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Topic: How do I create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of separate MP3 (Read 2517 times) previous topic - next topic
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How do I create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of separate MP3

I have an album of separate MP3 files.  I want to join the files in order to edit audio levels for the entire album.  After making changes I want to be able to split the track into separate MP3 files once again.  I know that a single track can be cut using a cue sheet.  I would like to know if I can create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of the individual MP3 files before I join them?

How do I create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of separate MP3

Reply #1
MP3Gain will edit the audio levels of individual MP3 files logically as if they are an entire album.
http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

How do I create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of separate MP3

Reply #2
Quote
I want to join the files in order to edit audio levels for the entire album. After making changes I want to be able to split the track into separate MP3 files once again.
FYI - You can apply the same gain to all files without combining them first.  For example, combining all of the files into a single file and boosting the gain by 2dB and re-splitting  will give you the exact-same results as applying a 2dB gain to each individual file .

If you increase the volume, you have to be careful to avoid clipping (distortion).    There is no issue with reducing volumes.  Most digital albums are already normalized/maximized  for  0dB (or near 0dB) peaks,  even though some albums sound louder than others.  And, some quiet-sounding songs have 0dB peaks.


If I wanted to normalize (maximize) an album with individual files, here's how I'd approach it:

Load the files into my audio editor* (I happen to use GoldWave), and scan to find the track with the highest peak. 

That peak tells me how much I can increase the gain without clipping.    If the highest peak on all files  is -4dB, I can safely boost all files by 4dB (or less if I wish).  If there is a 0dB peak, I can't increase the level on all files without clipping.


* MP3 is lossy compression, so it's best to use a special-purpose non-distructive editor when you're doing something simple like a volume change, which can be done non-distructively.  MP3Gain is also non-destructive.    But all "regular" audio editors (GoldWave, Audacity, Audition, etc.) decompress the file before editing, and that means a 2nd lossy compression step if you re-save as MP3.

Also, the MP3 format itself doesn't have the 0dB limit like (integer WAV files), but clipping can happen depending on how its encoded & decoded, so it's generally good practice to keep the peaks below 0dB.

How do I create a cue sheet based on the track lengths of separate MP3

Reply #3
+2 dB isn't the best example; if making the adjustment via the global gain field (like with MP3Gain), then you're restricted to 1.5 dB increments.

MP3Gain has a -k switch and equivalent in the GUI to prevent clipping, so you shouldn't need to do the pre-scan with GoldWave.