One of the things that is unusual about this site compared to most other mix blogs is that whenever I post a new mix I always post both a zip pack of the mix split into individual tracks as well as the standard single mp3. This is because I personally prefer to have mixes split into individual tracks, as it is a much easier way of finding exactly what I want to listen to than scrolling through a massive mp3 file.
Sadly, this is unusual, which is why over the last couple of years I have become very proficient at chopping up mixes – whenever I download something I enjoy I tend to cut it up into individual tracks so that I can more easily flip through it on my iPod.
I’m not quite sure why so few people tend to put up split mixes – laziness? lack of knowledge? – but obviously some people appreciate that I always provide a split version, since from time to time I get asked how to do it.
Having answered a few of these queries informally, I thought that it might be useful to provide a full, comprehensive guide to splitting a single mp3 mix into individual tracks.
Therefore, without further ado, I present to you …
Pearsall’s Guide to Splitting an MP3 Mix into Individual Tracks
notes before starting:
– All of the programs used are free to download
– This guide applies only to Windows … sorry Mac fans!
– I make no claims that this is the definitive way to split an mp3 mix … but it does work
– Click on any of the images below to be taken to a larger version
In order to demonstrate how to split a single mp3 file into individual tracks, I’ll be using XLR8R Podcast 148, an old skool rave mix by electronic music legend Moby. If you want to follow along with the process outlined below, you can grab the file directly from here, or you can get it from the XLR8R podcast page.
These are the main steps in the process, each of which I will explain in further detail below:
- Convert the mp3 file to wav (I use dbPowerAmp)
- Create a cue file from the wav file (I use CDWave)
- Edit the cue file (I use notepad)
- Use the cue file to split the mix into individual tracks (I use CueSplitter)
- Edit the tags of the files, including adding the cover image (I use Tag&Rename)
Usefully, all of these programs are free. 🙂
Once you’ve got those programs, you’re ready to start splitting!