Editing mp3 files

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
November 18, 2018
3 replies
6170 views

I have mp3 files that contain a full album and would like to cut the file in single tracks but Audition doesn't let me modify the file. I can just load it and zoom in/out or listen to it but that's it.

What do I need to do or what's preventing me from editing a mp3 file?

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer SteveG_AudioMasters_

Audition cannot handle MP3 files directly - these are a distribution format, and as such aren't directly editable. You can open them in Audition, but only by decoding them first. Once you've done that you can edit the resulting wave file, but if you re-encode the result to another MP3 then the quality will be significantly degraded - MP3 is a 'lossy' format.

If you just want to cut up an MP3 file, there are a few bits of software that will let you, but because of the nature of the way it's encoded, they are very limited in what they can do; cuts and I believe coarse volume changes is about it. Typical example here: https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/free-mp3-cutter-and-editor

ronniem40636783

Participant

Hey I am new to this and was wondering if I could get someone's help. I have a mp3 file I need to get editing on so I can hear what was being said if anyone can please help me you have no idea how grateful I'd be. I really need help please

L

Lia0108

Participating Frequently

Maybe you can give Joyoshare VidiKit a shot. It has a built-in video cutter that can handle many video and audio files. It's beginner-friendly. But if you want more powerful editing features, then tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, iMovie, etc. will suit you well.

SteveG_AudioMasters_

Correct answer

Community Expert

Audition cannot handle MP3 files directly - these are a distribution format, and as such aren't directly editable. You can open them in Audition, but only by decoding them first. Once you've done that you can edit the resulting wave file, but if you re-encode the result to another MP3 then the quality will be significantly degraded - MP3 is a 'lossy' format.

If you just want to cut up an MP3 file, there are a few bits of software that will let you, but because of the nature of the way it's encoded, they are very limited in what they can do; cuts and I believe coarse volume changes is about it. Typical example here: https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/free-mp3-cutter-and-editor

pascalr97842329Author

Participant

Hi Steve, thanks for the quick response, will follow your advice!

I tried Free-mp3-cutter-and-editor SW but it does not let you zoom in, making it difficult to cut if the mp3 file is large.

I found another good free SW from NCH, Audio Editing Software. Sound, Music, Voice & Mp3 Editor , that works great for what I want to do.

Still wondering why Audition does not provide that functionality.

SteveG_AudioMasters_

Community Expert

pascalr97842329 wrote
Still wondering why Audition does not provide that functionality.

Why should it? Audition is professional software working in a non-compressed environment - that's all the engine needs to be. MP3 is, as I mentioned, a compressed distribution format. The intention with a distribution format is fundamentally that it's intended to be listened to - you don't edit it!

So Audition doesn't edit MP3 files for two reasons; firstly that it doesn't need to, and secondly simply because it can't - the engine simply doesn't handle data in that format. If you open an MP3 file in Audition, it's decoded to a wav file, and then you can edit that. But the caveat is, as I mentioned before, that you will lose quality when you re-encode it. This applies to pretty much all audio software - it's only a few specific file cutters that can do this.

kglad

Community Expert

[ moved from Adobe Creative Cloud to Audition CS5.5, CS6 & CC]

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