Are there any software out there that allows us to edit mp3 songs?
For instance, if we only want the chorus of a song, how do we extract only the chorus?
It is a little much, but if you have the iLife software with GarageBand, you could use it. It would not extract the chorus automatically, though. You have to mark and extract it. Of course, any software would work that way.
Its kind of like a slightly less powerful version of SoundForge but for Mac (also for Win and Linux). Best of all its free!!! You just can't beat that.
A question for Audacity users. I'm trying to import a stack of old LPs into my iMac - and some are going to have scratches (some are 50 years old!). Will Audacity allow me to remove the scratches? Since I'm only semi computer literate will I be able to handle it? Thanks for any advice.
i do not know how much work you plan to do but you can zoom in to the point where all you see is the data point of the sound file (each "bit" if you will) and you can manually move them or redraw the line. I could be wrong but i do not recall seeing an automatic filter
I don't think there's any one filter that will specifically remove the imperfections caused by scratches, but if you are patient and use a combination of filters I think you will be able to achieve great results. I'm curious to know your setup for digitizing your vinyl. I'm not old enough to remember the days of vinyl but I do have several stacks of tapes I'd love to digitize and enhance.
I bought an iMic from Griffin Technology (griffintechnology.com) that allows you to feed the LPs from your stereo amp into the Mac. Because the feed comes from the amp/tuner you can import LPs, tape cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes - basically anything you can play on your stereo rig.
Beware of going to Griffin, though, as they have a lot of very neat stuff that can hit your credit card rather hard. I've bought 2 PowerMates, an iCurve for the PowerBook, etc. A great site, but too tempting for the faint of heart.
Hmmm. Do you need something like the iMic or can you go directly from a stereo system output to the line-in on a PowerBook? Anyone done something like this before?
Hmmm. Do you need something like the iMic or can you go directly from a stereo system output to the line-in on a PowerBook? Anyone done something like this before?
If you've got a line-in you're OK, but not all Macs do. I've done cassette tape digitizing on my old iMac, but my Powerbook (800 Mhz) doesn't have line-in, so I'd need something like the iMic to do it on the PowerBook. I guess the newer PowerBooks do have audio line-in.
This is timely -- I've just bought a new turntable w/ pre-amp to start digitising my vinyl collection. And I've known about Audacity for a while -- a friend who's an open-source fan recommended it.
That said, I'm pretty clueless about audio work, so tell me: what software would you recommend for smoothing the whole digitising process? Would Boom Box (for instance) make life easier in this regard?
re: de-crackling audio from scratched vinyl lps....
Roxio used to have a program that was part of Toast 4 for OS9 called "CD Spin Doctor", developed specifically for digitising vinyl lps....it has a "de-crackle/pop" filter in it, but I found that it was best used sparingly. If you tried to use it on an entire track, it would introduce its own audio artifacts. I got the best use of it by hilighting just the REALLY bad parts of the tracks and applying the filter to just the areas that really needed it, and most times I could zoom in enough to highlight (and subsequently remove) individual "pops" - these show up in the waveform as huge thin "spikes" so they're fairly easy to spot. But it's tedious to do it that way....it just depends on how bad you really want to listen to a "clean" version of that old song.....
There are several companies that make de-noising apps, in all kinds of price ranges. I've found filters that work as plug-ins within pro recording software (Logic Pro, ProTools, Cubase, Nuendo, etc.) work best - but they tend to be pricey, especially considering the cost of the host app.
Comments
Originally posted by Yuji
Are there any software out there that allows us to edit mp3 songs?
For instance, if we only want the chorus of a song, how do we extract only the chorus?
It is a little much, but if you have the iLife software with GarageBand, you could use it. It would not extract the chorus automatically, though. You have to mark and extract it. Of course, any software would work that way.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Its kind of like a slightly less powerful version of SoundForge but for Mac (also for Win and Linux). Best of all its free!!! You just can't beat that.
Originally posted by Yuji
oh gosh! the program was extremely helpful! thanks so much!
No problem! I just discovered it a few days ago myself.
Beware of going to Griffin, though, as they have a lot of very neat stuff that can hit your credit card rather hard. I've bought 2 PowerMates, an iCurve for the PowerBook, etc. A great site, but too tempting for the faint of heart.
Originally posted by baranovich
Hmmm. Do you need something like the iMic or can you go directly from a stereo system output to the line-in on a PowerBook? Anyone done something like this before?
If you've got a line-in you're OK, but not all Macs do. I've done cassette tape digitizing on my old iMac, but my Powerbook (800 Mhz) doesn't have line-in, so I'd need something like the iMic to do it on the PowerBook. I guess the newer PowerBooks do have audio line-in.
That said, I'm pretty clueless about audio work, so tell me: what software would you recommend for smoothing the whole digitising process? Would Boom Box (for instance) make life easier in this regard?
Roxio used to have a program that was part of Toast 4 for OS9 called "CD Spin Doctor", developed specifically for digitising vinyl lps....it has a "de-crackle/pop" filter in it, but I found that it was best used sparingly. If you tried to use it on an entire track, it would introduce its own audio artifacts. I got the best use of it by hilighting just the REALLY bad parts of the tracks and applying the filter to just the areas that really needed it, and most times I could zoom in enough to highlight (and subsequently remove) individual "pops" - these show up in the waveform as huge thin "spikes" so they're fairly easy to spot. But it's tedious to do it that way....it just depends on how bad you really want to listen to a "clean" version of that old song.....
There are several companies that make de-noising apps, in all kinds of price ranges. I've found filters that work as plug-ins within pro recording software (Logic Pro, ProTools, Cubase, Nuendo, etc.) work best - but they tend to be pricey, especially considering the cost of the host app.