• MP3 Recorder

• Line-In function for external tape machines or microphones

• Ripping feature

• Built-in MP3 encoder

Of the two, only MusicMatch Jukebox was found to contain a built-in MP3 Player. This, however, should not deter you from the Audiograbber product, in that one of the best MP3 players on the market, a product by Winamp, is available free of charge and integrates perfectly with Audiograbber.

Test results for the 2 programs were virtually identical, with each permitting direct MP3 recording at (a) high compression/low quality for speech files; or at (b) low compression/high quality for CD comparable music files. One disappointing finding — with each program — was the absence of a Pause button on the MP3 Recorder. Stopping and then restarting the Recorder creates an entirely new track (file), with the result that if you intend to do microphone to PC recording, Windows own Sound Recorder program would be a better option.

For software with advanced recorder control functions, visit Cakewalk or Sonic Foundry, both leaders in professional digital audio editing products. One particular product by Cakewalk — Cakewalk Pyro — along with a second by Sonic Foundry — Sound Forge XP Studio — appear to have all the necessary MP3 recorder functions.

Review the product specs and download trial versions of the software by clicking the links below:

Sonic Foundry
Cakewalk
Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 Suite (or later version)
MusicMatch Jukebox

Caution — Freeware and shareware applications often contain spyware, an intrusive little utility that monitors your travels on the web and then relays this information back to the developers. From there, the information is generally sold to advertisers who, after adding your name to a spam list, proceed to bombard you with unwanted e-mail advertisements. The more destructive and dangerous versions of these stealth utilities are programmed to scan the files on your hard drive or - worse - monitor keystrokes, such as those used for passwords and credit card information. Whenever possible, never download freeware programs — buy the full version. If you suspect that spyware is active on your computer, click the link below for information on removing these hidden applications.

To search for similar MP3 products, enter the words mp3 maker in the text box of your favourite search engine.

After installing the MP3 Maker/Recorder program, select from the following to begin creating MP3 files:

MP3 Mic-In Recording
Microphone to PC recording is not recommended for professionals, as this requires constant use of a mouse as well as interaction with a software control panel.

Professionals should use the Line-In Recording method or — better still — a digital voice recorder (see our section on Digitizing Sound).

Important: Speech files should never be recorded in Stereo Mode at High Quality. Use this setting only when creating CD quality music tracks. For speech recordings, adjust the settings on your MP3 program to record in Mono at Low Quality — no higher than 32 KBit/s, 22,050 Hz, as these files are less than half the size of MP3 stereo recordings.

1. Connect a microphone to your computer

2. If the microphone is equipped with a jack plug, connect this to the Mic-In input jack of your sound card.
   For SoundBlaster compatible cards, this input jack is pink in colour

3. If the microphone is equipped with a USB connector, connect this to an available USB Port

4. Note: The following tutorial focuses on the use of Windows Sound Recorder for microphone to PC recording.

5. Start Sound Recorder for Windows
   Go to Start > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder

6. On the menu bar of Sound Recorder, click File > New

7. Click the Record button (red circle) to begin recording

8. Say a few words in your microphone to test the setup

9. Click the Stop button (black rectangle) to stop recording

10. Click the Play button (single arrow) to listen to your recording

11. If necessary, adjust the audio levels by going to Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices

12. In the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window — Volume folder — check the box to Place volume icon in the task bar
    Volume settings can now be accessed from your task bar

13. In this same folder, click the Advanced button under Device volume

14. A new Play Control window appears

15. If nothing is shown for Microphone, click Options and then Properties on the menu bar of this window

16. Scroll through the list to ensure that Microphone has been checked

17. Click OK

18. The volume control for Microphone should now be displayed in the Record Control window

19. Adjust the volume control if necessary

20. Ensure that Mute has not been checked for Microphone

21. Without closing this window, return to Sound Recorder to test your new settings

22. If nothing is heard, check your Default device in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window — Voice folder

23. This should display the device to which your microphone is attached, i.e. SB Wave Device

24. Click the Test hardware button under this same folder to run the Windows Sound Hardware Test Wizard

25. Still nothing? Check your cable connection to ensure that your microphone has been connected to the correct input jack

26. When finished recording, click File on the menu bar of Sound Recorder

27. Select Save

28. In the Save As window, browse for a target location on your hard drive

29. Under File name, enter a name for your new digital sound file

30. Click Save

31. You have now created a Windows waveform (.wav) file

32. To convert the file to MP3 format, start your MP3 Maker program

33. Important — Adjust the MP3 settings
    For speech (dictation) files, adjust your MP3 settings to record in Mono at Low Quality — no higher than 32 kBit/s, 22,050 Hz. MP3 recording in Stereo Mode at High Quality should be used only when creating CD quality music tracks

34. On the menu bar of Audiograbber, click Settings > MP3 Settings

35. A new window — MP3 Settings — appears

36. Under Grab To, select MP3 file via intermediate wav file. Delete the wav file

37. Under Mode, select 32 kBit/s, 22,050 Hz, Mono

38. Ensure that Encode with Highest Quality has not been checked

39. In this same window, click the Browse button to Create an MP3 now

40. Browse to locate the waveform (.wav) file recorded earlier

41. Click Open

42. The conversion process begins automatically, and a new file — in highly compressed MP3 format — is created and saved under the same file name

43. Follow this same method of converting wav files to MP3 format if using another MP3 Maker program

Back

MP3 Line-In Recording
Important: Speech dictation (transcription) files should never be recorded in Stereo Mode at High Quality. Use this setting only when creating CD quality music tracks. For speech dictation files, adjust the settings on your MP3 program to record in Mono at Low Quality — no higher than 32 kBit/s, 22,050 Hz, as these files are less than half the size of MP3 stereo recordings.

1. Connect a cable from the Line Out (Output) jack of your external tape recorder or transcription device to the Line In (Input) jack of your sound card

2. Start your MP3 Recorder Program

3. Select the Line-In option on your sound recorder program

4. Using MusicMatch Jukebox, go to Options > Settings > Recorder folder, and then in the bottom left-hand corner — under Recording Source — select Line In from the drop-down list

5. Important — Adjust the MP3 settings
   For speech (dictation) files, adjust your MP3 settings to record in Mono at Low Quality — no higher than 32 kBit/s, 22,050 Hz. MP3 recording in Stereo Mode at High Quality should be used only when creating CD quality music tracks

6. Above the Line In selection — under Custom Quality — select MP3 CBR

7. Adjust the toggle control to the right of this until it reads 32 kbps

8. Click OK to return to the main window

9. Click the REC button on the MusicMatch Recorder to begin recording

10. Click the Play button on your external tape dictation device

11. The creation of a new digital audio file, in highly compressed MP3 format, then begins

12. Follow this same line-in recording method if using another MP3 Maker program

13. Troubleshooting — Refer to our Mic-In Recording tutorial, steps 11 through 25. The word Line-In should be used in place of Microphone