Hidden tracks on CD: Editing out the gaps for mp3 files

Avoriaz

I rip my CDs to mp3 using Windows Media Player for playing in a portable player.

When there is a hidden track on the CD there is usually a long silent gap from the end of the nominally last track to the start of the hidden track.

How can I best edit that gap and leave a short gap or preferably split that track into 2 separate tracks?

I’d like a simple and elegant solution if possible. I don’t need to do any other fancy things. I have a powerful Windows 7 laptop that can probably handle most software easily enough.

Thanks.

GeoffX

mp3DirectCut is free, small and easy to use. I've used it for years for editing music or radio programmes.

KingL

If you google "mp3 cutter" you'll find several tools to do this. You want to use one that doesn't re-encode the mp3, because you will lose some quality by encoding it twice. Alternatively, you can rip it to a wav file and then use a wav editor to split it up and then save the pieces to mp3s. Audacity is the most popular freeware wave editor, but I don't use it myself (I'm not sure whether it will save to mp3).

Slightly less optimal answer is rip the whole thing using Variable Bit Rate (rather than Constant Bit Rate) - you'll still have the long gap, but at least the file will be a reasonable size as the silent bit won't eat up lots of storage space,

TwistedPsycho

Yawn!

Time for our disclaimer folks. I know that you all hate to have to remember it.

The majority of audio CD's with hidden tracks are in fact commercial CD's and these obligue you to adhere to copyright law in order to enjoy them without doing anything hat can get you in trouble..... I KNOW that it is unlikely that you are going to get caught if you are just doing it for personal use however. The copying of Music CD's to a computer may infringe on the copyright permissions of the CD and what you are doing may be illegal. We can not condone breaching copyright on this forum.

Of course, in case it is not commercially released CD or you have specifically purchased the copyright for the product, then yes, the above methods are fairly good.

Esqui

Audacity would do the same: http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Also, to continue from TwistedPsycho - putting music from CDs on your mp3 player is also technically illegal.

rrf494g

and recording any live tv is illegal too - that why sony sells loads and loads of equipment to record live tv, whilst telling you that it's illegal to transfer any of their music/video to computer or any other format. Funny old world eh Sony?
regards

Avoriaz

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I am aware of copyright issues. I only copy my own legally bought CDs to my own mp3 player for my own personal use.

Most of the time anyway.

tomstickland

Audacity will do it easily. I love Audacity, great bit of editing freeware.

TwistedPsycho

Avoriaz wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I am aware of copyright issues. I only copy my own legally bought CDs to my own mp3 player for my own personal use.

Most of the time anyway.

Because you have legally bought (IE Going into HMV and buying the latest Britney Spears album) [better artists and other audio CD suppliers are available] a CD, it does not mean you have the legal right to put it on any other device. I will be eternally thankful when the copyright laws finally put a "private right to copy" into black and white, baring in mind my CD collection currently runs to something like 4500 studio albums.



Example. Radio Stations will pay for a track and then ADDITIONALLY pay an organisation called PPL for the right to transfer it onto a computer playout system [ remember that places like iTunes and Amazon have it in their terms and conditions that purchases are for personal, non-commercial use only ]. [ source: my own experience from 4 years as the Chairman of a Hospital Radio station, bound by the same requirements ]

rrf494g wrote:

and recording any live tv is illegal too

Actually you will find that it is in Section 70 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 that the action of recording a live TV program for viewing later, referred to as "Time Shifting" is entirely legal as long as it is not for distribution (ie for personal use).




Regretfully the issue is that the law is so slow to play catch up with technology and therefore people do fall foul of the law and not know. I agree that in reality the chances of you get caught and convicted are about 1 in a flashing blue moon, but......

Chris55_2

Just to say that I did have this problem with one of my entirely legally downloaded mp3's (emusic), so the recommended program was very helpful. (I've had a 50 track per month emusic habit for a couple of years now!). Also I recall that the government had said they were going to deal with the anomaly of "format shifting' - i.e. copying cds to mp3; which is legal in the USA (assuming you still retain the original CD), but a grey area here. Given that Brennan are advertising a device on the inside back page of the Radio Times (no less) to do exactly this, I feel that if there was a real problem then they'd be being made a test case.

TwistedPsycho

Absolutely agree with everything you say Chris55 (apart from the 50 eMusic a month habit.... I have not got one of them - A subscription to Napster To Go is far easier for my needs).

I was merely pointing out that this is an open forum and MSE would obviously be as interested as we would be that the forums did not become popular for the wrong reasons.