Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks

Subject: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Dave Wynn
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 06:40 PM

Hope someone can help. Does anyone know of reasonably priced software that will allow me to take a standard "Red Book" CD-DA audio track from a CD and edit the content.

The band I am in made a recording for cassette in 1995 and the production of the actual DAT to cassette was awful. I have now converted the original from DAT to CD-DA (industry standard audio format) and the quality is excellent but the inter track gapping was designed for cassette and has a very long gap between the 7th and 8th tracks. I need to edit this silence out.

Any help would be appreciated.

Spot

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Dave Wynn
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:17 AM

Refresh....C'Mon someone must have the knowledge here...Or is this my first mudcatwhack!!!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:19 AM

spot - the only way I know of is to "rip" to WAV - edit and then reconvert.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:20 AM

(however, since I have made that statement - someone should be along shortly to prove me wrong)

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Amos
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:51 AM

iTunes allows you to convert to MP3 from a CD imported track. Sound Studio will edit for you. You then would have to rerecord it -- you couldn't "put it back" on a commercial CD.



A

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:53 AM

you mean "re-burn" , or "burn to a new CD" don't you Amos? Rather then "re-record"?

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Amos
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:56 AM

Yes, picky person, that's what I mean!! LOL


A

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 10:01 AM

I agree with MMario that you could "rip" each track from the CD onto wav files and then create a new cd in cda format from them. There are programs to do this. Then there are other (or the same) programs to burn a cd which will edit the gap between tracks to be consistent, or the recording software (I use Cool Edit) will allow you to edit long spaces. Keeping it in cda to wav to cda format will keep the fidelity, whereas I think converting it to mp3 will degrade it some. But I'm (obviously) not a sound engineer and don't know the technical details.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 10:07 AM

Sorry Amos - but wanted to make sure I understood you - since "re-record" could mean something completly different!

That said - Spot - I use Audacity

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: M.Ted
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 10:37 AM

There are any number of sound editing programs available, many free or at little cost, and we've discussed them here a lot--first thing is, what kind of computer and operating system do you have?

Here are a few Audio Editor Downloads and there are many others, at many other sites. This one was just the first one I could find.


Then, you simply open up the big audio file (you may need to convert it to another file format, which there are plenty of freeware and shareware programs for, but probably not) and break it up into little audio files in a way that is oddly similar to what might do to a large text file.

Nex thing is, you shouldn't have this problem in the first place, because each song on the tape should have been converted to a seperate digital file (preferably aiff or wav) so you could edit or compile them as you wished--Then you could tell Toast (or any other CD burning program) how much space to put between tracks, or change the order of the tracks, or even leave out one that isn't that good(which is what you'll be able to do when you break up the big file, as mentioned above)--

If I were you, I'd go back to the person who converted the file in the first place and make them do this, because that's what should have been done in the first place--If they are competent at all, they'll be able to do it fairly quickly--if you end up doing it, that's OK, you'll be delighted to discover how easy it is--

Only problem is, the file you have is going to be a lot bigger than usual, and some of these programs might not handle it--also, it will likely be slow going, because you have such a big file to work with--

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: M.Ted
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 10:42 AM

And Barbara Shaw is right--don't convert it to MP3 and edit--

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: The Beast of Farlington
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 10:48 AM

You can find free audio file format converters at download.com. You can convert cda to wav or mp3 and so on

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Amos
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 11:16 AM

Correction: iTunes will convert it to aiff a,d/or MP3.   Sorry. It is correct that MP3 is slightly "lossy", adequate for many purposes but not as rich in detail as aiff or wav.


A

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Dave Wynn
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 01:41 PM

Thanks to all. It seems I will have to convert to WAV than use something like Cakewalk, Audacity etc. I didn't think that I could then burn it out to CD-DA format again but advice here seems to be that I can. As long as it keeps 16 bit and 41.100 Khz format then there shouldn't be any quality problems.

M Ted the original production copy was done 10 years ago so going back isn't an easy option. I have already had someone create the CD from DAT and he did it as a favour with instruction not to edit the tracks just burn them on a CD, I don't have access to DAT technology so I couldn't know the traks contained so much silence front and rear. I don't want to take more of his time. I agree we should have sorted it in the first place.

Good old Mudcat. I owe you all a pint. Where do you want it delivered!!

Spot

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Arkie
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 07:51 PM

If you use Nero to burn the CD, the file on your CD will be a cda even though you edited the file in a wav format. I would guess the same would be true for other burning programs.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to edit CD-DA audio tracks
From: Dave Wynn
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 06:29 AM

This advice worked. I now have a CD in audio format with all the gaps edited out.

Spot