# software that will let me put CD track breaks on one long wav file? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254 "2007-12-08T04:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/1 "2007-12-08T04:14:12Z")
My grandmother gave me a bunch of records to record and make into CD’s for her, and I really don’t feel like chopping each recording into the component tracks in order to burn them. I’d like a piece of software that will allow me to just take a giant 45 min. .wav file and add the CD tracks to it at each point - it seems that it would go a lot quicker. What can I use for this? I’d prefer something freeware or cheap, but I have connections through a studio that I can use to get commercial software significantly cheaper if it comes down to that. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/2 "2007-12-08T04:41:26Z")
I’m not sure exactly what you want, but if you’re just looking to add in a bit of dead air Audacity will do well enough. It’s simple but free, and might be what you’re looking for. If you want something more complicated…I can’t help you. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/3 "2007-12-08T05:15:59Z")
I’d suggest checking out [BIN / CUE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_image#.BIN.2F.CUE) files, which will basically do exactly what you want. The .bin file is similar to a .wav while the .cue holds all the track information - great for mixes/live music where you don’t want a break in the music, but also allows you to burn a 45 minute file without dealing with breaking it up. ETA: This is a better info page then the above: > **[Cue sheet (computing)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_sheet_%28computing%29)** > > A cue sheet, or cue file, is a metadata file which describes how the tracks of a CD or DVD\[citation needed\] are laid out. Cue sheets are stored as plain text files and commonly have a .mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}.cue filename extension. CDRWIN first introduced cue sheets, which are now supported by many optical disc authoring applications and media players. > Cue sheets can describe many types of audio and data CDs. The main data (including audio) for a CD descri... ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/4 "2007-12-08T05:30:49Z")
[QUOTE=Jayn\_Newell] I’m not sure exactly what you want, but if you’re just looking to add in a bit of dead air Audacity will do well enough. It’s simple but free, and might be what you’re looking for. If you want something more complicated…I can’t help you. [/QUOTE] No, I don’t need dead air - I have a full recording setup and am used to editing audio and so on. I’m looking for a way to author the actual track markers that go on a CD so that I don’t have to split the big waveforms up into individual songs before burning. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/5 "2007-12-08T09:32:44Z")
You can do it with [Audacity](http://audacity.sourceforge.net/), which is a free waveform editor. Just open your .wav, mark the place where you want the track break and press ctrl+b. Do this for every separate track in the .wav - and remember to do it at the beginning of the file, too, for the first track. Then use the “export multiple”-command from the file menu, and you’re all set! The process is documented somewhere on the [Audacity Wiki](http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Audacity_Wiki_Home_Page). Alternatively you could wait for **fishbicycle** to show up - I’m sure he knows a million different ways to do this. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-will-let-me-put-cd-track-breaks-on-one-long-wav-file/429254/6 "2007-12-08T13:58:21Z")
Hey! My reputation precedes me! Look for a free program called CD Wave. It lets you open a long .wav file, place the cursor wherever you like and hit “Split.” It places a track change at the nearest sector boundary to where you’ve selected (a matter of frames in one direction or the other). When you’re finished placing track markers, you can either save a “cue sheet”, which is instructions for your CD wroter to make a CD of your long .wav file, putting tracks in where you specified, or it will cut up your long file into separate tracks. Those you would just burn onto the CD in Disc-At-Once mode, that is, not Track-At-Once, as you don’t want extra 2-second gaps between tracks. It’s very simple. I just made a disc this way the other day. The program sets no registry entries or anything, doesn’t require a reboot after installing. If you need some further clarification, I can come back to this thread tonight. I’m about to go fishing on the Gulf of Mexico. I’ll check in later. Good luck!