Using DP to create multi-track CD from long audio file

[SeikoT123]

I need help with some basic audio editing....

I recorded a friend's gig using a hand-held digital recorder and want to use DP8 to create a CD for him. I have a single audio file of about 1-hour length (which includes several songs) and I imported it as a single soundbite into DP8.

I would like to create a CD of the entire performance. I want to create a fade-in at the beginning and a fade-out at the end, and would like the performance to run continuously on the CD without audio gaps, but would like each song to be represented by individual "tracks" on the CD so that my friend will be able to jump to specific songs. Also, I would like to introduce some compression because the audience reaction between songs is much louder than the singing, and when I play the soundbite on DP8 the sound peaks out during the clapping, and gets a softer during the singing. So I want to record the songs at a good volume level but don't want the audience cheers to cause clipping.

Can anyone help me with a step-by-step on how to achieve the goal of making this CD? Again, I have already imported the hour-long audio file as a single soundbite.

Thank you SO MUCH in advance for your help! As you can see, I am a relative newcomer to this technology, so I do beg your indulgence for what to many of you may seem like a pretty basic query.

[NazRat]

It's on page 892 in the DP users manual plus the scissor tool is your friend. Or check out DSP Quattro (http://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/S ... attro.html). I used this a few years back to slice up some stereo tracks from several live shows for CDs and it worked great. Fission (http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/) is also a possible choice. Both have demos.

[mikehalloran]

Easily done. This is my normal DP project for clients.

Let's say you simply want to slice a single audio file so that it plays continuously but need separate cuts for a CD. I will highlight the selection, cut and paste in place. This neat trick preserves the audio and adjacent tracks will play seamlessly. Do this every other track. Now if it's a live track, you can use edge edit to shorten the time between cuts. Now push them together. I'm really good at butt splicing by matching the wave form but most will use cross fades here. X-fades are a good idea if separating the songs for sale on iTunes.. You treat the entire performance as a single file re compression, volume automation etc., none of which I will get into here - you still need to learn DP. When you are done you can now bounce each track to disk with the name of the track.

To assemble the tracks for a commercial CD, you will need to use a program that can assemble the tracks with the proper sub codes (ISRC, UPC) unless you are letting CD Baby do the work. DSP Quatro, Toast and others exist that do this. Reset your cross fades between tracks in the mastering program so that the listener hears it the way you want.

DP 8.05 has fixed the export to CD function if you are not creating a commercial CD but I've not used it. Read the manual.

Why this works: until you bounce to disk, you are writing pointers to and instructions for processing your original audio. You never modify the original track itself. Bounce to disk creates new audio as do other processes. If you get bogged down or it gets away from you, you can back up, undo or even start over from your original track.

I'm of the opinion that editing is the perfect way to learn DP.

[SeikoT123]

Thank you both for the great advice!