Kara-Moon Forum

I still consider myself a newbie to computers,since I have only had my first one for a couple of years.
That being said,I have done 9 albums in the last 2 years with my Korg Triton Extreme & I would like to post selections from each album on this forum,but I have absolutely no experience with uploading my music into a mp3 format.
Can anyone advise me on a relatively painless way of achieving this?
I had made a few attempts to do this on Myspace and I failed miserably.
Is there anyone that can help me despite my neolithic ignorance?
Some direction would be most appreciated.

Of course we will help you  8)

But you have to answer a couple of questions first so that we know  what you have

- Obviously you have a computer, otherwise you wouldn't be here .... is it a PC or a Mac, window, OS X or Linux
- Do you have the free audio editor Audacity ?
- If yes can you look in your audacity folder or in one of the subfolder of audacity if you have smething called 'lame_enc.dll' or simular.

That's it

k

I have a desktop with windows XP,but I do not have the Audacity audio editor.
If you could direct me to the site where I can download this editor-I would be grateful.

Thanks so much. 8)

Try here

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 ;)

ok, download audacity and install it

after that you'll need a codec to convert to mp3
just type lame_enc.dll in google, you can download it from different places on the net.
after downloading lame_enc.dll put it in your audacity folder

and come back here and we'll explain how to load a wav file and convert it to mp3, it's realy simple

k

... and once you have it in Audacity you could well be side-tracked by all the things you can do with it, and forget to to save it out as an mp3 :)

Kara,

I downloaded & installed the Audacity but I'm not sure where that folder is that it went into.
The converter was right there on the Audacity website to download and I did that,but there were so many versions,that I do not know if I downloaded the right one.
I saved the converter download in my documents folder,but i do not know how to put it into the Audacity folder.
I may have to have GeekSquad come out to my place to do this for me,because I do not have enough of a grasp of a pc to pull this off.
If I don't physically have someone here to show what to do,I may never figure it out.For the last two years,I have not been able to figure this out on my own.
I'm too far behind the times for this.
I appreciate you all trying to help though.

E.

Yep, if he downloads the LADSPA plugins and take the time to learn them :)

You know, I regulary post something like 'if you can't do it with audacity forget it '  :)
Just to say that it my main audio editor

k

i suppose that the default installation of audacity goes to c:\progam files\audacity ?
Just a question do you know how to use windows explorer ? (not internet explorer)

I never give up......

k

commendable efforts kara ;)

I know I'm coming across as a bleeding imbesol,but you have to understand that I am 38 yuears old-I did not grow up with computers,I did not take any computer classes in high school and even if i did,those pcs in that day were mosiac compared to today.I have never worked with computers in the workplace.
If someone does not have a fundamental understanding of computers and is not familiar with were things are stored and how they interact with each other-then the most elementary of tasks on a pc can be overwhelming.

This is why I do all of my recording on my keyboard workstation,because 17 years ago,I was introduced to the realm of keyboard workstations by a recording engineer and I have stuck with them ever since,so for me to all of a sudden to dive into pc interfacing and recording would be like hitting a brick wall,because I don't know where to begin.

All I have ever accomplished with my pc is label printing,internet surfing and downloading music to my mp3 player-that's it.

Yes,the program file folder is probably where it is stored,but when I click on "send" in order to transfer the file to my Audacity folder-the program file is not displayed in that list.
Yeah Kara,your probably right,if I can't figure out Audacity,then maybe I should forget it.
I don't want to give up,but how do I get around my ignorance without enrolling myself in a computer school?

Hi there. I am very sorry to hear about the frustrating time you are having. For what it is worth I went through the same some time ago.

I'm probably not the best person to advise on Windows matters, but I seem to remember that when new applications were installed, they put themselves on the menu system (under accessories I think). If you hunt through the menus, do you find Audacity there? That would be a good start.

Don't give up. Don't let the machines win :)

OK, I'm 58 and when I went to school computers weren't invented. I got my first PC 5 years ago and had to teach myself how to use it so I could teach my family.  I only got into music recording on the PC 2 years ago.  I hope that I can help you.

First off,

tell us what operating system you are using.   For now I will presume it is Windows XP.
If so......go to Start >  My computer > ...when the window opens go to Folders (near top of window) > click Folders and the window will change to Two panes, left and right. In the left pane you should have a list of everything that is on your PC.
It should go, from top to bottom something like : Desktop/My Documents/31/2Floppy(A)/LocalDisk(C)/DVDdrive(E)/ControlPanel.......etc.

This is where you can find the information required.

Click on the + beside LocalDisk(C) and the contents of your hard drive will be revealed.  Click on any of the + signs down the list until you find a folder for Audacity.

Take your time. Investigate. You can't do any harm here.
We'll continue this tomorrow.

Good luck.
 8)
James

Ok,my Audacity folder is in the start menu under program files.
The "lame_enc.dll" for the wav to mp3 conversion file is located in my documents folder.
Kara instructed me to put this code into my Audacity file.At this particular juncture,I need to know how to send this file.
I assumed that if I clicked on send,the "program file" would be there in the list,but it is not.
I need to know what I am doing wrong.

Thanks to all.

Great we are getting there
Now, the audacity you see in your start menu is NOT the program, it it is just the menu shortcut to start it. But it is easy to find out where it realy is.
So you click Start -> Program files and then you locate audacity and RIGHT click on it (click with the right button), a menu will open and in the menu you choose 'properties'.
In that window, under the tab 'Shortcut' you will see where the program is located beside 'location'; Write this down, you will need this. Close the window after that.

Now we have to get lame_enc.dll in there.

Again go the start button, this time you choose find > files or folder and click on it.
When the window opens, you choose at the left 'All files and folders'
Then in the first entry box you enter 'lame_enc.dll', the second you leave blank and you just click on the search button.
You just let the computer search for the file and when it is finished you'll have it in the right pane of the window.
When it is finished searching you click ONCE on the name of the file (NO double click) to highlight it. Now you go in the top menu of that window to the second element from the left beside File and single click on it when that opens you choose 'Copy in a directory'
Again a window will open. Click on the + beside the c drive locate program files, click on the + beside program files and locate the audacity folder which you wrote down previously.
Once you found it , single click on the name of the folder to highlight it and click on the copy button .
This is it , you can close all windows now

When you've done that, reply here and we'll setup audacity together

k

Ok,

I followed your instructions to the letter,but when I viewed the list to copy the Audacity folder,there were no obvious signs that the audacity folder was there.
Meaning,that I copied this; C:f6135c3860df28a95d16a707
Is this cluster of #'s & letters the Audacity folder?

If you follow my instructions from yesterday......when you find the Audacity folder, click on that folder and it will open in the right hand pane.  There you will see an icon that looks like headphones. Double-click on this icon and tha Audacity program will open.  Go to Edit> Preferences >
then follow these instructions from 'Audacity tips' website :

    * Alternatively, go to Edit > Preferences > File Formats and click on the 'Find Library' button in the bottom right hand corner, and browse to the location where the LAME file is located.

MP3 exporting will then be available.

Keep us informed!
 :-\
James

Thanks James,your very kind,but I think it's better for me if I stick with just one person's instructions at a time,only because things are overwhelming for me as it is.
You obviously are much more computer savy and have a good aptitude for pc's but for me at this point,I will limit myself to Kara's instructions.

Thanks again 8)

No that is NOT the audacity program...

So, first question...
If you click on start -> Programs do you see audacity there ?
If you click on it, does audacity start ?

Yes,

The Audacity Icon is there in the start menu & if I click on it,it takes me to the editing tool page.

ok that's a good start
Now whe have to find out where the lame_enc.dll is

Again go the start button, this time you choose find > files or folder and click on it.
When the window opens, you choose at the left 'All files and folders'
Then in the first entry box (still in the left pane of the window) you enter 'lame_enc.dll', the second you leave blank and you just click on the search button.
You just let the computer search for the file and when it is finished you'll have it in the right pane of the window.
Beside his name the computer the place where the file is located, write this down.

Once you have this we will proceed to the last step, telling audacity where the lame encoder is located.

k

Actually,I know where the code is,as I chose my documents folder when I downloaded it,I just need to know how to transfer it to the Audacity folder.

offthewall was trying to tell you that there is a function in the actual Audacity program that will allow you to point Audacity at your 'my do***ents' folder to find the lame_enc.dll
 Follow his advice for simple, quick results.
 Open Audacity
Click Edit- then Prefernces
Click the File Format tab, and go down to mp3 area
Click the 'find library' button; Audacity will ask you want to go find lame_enc.dll...just say yes and it will default to looking your 'my do***ents' folder which is where you say it's located. Select it and go.
 It should be very easy and painless this way. Just DO NOT move the lame_enc,dll file from this folder in the future or Audacity will not be able to find it and you'll have to do this again.

Ok Rharv,understood.
I followed James's instructions & everything seems to be in order so far.
I went into this whole thing blind,so I still need to await further instructions to go beyond this point.

Thanks

Open a wave file using 'file-open'. Then hit ctrl+A to hilight thee whole file.
Then use 'file-export to mp3' command.

With Audacity running.....go to Project > Import audio > then browse to the music file that you wish to use and click Open.  The file will run into Audacity and come up as a waveform on your screen.
From there go to File > Export as MP3 and follow the instructions.  I can't help further than this point as I use another application for my conversions.
 ;D
Always happy to help.
James

Here is my current situation;

I uploaded some songs from my cd and ripped them to Windows Media.I then sent the songs to my documents folder.
When I tried to import a song from my documents folder,an error message popped up saying that "Audacity cannot open this file type due to patent restrictions"
"You need to convert it to a supported audio format"

Sounds like DRM protection to me ??? :o

Are those songs ripped from a commercial CD ?

Anyone has an idea here ?

k

Definately DRM protection. You must have WinMediaPlayer 11 or so, eh?  I won't upgrade beyond 10 because of these hassles.
 Try ripping them in another program. Most burning software programs have a 'hidden' (or hard to find) feature for converting cd tracks to a wave file.
 -In Nero you would go to the screen like you are going to burn an audio CD and click the 'more' button at the bottom, then click 'save tracks' and select the drive with the CD in it that you want to copy, and set the format from mp4 (Nero default) over to PCM Wave file (Windows standard)

-In Ulead there is an icon to rip CD audio to Audio file at the top of the CD buring window.
- In Roxio it's under the 'Track' pulldown as 'Track-convert to audio file'.

Any of these will rip the CD audio to a wav file, just point it to save it in MyDocuments so you can find it later.

 You can also set up WinMediaPlayer to rip songs directly to mp3 (as opposed to wma) but they will still be protected by DRM. Not sure if your goal was just to make an mp3 or to have a wave file to work with.

 DRM is starting to get out of hand, as we all knew it would.  The last two releases of WinMediaPlayer have gotten progressively worse and Vista is pushing it along too. (That MediaCenter edition of XP was a precursor).

It's to the point now where you have to use workarounds to make more than 5 copies of your own CD, if you start with a copy burned in recent WinMediaPlayer or  Vista.. at least that's what I'm reading. I've avoided both like the plague on every system I own.

+1

Wanted to add : if you don't know what DRM stands for, read all about it
here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management

k

Just for the record,no,it's not a commercial cd.I've written the music,I own the music,& there is no copyright on it.It was just a blank cd burned on my RCA cd burner.
I'll have to tinker more with this problem later.

Thanks again to all 8)

Like I said- the newest version of mediaplayer and the vista OS both force DRM onto the user, even on their own recorded CD's.  It's enough to get me going.. I can't believe people allow this.  Best reason for a boycott of an OS I've ever heard.
 It's just like Sony installing software on your machine if you played one of the hundred or so CD's they produced a few years ago before the governments stepped in and forced them to stop andrecall them all. I avois all things Sony now.
 DRM is wrong.  I understand something is desired to protect the artist, but not at the cost and inconvenience of so many people.
 A friend of mine could not get that Sony insult removed from his music computer (installed itself when he simply played a 'Dead Kennedy's' CD in his computer), forcing him to backup, reformat the drive, and reinstall everything.

The dumb part is that the people who they are trying to stop from duplicating CD's will easily find a workaround and continue on..it's the honest Joe that suffers.

Okay, I'm done now..

Rharv,

Yeah man,I hear that.The free Napster being shut down was understandable and I don't mind paying for the ability to pick & choose my songs & make a custom cd.
However though,I had to delete my account to Wal-Mart's music downloads because the sound quality from that sight sounded like buttwind.

Headaches such as DRM is exactly the reason why I have put off buying a computer for so long.Things like DRM leave me wondering if maybe I had done something wrong,which makes me yank my hair out.

Anyway,back to the original issue at hand,I will try using a different media player,but honestly,I don't remember what version I currently have-I'll have to look into it.

if all you need is to rip your proper CD, get this :
http://www.mgshareware.com/frmmain.shtml

it will create directly the MP3 for you

k

That looks as good as any and it converts to wav also.
I think I'll grab a copy of that too.

I downloaded the Freerip,but before I had done that,I had tried running my Nero program & it has put a hault on everything.
I have an entirely new problem now.
Ever since I got an error message saying;"nero.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close",I cannot even upload anything from a cd at all now.
EVERY TIME I throw a cd in,that error message pops up & stonewalls everything.

Someone please help me with this when you get a chance,before I end up throwing my pc into the back of my car,get on the Garden State Parkway at 70 MPH and throw this G***amn thing out the window. >:(

I had attempted to trouble shoot my problem by removing my Nero program entirely,but it will not allow me to remove it,as it is unresponsive.

My computer freezes up and I cd drive is completely inoperable.

I am completely out of ideas. :-\

Hold the horses!!!

If you encounter a problem with your PC because you installed somtehing, then go to:
Programs ==> Accesoires ==> System Tools ==> System Restore

This will allow you to restore your system to a previous state where everything was fine. Don't mess with uninstall and chnaging settings, use the restore function. Actually, this is the greatest feature that was included in windows XP but so few people seem to know about it...

Moo,

Thanks Moon,that did the trick-very righteous. ;D

I don't want to be a pain in the *ss,but as far as I could tell,I successfully converted my wma files to mp3,but after the process was completed,nothing happened.
A waited a few minutes,expecting a message indicating that it was complete & I waited for a list to pop up of the songs but nothing happened.
I hit the "dismiss" button to see what that would do,& all that occured was the conversion process window closing.
I could not locate my songs,so I suspect that I am back to square one?

Don't try to convert the wma files; they are DRM protected already from going thru mediaplayer. Use the original CD to convert them to mp3.

Rharv,

I did exactly that.I had erased all the wma files that I had previously in my documents folder and I experienced my problem with Freerip from having all the songs uploaded directly from my cd.
There is either some other unforeseen problem,or I am doing something wrong because I never delt with Freerip before.

Thanks for the effort though.

Kara- if you are familiar with this software, can you help him thru it?

Was the CD burned on the new computer? I suppose DRM could have been put on those tracks then, if they were burned in Windows MediaPlayer.

Question- you said you successfully truned your 'wma' files into mp3 then nothing happened...did you mean 'wma' files or CDaudio? How did they get to wma files again?
Online directions for using Freerip are here-
http://www.mgshareware.com/frmmanual/300/ripping-audio-cds_en.html
Did you look on your desktop for the folder it creates?
At the bottom it shows how to write to other formats if yours is defaulting to wma..

TBH i have no idea what went wrong.
If you follow the step by step manual (link posted by rharv) it allmost can't go wrong.
It is the most simple software I know for this pupose

k

Ok,for some reason,everything went smoothly this time & my songs are now in an mp3 format & are stored on my desktop via the Creative Media player set up that I have.
Thanks alot Kara,it turned out to be amazingly simple ;D

So then,onto the next step finally,& since I have obviously never posted music before,I don't know if I have to find a host to post music here?
From what I have heard,generally,forums don't have sufficient bandwidth to provide thier own hosting.

I suppose I just need to find a hosting site then?

Again,I would really like to thank everyone's tireless efforts in helping me get the ball rolling-very much appreciated ;D

Great that is one step done
Up to the next

You don't need a host, because you allready found it, we are a host.

2 possibilities, let's try first the most simple way
You allready know how to post here.
Now when you create a post click on the 'additional options' before posting it.
There you will see the possibility to add a song to your post. Just browse to a song of you on your pc , add it & post it and you'll see the magic :)

k

Thanks Kara,from the bottom of my soul-thank you & to all others as well,for your unflinching tolerance to help me.
Having the means to expose my music from a global podium means a great deal to me.
My first music post is up & I'm loving life ;D

Great !

Glad you've made it allready this far. From now on, things will only become easier ! (I hope  ;) )

Moon

Great it works now.
That's what kara-moon is all about, musicians for musicians

k

And I would like to say.......I'm glad you stuck with it!
We all know how frustrating this can all be at first.  We have all been there at one time or another and that is why a 'family' like Kara-Moon can be so helpful.

Good luck with it....and I am looking forward to hearing your music.
Your next step is to set up an 'artist page' here!

James  ;D

I've been watching this, feeling almost as frustrated as you, I think :) I'm glad it's all sorted now, and also hope to hear your work soon!