MP3 Creation
by Dale Cockle and Lindsay Haisley
August 2006

In a question posted to another list, it was asked how to get (rip) music off CDs, cassettes and records into MP3 format, and then how to place those MP3 files back onto to CDs in MP3 format. Here's a combined answer contained in two responding posts:

First, unlike the WAV files (and similar CDA music format found on music CDs,) MP3 files are compressed. This means that you get more sound (lower noise, more dynamics, more fidelity) into a smaller file than with WAV files and CDA format.  There's an audio quality tradeoff, which is noticeable to someone with good ears who knows what to listen for, but the fidelity on a good MP3 is good enough that most people don't notice the slight loss of quality, which is why they've become so popular.

Think of WAV file as a music file in a PC, but when that WAV file is placed on a music CD, it's converted to CDA format when placed on that music CD. So essentially, WAV and CDA are 'paternal twins.'

MP3 files are really 'data' files when burning them onto a CD. Music CD's tracks are in CDA format (similar to a WAV file). A song in MP3 format can be one tenth the size of the same song in WAV format. So an MP3 CD can have about 200 songs whereas a music CD can have about 20 songs. However, all music CD/DVD players can't read MP3 CDs.

Windows' own Windows Media Player (WMPlayer) can rip CDs into WMA format. WMA format is Microsoft's proprietary compressed format that it prefers over MP3. Once a CD album is ripped into a WMA file for each track, WMPlayer can be used to create a music CD, or Roxio can be used to burn the WMA files onto a CD. But MP3 isn't really supported by WMPlayer without addons.

So, looking for a free program that can be used to rip a CD directly into MP3 format, I found CD-DA  X-Tractor at <http://www.MP3-converter.com/cdda_xtractor.htm>. After figuring how to set it up, it rips a music CD album into separate MP3 files very nicely and quickly. Then Roxio or Nero can be used to burn those MP3 files onto a MP3 CD.

You also asked about tapes (cassettes) and records. Cassettes and records must be played into the computer's sound card and software is needed to capture the music as it plays into files. A program I use to do that is Total Recorder <http://www.totalrecorder.com/> (freeware but very reasonable), and it can capture songs in MP3 or WAV format. Rather than trying to capture and save one song at a time, it's easier to capture the whole tape or record in one file in the desired format. Then use another program like Audacity (free at <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/> to separate each song/track into its own file.

There's a large learning curve to all of this. The learning curve is simplified if things are broken down into its pieces, and the concept (vs memorized clicks or follow-the-recipe approach) is understood. The steps are:

1a. Rip tracks from music CD into MP3 formatted files using ripping software.
-or-
1b. Record music from cassettes or records into MP3 formatted files using audio capture software.

2. If in step 1b several tracks were captured in a single MP3 file, separate those tracks into individual MP3 files using audio editing software.

3. Use CD burning software to burn MP3 files onto a CD.