HOw to make your own mp3s using free tools?

How to make your own mp3s using free tools?

mp3 files (about 5 MB) are compressed audio (AIFF) files (about 50 MB for a 5 minute song). These mp3 files can then be saved to your hard disk from which you can listen to anytime even if you forgot your CDs. This was the original benefit of mp3. Now there are even mobile mp3 players as small as a Walkman! The steps involved in making your first MP3 files are simple.

First, get your CD, and use a CD ripper such as TrackThief to copy your favourite song onto your hard disk in the AIFF format (make sure you have sufficient memory in your hard disk). A safe bet would be to allocate 10 MB/minute of song.

Second, use either BladeEnc or mp3 encoder to encode your AIFF files into mp3 files. Both save the mp3 files onto the same hard disk so please make sure you have lots of free space available. Although there are more options in BladeEnc for example you can automatically delete your AIFF file after encoding, both are stable freeware and perform really well.

Screenshot of mp3 encoder
mp3 encoder screenshot (options)

And finally players. There are lots of players available, from GrayAmp, SoundApp, MegPeg, MPlay, QuickTime etc. Some allow the creation of music lists whereas some have great interface (skin support etc). Of all the freeware players, i like SoundApp the best. Launching another application while playing mp3s will not disrupt the sound quality from SoundApp, whereas others display a little skip.

Now go and make your mp3s.