freedom 48
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unlocking mp3 encoder
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!!??
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rbowser
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 12:02:09
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Have you simply tried doing what it says, to go to the Cakewalk site to unlock the player--?
Randy
rbowser
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boten
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 12:15:37
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☄ Helpfulby surfzone 2017/11/18 12:16:14
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.
post edited by boten - 2006/09/12 12:31:29
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Slugbaby
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 12:40:32
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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.
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rbowser
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 14:59:25
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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
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boten
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 15:04:25
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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
post edited by boten - 2006/09/12 15:18:37
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Beagle
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 15:12:52
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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.
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rbowser
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 15:14:02
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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
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macflooze
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 15:20:07
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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...
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freedom 48
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 17:24:48
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yes sir...that's how I found my way to the forum
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freedom 48
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 17:26:23
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thanks....I'm kind of a "newbie" though....what exactly is CDex and how do I go about obtaing it!!??
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freedom 48
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RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2006/09/12 17:29:07
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thanks alot....I appreciate the info....I need to visit these forums more often....than maybe I can help someone some day!! Well a guy can dream can't he!!?? LOL!! THANKS AGAIN!!
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christofloffer
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/08 09:03:18
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hey, sorry to resurrect but it seemed more logical than a whole new thread. i am getting this prompt too. it came up for a while before but then it just stopped coming up. i have exported plenty of tunes into MP3 but now it says i cant and need to do this. all i had to do before was change the bit depth to 16 and it worked fine. am i missing something or has something changed? as i never had it before. edit: never mind, i just checked it out and it was the apparent 30 day free trial i am guessing. though quite why they had to do that i dont know, seems kind of stupid. it would be logical to just leave the encoder as part and parcel but i guess they just want to sting folks for money. going to check out the free ones now. what a joke.
post edited by christofloffer - 2015/02/08 09:10:55
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57Gregy
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/08 09:23:29
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☄ Helpfulby surfzone 2017/11/18 12:29:28
Cakewalk has to pay Steinberg a license fee for every mp3 encoder. They pass Steinberg's fee on to the user.
"The business of America is business".
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Fabio Rubato
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/08 10:34:11
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Pointless really when you can mix down and then use a free stand-alone - I've been using Audacity for ages and it's excellent at what it does and it's free to!  I'll take a high quality mixed-down wav from Sonar and stick it in Audacity and export it as an mp3 adding specific detail. Mp3's are great for sending draft songs via email. I wonder how many of us have actually purchased this mp3 encoder from CW? I would think not too many and subsequently not too lucrative for Steinberg.
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Sanderxpander
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/08 11:06:57
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☄ Helpfulby surfzone 2017/11/18 12:30:51
I bought it. It was more trouble than it was worth and trying to get it to work right was even worse. As a result, I use a third party solution.
I don't "mind" exactly but I do find this really dumb and clunky.
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christofloffer
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/13 14:01:48
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i am not having much luck with this. i downloaded an encoder called switch but ended up with the same hassles, one week then it blocked all converting unless i paid for it. i tried a few others but i seem to hit trouble with my windows being 64 bit as i get so far and then they just heave up errors and never finish the installation. a couple of them were little more than malware/adware that took a long time to get rid of.
anyone got any recommendations? i would really rather not buy the encoder as there seem to be plenty around, i just cant get them to work. i used to export from audacity as MP3 but i cant get any files from sonar to audacity to do that without them turning into a 5 second screech.
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Paul P
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/13 16:27:43
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christofloffer
i am not having much luck with this. i downloaded an encoder called switch but ended up with the same hassles, one week then it blocked all converting unless i paid for it.
I suggest you use the lastest LAME encoder (free, opensource, works) which you can run from within Sonar. See this post for instructions for doing that (links are out of date). When I went to encode a track, I made some errors filling out the dialog which were quickly corrected with scook's help. Here's that thread in case you do something similar. The lastest LAME version is 3.99.5 and the 64-bit windows version can be had here : lame3.99.5-64.zip An older thread that should still be relevant : TUTORIAL: Getting LAME MP3 Encoder to Work With SONAR
Sonar Platinum [2017.10], Win7U x64 sp1, Xeon E5-1620 3.6 GHz, Asus P9X79WS, 16 GB ECC, 128gb SSD, HD7950, Mackie Blackjack
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Sanderxpander
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/13 17:45:44
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I bought Switch, it's pretty useful, just don't do samplerate conversion with it.
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christofloffer
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/14 06:27:27
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wahey, got lame working. took many attempts because i forgot to run as administrator so none of the set up was changed whenever i tried to save. all good now though, straight to MP3 from sonar. if i had run as admin in the first place it would have been done in 10 mins. thanks so much for that, i can finally get back to it again.
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PH68
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2015/02/14 06:44:09
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I've always used the Cakewalk MP3 converter.
Bought it years ago from CW.
Still works fine whenever I want an MP3 version of my mix.
~ Cakewalk ~ Arturia ~ Waves ~ Overloud ~ Windows ~
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BooRazz
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/10 14:30:42
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I-Tunes has a great MP3 encoder that works great, sounds great, and best of all its free. Ive been using it for over a decade converting wave to MP3.
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chuckebaby
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/10 19:04:29
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☄ Helpfulby dramelot 2016/12/13 22:40:17
BooRazz
I-Tunes has a great MP3 encoder that works great, sounds great, and best of all its free. Ive been using it for over a decade converting wave to MP3.
the only problem is you have to install that bloat-ware bonjour. I tunes is great for iTunes, and you are correct you can use its mp3 converter but in my opinion, installing that app isn't what you want to do on your digital work station.
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BooRazz
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/10 20:43:27
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Ok Charlie, Ill bite. What would be your best suggestion for an MP3 encoder considering I know nothing about Sonars MP3 converter?
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Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/11 19:54:15
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The easiest way to export MP3 in SONAR is to buy the Cakewalk MP3 Activation which costs $9.99. Once you buy this activation it can be used for all future SONAR versions. The reason its not free is because MP3 encoding is still a patent owned by Fraunhofer. Edit: corrected link to newer sku for X series and beyond.
post edited by Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk] - 2016/06/12 13:42:41
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MPH
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/12 09:31:06
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Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
The easiest way to export MP3 in SONAR is to buy the Cakewalk integrated MP3 encoder It costs $10.
The reason its not free is because MP3 encoding is still a patent owned by Fraunhofer.
When I followed your link and added the MP3 encoder to my cart, It said it was for old Cakewalk products? "Cakewalk MP3 Encoder Download. $9.99 MP3 Encoding for Old Cakewalk Products" When I clicked on 'More Info' I got the information below... "Additional Information Activate the MP3 encoder that comes with Cakewalk software: use with SONAR 1-3, Pro Audio 9, Home Studio 9 & 2002, Guitar Tracks 2 & Pro, Pro Tracks, Club Tracks, Plasma, and Music Creator (except version 3-7)." Is this MP3 Encoder compatible with the latest Sonar? Does it need an update? Or, at least an update to the documentation... I don't need an MP3 Encoder but it would be convenient to have it available inside Sonar...
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scook
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/12 09:36:09
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MPH
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/12 09:50:26
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Thanks! B)
$10 isn't bad for convenience sake, if it works well and I'll be using it for years...
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pwalpwal
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/12 10:06:36
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Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
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Re: RE: unlocking mp3 encoder
2016/06/12 13:24:14
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MPH
When I followed your link and added the MP3 encoder to my cart, It said it was for old Cakewalk products?
I'm sorry about that. I posted a link to the older encoder. I corrected my post with the right link that scook posted.
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