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Music Center: CNET's guide to digital audio
How to rip a CD as a single MP3
By Jasmine France
(September 2, 2005)
If you're a big fan of electronic music, DJ mixes, or albums such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, you're probably aware of or have noticed an annoying trait found on almost every MP3 player available today: a gap is inserted between the tracks of otherwise uninterrupted albums. Unfortunately, this issue has yet to be satisfactorily addressed through player firmware updates, but all is not lost. If you can do without the track markers for your continuous albums, ripping each CD as a single track eliminates the cause of the snippets of silence you would hear otherwise. Use this tutorial to guide you through the process.
Required attention span: 10 to 15 minutes per CD, depending on your drive speed Ingredients
Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements:
Follow these simple steps
Insert an audio CD
More resources
Required attention span: 10 to 15 minutes per CD, depending on your drive speed Ingredients
Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements:
PC running Windows
Audiograbber (freeware)
Audio CDs
Follow these simple steps
1
Download freeware
Download and install Audiograbber from Download.com.
The simplistic Audiograbber interface
Download and install Audiograbber from Download.com.
The simplistic Audiograbber interface
2
Insert an audio CD
3
Adjust the settings
Click the Settings button or select General Settings from the Settings pull-down menu. Specify where you would like the final file saved (the default is in the Audiograbber folder), and click OK. Uncheck ID3v2 from the Settings pull-down menu.
Enter the directory where you would like your file saved in the top box.
Make sure you deselect ID3v2.
Click the Settings button or select General Settings from the Settings pull-down menu. Specify where you would like the final file saved (the default is in the Audiograbber folder), and click OK. Uncheck ID3v2 from the Settings pull-down menu.
Enter the directory where you would like your file saved in the top box.
Make sure you deselect ID3v2.
4
Select an output format
Along the top of the window, there is a button labeled MP3 with a check box in it. Check this box if you want the resulting file to be an MP3; otherwise, it will be saved as a WAV file.
Check the MP3 box if you don't want a WAV file.
Along the top of the window, there is a button labeled MP3 with a check box in it. Check this box if you want the resulting file to be an MP3; otherwise, it will be saved as a WAV file.
Check the MP3 box if you don't want a WAV file.
5
Get info for the last track
Right-click the last track, and select Track Properties. Near the bottom, there's a section called Sectors. Copy the number that's in the Last box of this section, and click OK.
Copy the number in the Last box of the Sectors.
Right-click the last track, and select Track Properties. Near the bottom, there's a section called Sectors. Copy the number that's in the Last box of this section, and click OK.
Copy the number in the Last box of the Sectors.
6
Add info to the first track
Right-click the first track, and select Track Properties. In the Sectors section, paste the previously copied number in the Last box and click OK.
Paste the last track's Last number in the Last box of the first track.
Right-click the first track, and select Track Properties. In the Sectors section, paste the previously copied number in the Last box and click OK.
Paste the last track's Last number in the Last box of the first track.
7
Rip only the first track
Uncheck all of the tracks except for the first track. Click the Grab button. The resulting file will be one uninterrupted track.
Rip your continuous MP3.
Uncheck all of the tracks except for the first track. Click the Grab button. The resulting file will be one uninterrupted track.
Rip your continuous MP3.
More resources
Prefer to keep your tracks separate? Then rip your CDs as multiple MP3s instead.
Digitizing your vinyl LPs and cassettes makes them infinitely more portable. Check out our Weekend Project for step-by-step instructions.
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