HI...I am trying to export a project in MP3 format and I am getting a prompt to go to cakewalk.com to unlock the mp3 encoder. I have the home studio 4 edition. I'm not a regular "forums" guy but...I asked a question here once and the person that responded was very helpful. Can anyone aid me on how to go about this situation!!??

Have you simply tried doing what it says, to go to the Cakewalk site to unlock the player--?

Randy
rbowser

You shouldn't be doing that. You should export to RIFF and then use a standalone application such as CDex to convert to mp3. Reason is when you export to mp3 right from Home Studio you apply destructive compression to the mixdown.

Don't bother BUYING an MP3 encoder. Export as WAV so that you have a full version of the project, and encode the WAV to MP3 separately. That way you won't only have a compressed version. CDex is free, so it iTunes, and there must be many other free encoders out there.

The only time I make MP3s is when I want to post or send a recording, and I make it from already existing 2-track .wav mixes. So, I don't know from experience what happens when you use a program to make an MP3 from Home Studio.

Boten, you said:

"... when you export to mp3 right from Home Studio you apply destructive compression to the mixdown."

Is that right? It destructively changes your project's original audio files? I thought it made an MP3 version of the project, but that you could stay in Sonar to make a regular .wav file mix with the original unchanged audio files. I have that wrong?

Randy
rbowser

Is that right? It destructively changes your project's original audio files? I thought it made an MP3 version of the project, but that you could stay in Sonar to make a regular .wav file mix with the original unchanged audio files. I have that wrong?

Randy, what I meant was that the export file itself is destructively compressed. Of course you can always come back to the project and create a RIFF export. I usually do only one 16 bit (RIFF of course) export and do the conversions externally to save the need for additional export

That's exactly what I do, and I believe that's the best way to create mp3s. I use CWENC - which was origianlly created to work from within CW products, but with the release of 4+ it no longer works that way. It does work fine as a stand alone product, however.

Good, Boten, thanks for the clarification. I think the mistaken impression was made earlier that you would permanently change your project's audio files if you made an MP3 from HS. Cool.

It only takes moments to export a mix down, so if you have a dedicated MP3 program, one may as well stay there in HS and do several flavors of export at once--standard .wav export, and MP3 at different compression levels. You don't have to leave HS after doing an export, so there's no real hassle to it.

But as I said, and you're saying you do the same thing, Boten, MP3s are something I do, if I do at all, later on after I have projects wrapped up.

By the way, the MP3 encoder I use is the one in my old copy of Pro Audio 9. That program still comes in handy, as has been said several times recently on the Forum.

Randy
rbowser

Audacity also has an option to convert .WAV to MP3 - you have to download the LAME codec, and tell audacity where it is, but it's free.
Like everyone says - export from Sonar as a high-bit/ high sample WAV file - that's your master mix - the equivalent of a 30 ips 1/2" analogue tape master. Use this to make copies for CD, Mp3, Ipod, whatever...

yes sir...that's how I found my way to the forum