MP3 Editing Software , No decompression?

The Muppet

Would anyone have an recommendations for windows software which would allow me edit mp3's without the need to decompress and then recompress them after the edit.

Ideally I'd like a multitrack mp3 editor like audition as I want to mix mp3's together.

Neurojazz

Ableton can do this (a lot of DJ use it for mixing mp3) - but might be an expensive way of doing it!

The Muppet

Neurojazz wrote: »

Ableton can do this (a lot of DJ use it for mixing mp3) - but might be an expensive way of doing it!

Thanks, I had a look at it's web site, might be a bit of overkill but downloading the demo anyway to have a proper look. I really only need it fro a once off project so I don't really want to spend a fortune it if avoidable.

MilanPan!c

I would assume you could do this with Reaper... though you'd have to check... and it's free.

PaulBrewer

The Muppet wrote: »

decompress and then recompress .

What does this mean ?

madtheory

Transcoding is the correct term.

MilanPan!c

madtheory wrote: »

Transcoding is the correct term.

And I'm pretty sure it would be a pretty bad idea.

BostonB

Should you be using MP3 for that? Do you not have a better source?

MilanPan!c

BostonB wrote: »

Should you be using MP3 for that? Do you not have a better source?

If it's headed for FM radio worse things will happen to it than a bit of editing.

Like ridiculous compression.

Depending on what it is, the quality and encode of the MP3 and how this editing goes, it could be totally fine.

Would it be the very BEST idea, no?

But hey, it probably happens a lot.

madtheory

He's right, mp3 is not a good source for broadcast. Regardless of dynamics processing. Dunno about RTE, but BBC will not accept mp3 or any audio that's been subjected to perceptual coding, because a DAB would be transcoding. There are issues for the broadcast processor also.

MilanPan!c

madtheory wrote: »

He's right, mp3 is not a good source for broadcast. Regardless of dynamics processing. Dunno about RTE, but BBC will not accept mp3 or any audio that's been subjected to perceptual coding, because a DAB would be transcoding. There are issues for the broadcast processor also.

I agree with all of that, but I also KNOW people that have used MP3s as source for backgrounds of shows shown on the Beeb and ITV...

Not great, but it def happens..

BostonB

Sometimes you won't notice it. But sometime its turns out a mess recompressing something thats already compressed.

madtheory

Agreed on "sometimes" that is the key here.

Just because someone knows someone who has done it, it doesn't mean that it is OK. We don't know if this someone used a 320k mp3, for example, or in what context the audio was used.

The BBC's specs for audio submissions were posted here a few weeks ago. They are clear- MiniDisc is not acceptable for example. Best practice is to avoid it.

MilanPan!c

madtheory wrote: »

Agreed on "sometimes" that is the key here.

Just because someone knows someone who has done it, it doesn't mean that it is OK. We don't know if this someone used a 320k mp3, for example, or in what context the audio was used.

The BBC's specs for audio submissions were posted here a few weeks ago. They are clear- MiniDisc is not acceptable for example. Best practice is to avoid it.

Totally agree with all of that!

The Muppet

Interesting discussion.

I only have the source in mp3 format hence the question, apologies if I got the technical terminology wrong.:)

It is for FM broadcast , The mp3s i have are acceptable quality as they are but i want to add my own intro and outro. I can do that with the studio playout software without editing the original but my preference would be edit if at all possible without effecting the existing quality of the mp3.



I'm not with the beeb but I do know that many stations use MP3 from time to time .

tman

If you want to add audio to the file, I would say doing so without transcoding is pretty much out of the question...

Why not just decode to wave and edit that? Do you really need to keep it as an MP3?

PaulBrewer

tman wrote: »

If you want to add audio to the file, I would say doing so without transcoding is pretty much out of the question...

Why not just decode to wave and edit that? Do you really need to keep it as an MP3?

What is this 'decode' nonsense ?

The implication on this thread is that an MP3 is like a Zip file and you can 'restore' an MP3 to it's original state.

Untrue ...

old gregg

MilanPan!c wrote: »

I would assume you could do this with Reaper... though you'd have to check... and it's free.

Yep, reaper is almost free and will do the job with ease

The Muppet

PaulBrewer wrote: »

What is this 'decode' nonsense ?

The implication on this thread is that an MP3 is like a Zip file and you can 'restore' an MP3 to it's original state.

Untrue ...

I'm with you there. there is a drop off in quality every time you do this.

old gregg wrote: »

Yep, reaper is almost free and will do the job with ease

Thanks for that and also thanks to milanpanic who mentioned reaper earlier. I did download it but wasn't sure it would do what I wanted.

Now all I need to do is find out how to use it, I suppose I'll have to rtfm.

MilanPan!c

The Muppet wrote: »

I'm with you there. there is a drop off in quality every time you do this.



Thanks for that and also thanks to milanpanic who mentioned reaper earlier. I did download it but wasn't sure it would do what I wanted.

Now all I need to do is find out how to use it, I suppose I'll have to rtfm.

What you might do is go on their forums and ask if MP3s are transcoded when imported into Reaper...

and if you ask how to do what you're trying to do, they'll help..

nice folks!

old gregg

yep rtfm and it's not too unpleasant a manual to snuggle up in bed with
Youtube should also be a decent resource for quick how-to tutorials.

madtheory

The Muppet wrote: »

I'm not with the beeb but I do know that many stations use MP3 from time to time .

Indeed they do. Not a good idea. I often hear news reports where the mp3 chirpies make the speech quite difficult to hear. Pilot error...

The Muppet

Been playing around with reaper this afternoon, I don't think it does what I want. It appears to transcode the old file and decode the new mix, nice piece of software though.

I hope I have that in the right order.:)

MilanPan!c

The Muppet wrote: »

Been playing around with reaper this afternoon, I don't think it does what I want. It appears to transcode the old file and decode the new mix, nice piece of software though.

I hope I have that in the right order.:)

Hmm... Could be a setting though!

I'm not sure you'll be able to know without asking on the forum...?

madtheory

Why not submit it as a WAV, thereby avoiding at least one unnecessary stage of lossy compression?

The Muppet

madtheory wrote: »

Why not submit it as a WAV, thereby avoiding at least one unnecessary stage of lossy compression?

I wanted the files as small as possible if it was easy to do but I may end up converting to wavs and leaving the finished edits that way.

tman

PaulBrewer wrote: »

What is this 'decode' nonsense ?

The implication on this thread is that an MP3 is like a Zip file and you can 'restore' an MP3 to it's original state.

Untrue ...

Not my point at all, I merely meant that you wouldn't be degrading the quality further by converting to wave and keeping it as that.

The Muppet

MilanPan!c wrote: »

Hmm... Could be a setting though!

I'm not sure you'll be able to know without asking on the forum...?

I took your advice and posted on the reaper forum, your were right Reaper will do as I want, The guys over there also recommended a piece of software called Mp3 trimmer which I think If i use in conjunction with Mp3 join could also give me my desired effect.

I'm off to see which works best.

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice and for educating me on the correct terminology.:)

MilanPan!c

The Muppet wrote: »

I took your advice and posted on the reaper forum, your were right Reaper will do as I want, The guys over there also recommended a piece of software called Mp3 trimmer which I think If i use in conjunction with Mp3 join could also give me my desired effect.

I'm off to see which works best.

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice and for educating me on the correct terminology.:)

Yay!

They're nice guys over there, huh?

Congrats! Hope it works out!

old gregg

as an aside ... if you're ever looking for a tasty little prog to carry out simple edits (like trimming, breaking up a long file into smaller parts, playlists, etc) on mp3 files then take a look at MP3 Direct Cut - http://mpesch3.de1.cc/mp3dc.html a truly gorgeous little bit of freeware. I've been using this for many years and it's rock solid.

Miniscule memory footprint.

But wait, there's more ... the guy who developed this also has a cute little mp3 player to replace winamp, etc http://mpesch3.de1.cc/1by1.html that also uses very little resources. You can drop in codecs for .wav, flac, etc and that sort of stuff.

MilanPan!c

old gregg wrote: »

as an aside ... if you're ever looking for a tasty little prog to carry out simple edits (like trimming, breaking up a long file into smaller parts, playlists, etc) on mp3 files then take a look at MP3 Direct Cut - http://mpesch3.de1.cc/mp3dc.html a truly gorgeous little bit of freeware. I've been using this for many years and it's rock solid.

Miniscule memory footprint.

But wait, there's more ... the guy who developed this also has a cute little mp3 player to replace winamp, etc http://mpesch3.de1.cc/1by1.html that also uses very little resources. You can drop in codecs for .wav, flac, etc and that sort of stuff.

Good tip on the splitter!

Won't be changing media players though

Foobar ftw!

old gregg

yea, Foobar is the bizz. I just got used to 1by1 cos I like the minimal interface and never looked for anything else. If I could get something that integrated into Servant Salamander or other Midnight Commander clone then I'd have all my windows startup progs in one.