I need mp3 editing software

July 30, 2007 9:14 PM

I need Mac software to let me edit out "stage talk" on some mp3s.

I have a few mp3s of live recordings, many of which have annoying stage banter at the end or beginning of the track. So, I need a (Mac) program that will allow me to easily edit a few seconds/milliseconds from either the end or beginning.

posted by BradNelson to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Audacity? I'm running XP, but it should work for Macs.
posted by malocchio at 9:22 PM on July 30, 2007

Audacity is great on Mac...and it's free, of course.
posted by lhauser at 9:24 PM on July 30, 2007

Thirding Audacity. I've yet to use it my Mac, but on Windows, it's very easy to figure out but can be pretty powerful.
posted by jroybal at 9:50 PM on July 30, 2007

audacity make sure you get LAME (to work with mp3s)
posted by DJWeezy at 9:50 PM on July 30, 2007

I wonder if something you already have installed might work. could you pull it into imovie, lower the audio level at certain points and export it as a mp3? final cut should do it, if you have it installed.
posted by krautland at 9:57 PM on July 30, 2007

for pay, Amadeus is a good sound editor (worth the money over Audacity IMO).
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 10:06 PM on July 30, 2007

Couldn't you do this in Garageband?
posted by loiseau at 10:11 PM on July 30, 2007

Garageband and Amadeus are both quite a bit less useful than Audacity for what BradNelson wants to do. Go with Audacity.
posted by gum at 12:28 AM on July 31, 2007

Perhaps even simpler still is if you use iTunes, you can use the Get Info menus to choose when a track starts and stops playing. It won't change the MP3 (or whatever) itself, but it'll get rid of stuff at the beginning and end of tracks when they're being played through iTunes or on an iPod.
posted by minifig at 2:55 AM on July 31, 2007

Fission, from rogueamoeba, is the best mp3 editing software on the mac, as far as im concerned. Audacity has the advantage of being free, but Fission has the wonderful ability to edit mp3s losslessly. I use it to edit "The Best Show on WFMU" podcast every week...its absolutely indispensable for me.
posted by melorama at 2:59 AM on July 31, 2007

Second Fission.
posted by sveskemus at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2007

Quicktime Player. Trim to Selection command.
posted by Izner Myletze at 7:59 AM on July 31, 2007

Third for Fission. I do this sort of editing all the time and I've found Fission to have the best workflow/technology. As Melorama said, it is lossless. This is a big deal if you want to retain the quality of the audio. Otherwise, it'll sound like an audio tape that has been copied a few times.
posted by colecovizion at 10:14 AM on July 31, 2007