Tag: mp3

Categories
computer music

Getting iTunes To Convert/Export/Bounce To Other File Formats

You’d think iTunes 9 would have a menu option to convert selected, non-DRM’d files to .MP3, .AAC and such. It doesn’t, but there’s a quick–if not silly–workaround to get iTunes to covert your tracks to a supported format.

Mac instruction for iTunes v9

  1. Open Preferences -> General -> Import Settings. Change the “Import Using option to the format to which you want to convert.
  2. Within iTunes, select the file you want converted.
  3. Under the “Advanced” menu, you should now see a “Create XYX Version”. Click it and your selected file(s) will be converted in the background while retainer your originals.
  4. Remember to change your import preference settings back to normal!

Done. 🙂

Categories
computer music personal

Why Amateur Musicians Use Macs

While discussing tonights U2 concert in Phoenix, I got into a HUGE argument with a Linux user over why amateur musician/producers would have to be mentally challenged for *not* making a Mac their first investment over Linux and Windows. Since the proof is in the ear pudding, I wrote, recorded and mixed this U2-inspired acoustic/vocal jam (aka “rip off”) in 4 hours using only a 2.4GHz MacBook w/4GB RAM, OSX Snow Leopard, GarageBand, *built-in laptop microphone*, iPod earbuds, ghetto-fabulous Fender acoustic guitar and 2 vodka tonics. (In other words no fancy microphones, A/D converters or other hardware.) The noise at the beginning and end is the sound of the MacBooks fan running at full speed, but other than that (and some really sloppy pitch correction patchwork) I’m not aware of any software that ships with Vista, 7, or any modern Linux distribution that can do anything REMOTELY close out of the box in more-or-less the same amount of time. If you think otherwise, prove me wrong!

Download “It’s Alright” MP3.

(Truthiness: I cheated *slightly* by jumping into Logic Pro 9 for the pitch correction part since I was lazy and didn’t want production to take more than 30 minutes, but that wasn’t technically necessary!)