Hi. I have MC4 running on a Dell inspiron 1520 and am having a problem with exporting projects to mp3. I get an error message saying that the mp3 encoder is locked. I don't know how that happened as I haven't made any changes unless it was done by other software that was installed. I have contacted customer support more than 2 weeks ago by email and have gotten no response from them. I'm looking at two options, first is if there is a way to fix the mp3 encoder, or to upgrade to a later version of MC. The catch is that I had downloaded the software from the internet and I don't think I have the software installation file(s) as I am also changing computers. If I can't find the original install files, is there one or two files from the program that would convince an upgrade version that the program is there? BTW, I'm fine with MC4 as it more than meets my needs, but if I have to buy the program again, I might as well upgrade.

I assume the MP3 encoder in MC4 needs to be separately purchased, like it is in the "big" versions of Cakewalk products. The one you get when you buy MC4 is only a demo.

You can export to wav and then use for example the free LAME encoder. I think there are several free audio editors that also can do the conversion, but I'm not sure 'cause I've never used them. Check the feature lists of something like Audacity or Wavosaur.

yes... the MP3 encoder is "unlocked" to let you try it for 30 days. After that, you must buy the license key to use it. 

I use WAVEPAD, and some folks use AUDACITY. Both are free, both allow conversion from WAVE to MP3 (and more) and both allow many other functions that are useful such as trimming the file and normalizing and level adjustments as well as compression and other things. 

google search them and you will be able to DL them. 

 Well, the good news is that my bad habit of not getting rid of stuff paid off as I found the exe file to download MC4 to the new computer Now all I have to do is contact them to get the registration verification code. What I don't understand is why they don't tell you that the mp3 encoder provided is a trial version. Oh well. I'm good now. BTW, I have already started moving data files for MC4 to another location. I hope I can figure out how to get MC4 to find the files and relocate them where they should be. At least I still have them. I'm wishing that I had done more to document where the various files were originally located. These are not the program files, but the data files of projects, etc..

 I just looked up wave pad it's NCH software and they don't give anything away free. There's nothing on the the cakewalk site for mp3 converter. Supposedly, it's included in the software, as although I haven't used it that often, I've had it on the computer for several years and this is only the 2nd time that I've run into this problem.

I remember in earlier versions of MC that they stated the mp3 converter is a trial version. I couldn't find that in the MC 6 ads, though. That is stated several times in the Help files, specifically under Troubleshooting, "My MP3 Converter Stopped Working".
Cakewalk has to pay a licensing fee to Steinberg in order to use Steinberg's mp3 converter in their programs. So they pass that cost on to customers who want the converter without making everyone pay for it (not everyone wants to convert to mp3).
I was lucky in that my computer already had a converter, included with the 'Enhanced' Windows Media Player, but lots of folks find free mp3 converters on the web. You should be able to find one, too.
Good luck!
 

sounddude


 I just looked up wave pad it's NCH software and they don't give anything away free. There's nothing on the the cakewalk site for mp3 converter. Supposedly, it's included in the software, as although I haven't used it that often, I've had it on the computer for several years and this is only the 2nd time that I've run into this problem.

no, it's not free - it's shareware.  you have to pay $19 to unlock it.  go to the cakewalk e-store, pay the $19 and they will send you the unlock code.
 
or, you can download free mp3 converters.
 
BTW - audacity itself does not have a free converter included - you have to download LAME and then tell audacity where to find LAME to use.

Okay, I did a bit of further research and found that the cakewalk mp3 converter that is a $19 download is apparently compatible with MC 3, 4, and 5 as per their description. I also figured out what happened. Although I haven't used it in at least a year, I had Cubase SE3 on the computer, but it was not functional due to a computer crash. I was able to get the program back, but not running, but forgot why, I think it was because I had lost the dongle. Regardless of that, I had uninstalled Cubase to make room on the drive, and that must be where the problem came with the mp3 encoder. Now, the one thing that I do not know is whether any mp3 encoder will work with MC4? Will I be able to integrate it into the program or will I have to convert from wav to mp3 separately? I also plan to look at seeing if I can find the encoder from steinberg. Thanks all for your replies.

sounddude


 Now, the one thing that I do not know is whether any mp3 encoder will work with MC4? Will I be able to integrate it into the program or will I have to convert from wav to mp3 separately?

This is the catch, and this is why Cakewalk has to charge the $19.99 fee. If the encoder is integrated into the program, Cakewalk is subject to the fee, so they pass it on to the end user.
The encoders I, and others, use, are not integrated.
These do the conversion from an exported wav file. It's an extra step, but I actually prefer it, as I have the original saved as a higher quality 24 bit wav file.
Most of the converters you will find, such as CDex, are stand alone products.

sounddude


 I just looked up wave pad it's NCH software and they don't give anything away free. There's nothing on the the cakewalk site for mp3 converter. Supposedly, it's included in the software, as although I haven't used it that often, I've had it on the computer for several years and this is only the 2nd time that I've run into this problem.

not exactly true. (I have not been to the site in a while... but)  If they are still offering the demo version, simply download it. It runs fully functional for the trial period. At the end of the trial period, it will give a pop up to ask you to buy it. If you decline the offer, it asks if you would like to continue to run Wavepad as the free but function limited version. Answer yes and it switches to that "free" mode. 


I have used this FREE version of Wavepad for more than 4 years now. Trust me when I say that it does everything I need in a wave editor. It converts to waves to MP3, it allows me to precisely trim the start and ending silence on a song, I can add silence to the start if I need it, and it allows me to process normalization to the project. It actually has other (still functional) features that I do not use. 


If the song is sounding right..... mixed and mastered properly in Sonar before the export...all you should need is to trim it, and convert to mp3.