Using MP3DirectCut what is the best way to cut tracks from a cd that is saved onto my HD 45min long. I want to split the tracks so that the cd reads them as seperate tracks instead of 1 huge track. Thanks
MP3 mechanizes the process of splitting long files into several shorter files by sensing the quiet zones within the music, placing a cue mark at the quiet zones, and then saving the regions between each cue mark as separate files. SENSING QUIET ZONES – The menu item EDIT / PAUSE DETECTION brings up a dialog box asking for the user to specify threshold, duration, cue offset, and skip ahead distance. The program looks for those sections within the file where the specified threshold is not exceeded for the entire duration period. A cue mark is placed the specified number of frames before the end of the detected quiet zone. The program then skips ahead the specified number of seconds before starting to look for another quiet zone. One needs to experiment to find the optimum settings for the type of files being worked on. It the file is a transcription of a noisy or scratchy vinyl record, problems will be encountered because each pop or click may prevent the detection of otherwise quiet zones. I’ve found the –15db, 2.9 milliseconds, and –40 frames are appropriate settings to facilitate the marking of “cuts” on vinyl records in good condition. (Each MP3 frame is 26 milliseconds long.) EDITING CUES – The placement of the automatically entered cues should be checked using the >| and |< buttons to step from cue marker to cue marker. If one finds that a cue has been placed in an inappropriate location, use the EDIT button to remove it. If one finds that no cue marker has been place in a quiet zone, insert a cue using the CUT button. I find that it is a good idea to frequently save the file, as I’ve not yet found a way to reverse all mistakes. I believe one can also recover all cue marks save with a previous file, but I’m uncertain of the process. NORMALIZING LEVELS – Once the cue marks are appropriately place, the audio volume levels of each future “track” can be equalized using the EDIT / NORMALIZE menu. Use the >| and |< buttons in conjunction with the SET BEGIN and SET END to highlight a future “track.” Then activate EDIT / NORMALIZE to have the program adjust the gain so the maximum level corresponds to 0 db. BREAKING INTO INDIVIDUAL FILES – Once the cue marks are appropriately placed, use FILE / SAVE SPLIT to generate a sequentially numbered set of files, each of which will encompass the digital data sequence between two cue marks. The more I use this program, the more nice features I discover. However, I still am having problems getting it to work the way I would like. I suspect that the features I want are incorporated, but I don’t yet know how to activate them. I’m working on putting together a manual for this application, so I can quickly refresh my memory with regard to the various features. Anyone interested in helping out should contact me.
Addition comment... If you're source material is a Compact Audio Disc, you should not have to use a program line MP3 DirectCut to slice up the file. There are programs that will rip the CD to a set of files and in the process copy the corresponding meta data (song title, etc.) I use MP3 Direct Cut for transposing vinyl records that are not available as CD's.
if MP3 Direct Cut does not work for you, there are other apps like Mp3 Splitter & Joiner and Mp3 Surgeon that do the same thing
MP3 DirectCut has the advantage that it is free and runs quickly on slower (700 MHz) machines. However, its instruction manual and help screens don't answer lots of questions. If your time is important, and the other programs have very good documentation, then I you should spend the money to buy them. I have put together the beginnings of a manual on how to use DirectCut. It is posted at: hptt://SpreadSheet.home.comcast.net/DirectCut/MP3DirectCutOperation.doc Comments & corrections are welcome.
