Tutorial: Create MP3s Using Audiograbber with the LAME Encoder
Updated: October 17, 2008
I put this tutorial together for a buddy of mine. It is the method I use for ripping from CD to MP3 using the latest LAME encoder. The LAME encoder is generally considered to be the highest quality encoder and, best of all, it's free! I was thinking that others may find this tutorial to be useful, so I'm posting it here.
LAME version 3.98.2 is the most recent final build. You can get this final 3.98.2 build (compiled with Intel Compiler 10.1) at RareWares by clicking here.
Next, get Audiograbber here and install it.
The latest version (1.83.1) is freeware (no adware/spyware). Audiograbber itself is pretty intuitive and easy to use. Figuring out some of the more subtle options is easy enough, so I'll just go over how to set up the major options with the LAME encoder. Copy lame.exe from the lame3.98.2.zip archive above into the directory you created when you installed Audiograbber.
Launch Audiograbber. Click on the "Settings" icon. Look at the screenshots above. You want to use the options I've used. Notice the "Directory to store files in" option. This is where your .mp3 files will be saved. The only annoying problem is that when you click on the "Browse" button, it doesn't let you create a folder, so the folder has to already exist before you browse to it. Dopey, but not that big of a deal. In the lower part of the option box, under "CD-ROM access method" make sure you choose the ASPI tab and select the drive your going to use under "CD-ROM unit". Not a bad idea to select "Dynamic sync width" under "Rip Method". It's a little slower, but it's more secure. Make sure you check the "Rip as much as possible to RAM" option, but leave the "Max MB" setting to whatever value is already there.
Check the little box next to the "MP3" icon and then click the icon itself. Click the "External Encoder" tab. Look at the screenshot above. It's important that you point to where you put lame.exe under "External MP3 program name". Now, using --preset fast extreme is a little overboard and in my experience result in files that average 224kbps. This is probably overkill, but I'm kind of picky about sound quality and I want .mp3 files that are "transparent" to the original CD. --preset fast standard will get you a bitrate that is probably in the 192kbps range and is still generally considered transparent, but your can do your own tests to compare. I honestly have trouble telling the difference, but using the fast extreme mode makes me feel like I have uncompromised sound quality, which in turn makes me better about myself ;-)
Okay, put your CD in the drive. You'll see the tracks show up in the main window. Click the "Freedb" icon to pull the artist, album and song title info. Double check the info as it's not always 100% correct. Now, if you want to be a geek (who doesn't?), right-click on one of the tracks that shows up (doesn't matter which) and select "ID3v2 Properties". Click on the "ID3v2 Settings" tab. Now look at screenshot above. Audiograbber lists information about itself in sort of an odd way using a non-standard tag. Uncheck the "Software used" box, check the "Encoded by" box and paste the following there:
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98.2 (--preset fast extreme)
Obviously, change "extreme" to "standard" if you decide to go that way. You'll only have to do all these settings once, as it will remember them the next time you launch Audiograbber.
Now click the "Grab" icon and ripping will commence!
If you want to convert WAV files you already have to MP3, click the "MP3" icon. Under "Create an MP3 now", click on the "Browse..." button. Highlight the WAV files you want to convert. Remember you can select multiple files if you hold down the Control key or select the first file, hold the Shift key and then select the last file and it will also select every file in between. If you want, check the "Delete wav files after encoding" box. Make sure you selected the directory you want the MP3 files you convert to be in, by using the "Directory to store files in" option after clicking the "Settings" icon on the main screen.
I hope this tutorial proves to be helpful! If I missed something and you get stuck, leave a comment and I'll try to help!
10 comments:
Just wanted to say your tutorial was incredibly helpful and easy to follow. This is how I will be ripping all my cd's for my blog. Also, thanks for the link from your page.
why didnt you post my comment re placing a lame dll file in the same folder ?
It wasnt meant to cause any offense
I didn't remove the post! Besides, I didn't take offense. I thought it was strange, but it appeared as a comment under my "Nozomu Aoki - Galaxy Express 999 (1979)" posting. I replied to your comment there as well. Check it out! It's the post under this one!
Annubis, thanks for the kind words! Your blog hit the floor running! Very cool!
Over in my posting for Nozomu Aoki - Galaxy Express 999 (1979) at
http://p-l-m.blogspot.com/2006/09/nozomu-aoki-galaxy-express-999-1979.html
William posted some useful comments about encoding with LAME and customizing the command prompt:
--
Actually, if you use the internal encoder (lame_enc.dll) and these settings:
-Select variable bitrate
-Select new
-On the low to high quality slider move it to vbr 0
-Choose Joint Stereo
. . . it is the same as the external encoder with --preset fast extreme.
BTW, "--preset fast extreme" is a legacy setting mapped to the current --V 0.
But the command window "graph" does look pretty cool, I agree!
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28124
BTW, did you know that you can change the colors and font of the LAME.EXE graphing window that pops up? It's kind of cool to make it match your theme's colors instead of the default boring black and white. And it's quick and easy to do, too!
Here are a few links on how to do it, in case you are interested:
http://samanathon.com/2007/03/06/customize-the-command-prompt/
http://commandwindows.com/configure.htm
Just be aware that you will need to have a fairly long encode going (5 minutes or so??) in order to give you enough time to make and save your changes before the window closes. Thanks again!
William
I accidentally deleted a comment by Synthetic ( http://www.blogger.com/profile/13978317033039238701 ). Here was his original comment from July 13th, 2007:
I loved the helpful and informative info on the tutorial. One thing I did notice is that if you select 0.00 seconds of silence, then you lose quietest parts of fade-outs and fade-ins. Probably doesn't matter unless your converting your own original music if that music had fades (mine did so it was bothersome). Otherwise everything else works like a charm.
Synthetic, I'm not doubting your results, but my testing has shown that only digital silence is removed.
Has anyone else noticed nearly silent bits being cut off?
I sorted this all out on Christmas Day thanks to you. What a great Christmas present. One big thank you.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Given that you can't tell the difference between CD quality and '192kbps mp3', you really are not qualified to give ripping advice! And you also mistakenly believe that ripping in 'fast extreme' mode is a *good* thing!
I have heard your Zatoichi soundtrack rips, and they are not very nice. Look, I am not trying to bash you down, because like you I love Zatoichi, and I do appreciate that you've made an effort. But please, accept some advice:
1. Rip to AT LEAST 256kbps (if not 320kbps) - the results will be a smoother, warmer, kinder sound, much closer to the original CD.
2. Use 'Joint Stereo' mode where possible - this means sounds that occur in both left and right channels only need encoding once, thus meaning more intelligent use of bits, and thus increasing sound quality.
3. Slower = better. The longer it takes to encode an MP3, the more work the program is doing to ensure high quality. 'Extreme fast' means corners are cut and quality is compromised for any given bitrate.
4. People like your good self, who cannot hear any loss of quality with lower bitrates should get someone with better ears to check your quality and guide you. Believe me, to many, 192kbps is not 'transparent' at all, but is quite harsh and digital sounding.
Thanks for reading - I don't expect you to post this, but I hope you will take some guidance from it.
Actually, cockycochrane2, you don't know what you're talking about. First of all, as I stated in the original posts and in my reply, I personally ripped the third Zatoichi disc, not the first two. I don't own those. I addressed your issues when you made your first uninformed comment in my second Zatoichi CD post. Obviously you didn't bother doing any research after reading my comment. For those interested, here is the reply I made then:
"It's pretty well accepted at this point that LAME's implementation of joint stereo is incredibly efficient and is indistinguishable from full stereo mode. The misconception that it's a lesser sound quality mode came from joint stereo's initial implementations with other encoders that were clearly inferior. These shortcomings were overcome by the LAME crew years ago. During encoding, if a sample had too many difference between channels to efficiently use joint stereo, LAME automatically encodes that sample at full stereo.
Also, encoding at a constant bitrate of 256 or 320 is wasteful and inefficient. LAME's variable bitrate encoding routines are highly optimized. In blind listening tests, the vast majority cannot hear the difference between --preset standard VBR encoding and the original source. If your ears are golden enough to be able to, then it's likely that you would be able to discern MP3 even at a constant 320kbps, MP3's max bitrate. If you're going to bother with a high bitrate like 320kbps, you might as well go a bit higher and just do lossless. LAME's variable bitrate encoding looks at each sample, determines it's complexity and assigns the appropriate bitrate. Some simpler samples require as little as 128kbps, while others are complex enough to warrant 320kbps."
That being said (again), I'll address your points:
1. Read above. Ripping at constant bitrate is wasteful.
2. I don't understand this comment. Both --preset fast standard and --preset fast extreme are joint-stereo modes. I only rip music using LAME's joint stereo mode and recommend that others do the same, which is what folks will be doing if they follow my guide. Either you can't read or don't know what you're talking about. Likely both.
3. "Slower = Better" doesn't apply here. Again, you don't know what you're talking about. Do yourself a favor and get an education by checking out:
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME
When the LAME team went to the "fast" mode, it was initially to speed up encoding. It was quickly determined that this new psycho-acoustic model was not only quicker, but it also resulted in higher sound quality. The "fast" modes have officially superseded the original modes and have become the preferred setting.
4. This comment is easily your most obnoxious and self-important. I've never said that I can't tell the difference between 192kbps, but I do believe that most folks probably couldn't. But I've also never recommended ripping at a constant bitrate of 192kbps! Here's what I do say in the tutorial above:
"Now, using --preset fast extreme is a little overboard and in my experience result in files that average 224kbps. This is probably overkill, but I'm kind of picky about sound quality and I want .mp3 files that are "transparent" to the original CD. --preset fast standard will get you a bitrate that is probably in the 192kbps range and is still generally considered transparent, but your can do your own tests to compare. I honestly have trouble telling the difference, but using the fast extreme mode makes me feel like I have uncompromised sound quality..."
I said that using --preset fast standard will get you MP3 files in the "192kbps range". These are variable bitrate encodes. The difficult frames get as high as 320kbps, the simpler frames get much less. Can I tell the difference between the original CD and a --preset fast standard rip? Probably not. Can I tell the difference between the original CD and a 192kbps constant bitrate encode? Almost always.
There are a lot of people who think they have these incredible golden ears that can discern MP3 from original CD. If you're talking about a 128kbps or 160kbps encode, most careful listeners can. But a proper LAME encode with using either --preset fast standard or --preset fast extreme is indistinguishable from the original CD for the vast majority of people. This isn't an opinion, it's backed up by blind listening tests. Something I guarantee you've never done. It's easy to listen to an MP3 and say, "Oh, yeah, this is MP3, I can tell". It's quite another to be able to pick out the MP3 in a blind listening test.
I have very good hearing and can discern subtle audio artifacts pretty easily. It's the height of ignorance for you to stand on your soapbox and point fingers when you clearly haven't done much research on the matter.
I call "shenanigans" on you and hope that you use this experience to educate yourself.
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