Edit Mp3 without encoding them

Martin Brinkmann
Nov 8, 2007
Updated • May 1, 2014
Music, Music and Video
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5

I sometimes want to cut mp3 audio files into separate parts, mainly because the single file is that large that it does not fit on my mp3 player. This may also be useful to create mp3 ringtones who only use the first 30 seconds of a song anyway. It does work the other way round as well.

It is possible to combine several mp3 files as well which I like to do with audiobooks as I prefer one large file instead of many smaller files, mostly because it makes recognition easier.

A software that is able to do all of this and much more is Mp3 Direct Cut. It can also alter the volume of the mp3 file for instance.

What I like about MP3 Direct Cut is the ease of use. Cutting mp3 files for instance can be done with a few clicks only and all other options and functions are available that easily as well. New files are saved in an instance because the files do not need to be re-encoded.

mp3 direct cut

The program has the following features:

  • Non-destructive cut, copy, paste
  • Volume change, fade, normalize
  • mp3 recording with ACM or Lame encoder
  • Fast MPEG visualisation and easy navigation
  • Layer 2 support (dvd/dvb audio)
  • AAC support
  • Batch processing
  • Cue Sheet support
  • Pause detection
  • Auto cue (track dividing by time values)
  • Track splitting with filename and tag creation
  • Trim · Crop · Fast play · Loop play
  • ID3v1.1 tag editor · ID3v2 tag keeping
  • VU meter · bitrate visualisation
  • High speed recorder · Command line usage
  • Unicode support

A lot has been changed since our initial review in 2007. The program has AAC support now for instance or unicode support which it did not have back then.

The core functionality on the other hand has remained the same. You can still use it to cut mp3 files directly and without the need for re-encoding them in the process.

Load a file into the application to start. You can play it right away if you like, or a specific part of it which can be useful to preview it.

Use the mouse to highlight part of the file and use the playback controls to play it.  Use the action buttons to cut the mp3 and save it afterwards again to your system.

The special menu at the top lists several additional processing options such as auto-detection of pauses or the checking of re-syncs.

The interface displays a lot of buttons. Move the mouse cursor over a button to display a popup explaining what it does.

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Comments

  1. Justin said on November 30, 2011 at 10:18 am
    Reply

    The warning message about AAC streams when you load streams is because you don’t have the free Orban AAC/aacPlus Player Plugin installed.

    http://codecpack.co/download/Orban-aacPlus-Player-Plugin.html

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on November 30, 2011 at 10:56 am
      Reply

      Justin, thanks for the information.

  2. santosh said on December 1, 2011 at 12:43 am
    Reply

    does this support AAC ? or only mp3 streaming

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on December 1, 2011 at 1:43 am
      Reply

      I’d say it supports all pls streams but I have not tried that so cannot verify it 100%.

  3. Barnabas said on August 3, 2012 at 5:15 pm
    Reply

    Thank you Martin for a most informative and viable solution (it allowed me to play streams from a Netherland internet radio station in my WMP)! Continued success to you!

    Barnabas (USA)

  4. AppleRome said on October 7, 2012 at 7:31 am
    Reply

    Your steps’ recommendation is still valid until 7th October 2012.. Thank you very much !!

  5. Laura said on December 1, 2012 at 4:41 pm
    Reply

    Thank you!

  6. sak2005 said on December 9, 2014 at 8:03 pm
    Reply

    You must convert file.pls to file.m3u
    because file.pls open with winamp and file.m3u open with wmp.

  7. Lithium said on February 10, 2017 at 11:10 am
    Reply

    Hi
    2017 still kicking on Windows 7
    Thx a ton

  8. Dennis said on April 18, 2017 at 4:05 am
    Reply

    Hey, even i can do it, i stumbled through it and it works great! The only instruction advice i will add as i had to figure this out, when the wmp box opens that says save or open the bar on right says wmp click that drop down and select “open pls in wmp” once you do that it will work . Took me quite some time to discover that as i am no computer expert by any means. Having said that, previously i had downloaded codec packages and something about aac. None did any good. This rocks, i listen to a lot of internet radio and a number of them have dropped flash player and getting wmp to work had been a nightmare. So many thanks for this great solution to another problem that Micro-Hell will not even address. Peace- Out

  9. stephen marshall said on March 19, 2019 at 2:07 am
    Reply

    openplsinwmp came in a zip file. I unpacked it, and didn’t find anything that looks like an executable, and even the files in the “doc” folder were in a format windows didn’t recognize. I’m not stupid. you said it would open effortlessly. It didn’t. This a rabbit hole I don’t want to go down.

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