I was using MusicMatch 8 pro (at 11k and sometimes 56k), but noticed 2 problems.

#1 - I set it to mono, but it still makes stereo files

#2 - Sometimes it can't find the track names on the online database
and lets me name them, which is a good thing, but sometimes it
mistakes them for a music CD and enteres the name for me, not allowing
me to enter a correct name.  This is a bad thing.  I wish it would
ask, not look up and auto enter.  I looked in the prefs, but not sure
what to do

Is there a simpler app that would do what I need.
- Let me name the tracks
- Low bit rates
- Mono files

thanx in advnce

sherpaj-ga:

For what you are looking for, the simplest program available for
Windows operating systems is CDex, a freeware open-source project
found at:

http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/

While simple, CDex is also very powerful. You can configure the
encoder options to as low as 32 kbps, mono MP3 encoding using the LAME
encoder. If you already have Music Match 8 Pro installed on your PC,
you should be able to simply installed CDex, and start rippin' away.

Another program that I personally love, is Audiograbber. Even better,
the author has recently (as of February) made Audiograbber available
as freeware. It has a few more features than CDex, but is also a
little harder to use:

http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/


Please let me know if either of these programs meets your needs.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Search Strategy:

"cd ripping free"

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Request for Answer Clarification by sherpaj-ga on 13 Mar 2004 13:02 PST

I need to go lower then 32k.  How hard is audiograbber?

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Clarification of Answer by aht-ga on 13 Mar 2004 17:40 PST

Audiograbber is not difficult; I mentioned "a little harder" only to
put it in context with CDex.

Using Audiograbber, and configuring the MP3 encoding options to use
the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer 3 Codec, you should be able to achieve
as low as 8 kbps mono at 11,025 Hz. Given your need to go below 32
(which is the lowest that the LAME Codec will go), I suggest using
Audiograbber with the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer 3 codec instead.

Now, before I sign off this clarification, though, I should point out
that the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer 3 codec *may* not be already
present on your PC. If you have been using Music Match, it might
already exist. If you have a recent installation of Windows XP (Home
or Professional), or have installed any recent service packs to
Windows 2000, it may also be present. MS distributed the 'advanced'
version of the Fraunhofer codec with previous versions of NetShow. On
my clean (as of two days ago) install of Windows XP Pro with Office XP
Pro, I have the 'advanced' version present in my SYSTEM32 folder
(l3codeca.acm). This codec handles from 8 kbps up to 56 kbps; if you
want a free codec for higher bit-rates, use the LAME codec (download
site referenced by Audiograbber's website) instead.

If the "Fraunhofer" option does not appear on the list of internal
codecs in Audiograbber, please let me know and together we can go find
a legitimate version of it for you to download.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

Audiograbber worked great.

thanks