edited August 29, 2016 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1472489047' post='3121514'] If you want to convert a WAV file into MP3 in Reaper you simply choose one of the variations of 'render to MP3'. At this point a window will open in Reaper saying 'mp3 encoder not loaded'. Then you go to lame and download the codec and stick it in the appropriate directory. It's dead easy; if you've used Audacity you'll have no problem. [/quote] He's only bloomin' right, y'know..! It's been a [i]very [/i]long time since I installed this stuff, so I've overlooked that step (simple enough, but still...). Sorry about that. Upon closer inspection, even Wavosaur uses the LAME encoder, so that's out, if that's what you want to avoid. No use suggesting other file formats, such as OGG, I suppose..? No; thought not. Just out of curiosity, is it the LAME [i]encoder [/i]you object to, or the fact that Audacity (and the others...) don't include it as 'native'..? It's only a dll to put in the programme's folder, so it's not as if it's invasive or anything. Just curious. Edited August 29, 2016 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzbass2000 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Sorry... no experience of other audio editors... Just Audacity. If the sticking point is the LAME encoder, you could use Audacity without it, output to WAV and then convert the audio file to MP3 or many other formats using something like Helium Audio Converter. Seems a bit of a faff though for a one time file download. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) Reaper is dead useful for batch rendering separate files. You can chop the file up, drop the individual songs into separate tracks and render in one pass. Or (bit more initial fiddling) using the timeline highlight the individual songs as [i]regions on the single file[/i], then render those regions as separately named files. Either way, one still to identify the start and end of the songs either by ear or (quick and dirty) looking at the wave forms. You can do [url="http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/splitting_a_recording_into_separate_tracks.html"]the same thing[/url] in Audacity, as it happens. But Reaper's got loads of useful bundled plug ins for EQ and compression which can help to tart up the final results. Edit: Not that they'd need tarting up, of course, ahem. Edited August 29, 2016 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I may be right (I may be wrong), but I believe that if you have an Adobe account, you can download Audition 3.0 for free now. It's officially unsupported now (superseded by newer Creative Suite versions)...I still use this iteration for home demos. Worth a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 I may be wrong but I think the issue with MP3 encoders being bundled with software is that there's a licence fee to be paid for the encoder. If you're buying software then the provider is paying a small amount on to whoever holds the rights for the MP3 technology. If you're going for free or open source then, assuming the provider wants to stay on the right side of the law, they can't bundle the encoder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1472489047' post='3121514'] If you want to convert a WAV file into MP3 in Reaper you simply choose one of the variations of 'render to MP3'. At this point a window will open in Reaper saying 'mp3 encoder not loaded'. Then you go to lame and download the codec and stick it in the appropriate directory. It's dead easy; if you've used Audacity you'll have no problem. [/quote] You bastard! You complete and utter bastard!!! [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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