MASSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA HOW-TO MASSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA HOW-TO MASSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA HOW-TO MASSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA HOW-TO MASSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA HOW-TO
MARCH 200 5 MA XIMUMPC 35
plays, and adjust the input volume slider
(next to the microphone icon beneath
the meter) until the red bars approach
the far right edge of the meter (“0”) but
do not touch it. If the peak level is too
high, you’ll get distortion. If it’s too low,
you’ll get hiss.7 If you’re not getting a signal, go to
the Sound control panel (Start > Control
Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices). In
the Device Volume panel, click Advanced.
You’ll see the volume adjustment control
panel , where you’ll want to make sure
the Wave volume slider is at least three
quarters of the way up and not muted.
If you can hear the CD playback through
your speakers, but still aren’t getting any
signal, go back to the Audacity drop-
down menu from step 3 and look for an
option to record the signal sent directly to
the speakers; if you have a Sound Blaster
soundcard, that option will be labeled
“What U Hear.” Be aware that this setting
will also record any system sounds (such
as mouse clicks), so don’t use your PC
during the recording process.8 Finally, close all applications running
in the background, especially those that
frequently access the hard drive (that
means no file-sharing funny business in
the background while recording, OK?).9 Restart the CD, hit the record button,
kick back, and let Audacity do its thing.
Press the square yellow stop button
when the disc is finished.10 Now it’s time to split the single,
continuous MP3 file into individual
tracks (or chapters, for DVD recordings).
First, go to File > Export as WAV, and
save the track to whatever directory you
prefer. You do not want to export the
recording to MP3 yet, because you’ll
end up clipping out portions and having
to export them to MP3 again. This will
recompress the files and degrade the
signal quality.11 Click the Fit Project in Window
button (circled). This will place the
visual representation of your entire
recorded track in the track window. To
find the space between tracks, simply
scan the track window for areas with
little or no signal.12 When your mouse is in the track
window, it turns into an I-beam cursor.
Use this cursor to select the portionof the track you want to make a single
file of (the easiest method is to place
the cursor at the end point of your
selection, and drag left to the beginning
of the file). Select Edit > Cut (or press
Ctrl-X) to snip out this portion. Go to
File > New, and a new Audacity window
will open. In the new window, select
Edit > Paste (or Ctrl-V).13 Now that we’ve got the track
ready for conversion, simply go to File >
Export as MP3. Tell Audacity where you
want to drop the MP3 and click Save.
Next, you’ll be offered the opportunity
to add ID3 tags. When you click OK, the
file will be converted to MP3. Repeat this
process for the rest o f your tracks.
ËThis button squeezes the entire length of your recording into a single
window so you can quickly scan for silence between tracks.By using the magnify tool, we can zoom into the track to
place our cursor at the end of a track.