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Audio editing app that does not require decompressing, preserving the audio quality

Audio editing app that does not require decompressing, preserving the audio quality

Vote: (261 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Martin Pesch

Version: 2.36

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(261 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Martin Pesch

2.36

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Very quick, with sleek operations and rapid loading
  • Works with files directly in mp3 format without having to convert first
  • Entirely lossless quality with resulting files

Cons

  • Very limited capabilities
  • Complex, non-intuitive design makes it hard to figure out at first

MP3 Direct Cut is one of those applications that is very good at doing a small number of very specific things, in this case cutting and manipulating mp3 files without having to encode them in another format or worry about a loss of quality. It's not a robust program by any means, in fact it's rather stripped down, even for its purported functions, but it can certainly get the job done. So long as your task is one of the handful that this is good for, then you'll be all set.

The first really important thing to understand about this program is that you can work directly with the mp3s in question. Since it's a compressed format, many applications have a problem working with them and spend significant amounts of time loading and converting the files to something they can actually alter easily, slowing down your project. In this case, you have access to the file as it is and can easily cut up the parts that you want to keep, deleting extraneous data and saving the rest.

One of the side effect advantages of not converting the file before and after the manipulation is that you also don't have to worry about a loss of quality that usually results in changing formats. Instead, you end up with the same sound fidelity that you started with.

Finally, this is a remarkably fast program. Similar audio manipulation software, especially the free options, are good at doing a whole range of things, but they can weigh down your system and eat up a lot of resources in order to be able to accomplish so much. With MP3 Direct Cut, so long as you're doing one of the few tasks that it's capable of, you can be sure that it will get done quickly.

Of course, if you are looking for a more multipurpose program, this isn't going to be the application for you. It does what it does and no more, so don't expect to be doing complex tasks with it.

On a related note, it's not a particularly intuitive design. It takes a while of trial and error in order to get a handle on how parts of it work, what it actually is capable of, and how to get go about the kinds of things you would like to do. The documentation is fairly complete and there are tutorials online, but this wasn't created with the user in mind and that can be a problem.

Ultimately, it's well worth the download if you want to be able to cut and basically edit mp3 files. But if you want more, you're looking in the wrong place.

Pros

  • Very quick, with sleek operations and rapid loading
  • Works with files directly in mp3 format without having to convert first
  • Entirely lossless quality with resulting files

Cons

  • Very limited capabilities
  • Complex, non-intuitive design makes it hard to figure out at first