Crossfade Confusion Need Help

[johncat222]

I can not figure out all of this crossfading stuff. I previously had sqrsoft crossfader sett to work perfectly. A friend helped me with the settings, and it was great. Seemlessly faded between tracks so there was no silence and everything always blended smoothly. Now I went to latest Winamp and windows 7 64 bit. Sqrsoft doesnt work at all.
I have been pouring through things on the net and in these forums, etc and have not found a perfect working solution! I am surprised that most of the data on Winamp crossfading seems to be real old. Anyone know why?? I would have expected more current data. Anyhow, I have not been able to get a good working solution. I have focussed on usingthe default directsound output plug-in. I am close, but still some things are not right. It seems to go more off of time than analyzing each individual song. Can anyone please post help here in laymans terms?? I know others are struggling too. One detailed centralized post may make a lot of people very happy. Thanks!!! Johnny

[JonnyMac]

What are you trying to accomplish for a cross-fade?

Try the following settings in the DirectSound Output fading tab...

1. Winamp > Ctrl+P (for Preferences)
2. Plug-ins > Output
3. Nullsoft DirectSound > Configure button
4. Fade tab
   .. -- Highlight 'on start' > check-mark 'Enable' and 'Use custom fade time' > set fade time of 4000 ms
   .. -- Highlight 'on end of song' > check-mark 'Enable' and 'Use custom fade time' > set fade time of 3000 ms
5. Apply button > OK button > if asked to automatically increase buffer length, click Yes
6. close out of Prefs

[Archguy]

Recently I bought an old car which doesn't have SXM or MP3 capability. So I've resorted to creating old-fashioned CDs for listening while driving just that car. Naturally I wanted to commit some mixes to disc, but simply can't figure out how. I've been working on this for three nights and have read hundreds of internet forum posts.

I'm a Winamp Pro user if that makes any difference. (Although when I apply the Winamp Essentials) it deactivates my Pro features until I uninstall everything and reinstall...)

I DL'ed and installed SqrSoft_Advanced_Crossfading_Output (which I know isn't supported here) and it works nicely but only in real time. When writing to disc it deactivates itself. Even when I choose the single-file WMV output (which I dislike) there's no mix. The SqrSoft guy has an output plug-in too--is that what I need? My virus protection won't let me install it.

No trouble writing to disc in any format but I can't get the mix (crossfades) to record. It just comes out like a traditional list of songs complete with gaps between songs. I'm perfectly happy using the Winamp crossfade (even though it is primitive compared to SqrSoft) but it's also 'real-time' only, not for making a CD. I have the feeling that CDs are now considered so antique that I may never get to do what I want

I also followed the instructions in the post directly above and got the same result: gaps between songs--no change. I'm sure it must be something simple I'm missing.

Any advice? TIA.

[DrO]

Originally Posted by Archguy

I'm a Winamp Pro user if that makes any difference. (Although when I apply the Winamp Essentials) it deactivates my Pro features until I uninstall everything and reinstall...)

nothing in the Essentials Pack should be disabling the Pro features. it might at most hide the pro page in the preferences but you can tell if it is stll pro by right-clicking on Winamp to get it's main menu and it'll show 'Nullsoft Winamp Pro...' as the top menu item. i would never code anything that disables the pro feature as that's just inconsiderate if someone has actually gone to the effort to get the license.

-daz

[Archguy]

Yes, when I right-click on the Winamp icon its menu still shows Pro. I guess it was the lack of Pro in the Prefs that threw me. Are there any benefits to Pro anyway? I paid up but I don't remember that anything changed...

Meanwhile this doesn't address the crossfade output issue does it? How do people make mix CDs? Or, how did they 10 or 20 years ago when people still made CDs? This is what I get for buying a semi-classic car!

[Archguy]

Oh well, to minimize suspense I'll just say I ended up using Audacity and LAME to merge the files into one giant mp3 which I will then convert to CD data. Meant I had to start over from scratch but at least Audacity permits me to manage the segues precisely. Speaking of LAME, it's sort of weird that Winamp doesn't have any provision for this.

[DrO]

the main things from going pro according to the main site is:
Native video support including the most popular file formats for H.264 encoded video
Unrestricted Audio CD Burning & Ripping up to 48x
MP3 Encoding - the industry leading format
Help fund continued product development & innovation

as for crossfading output, most of the plug-ins work on the audio going to the speakers instead of doing it before that stage. there was an input plug-in which did it at that stage but i cannot remember the details at the moment. i think Winamp is generally more setup for content playback than creation as you want to do and using something more dedicated to creation (as you seem to have now done) is probably the better option anyway - using the right tool for the job and all that.

Winamp does use LAME for MP3 creation but as far the official implementation goes, it's restricted due to licensing aspects (being a well known player and all that leads things down that line all so many years ago).

-daz

[djeddieo]

Originally Posted by JonnyMac

What are you trying to accomplish for a cross-fade?

Try the following settings in the DirectSound Output fading tab...

1. Winamp > Ctrl+P (for Preferences)
2. Plug-ins > Output
3. Nullsoft DirectSound > Configure button
4. Fade tab
   .. -- Highlight 'on start' > check-mark 'Enable' and 'Use custom fade time' > set fade time of 4000 ms
   .. -- Highlight 'on end of song' > check-mark 'Enable' and 'Use custom fade time' > set fade time of 3000 ms
5. Apply button > OK button > if asked to automatically increase buffer length, click Yes
6. close out of Prefs

How would I "tighten up" the crossfade, more like a quick-cut than a blend (DJ terms that I hope are self-explanatory)? I've played around with the fade times etc., currently:




The tighter fade times have fixed the problem I was having with some short announcement files being faded prematurely, but now I get occasional stretches of dead air, 8 seconds sometimes! Is the "gapless" referred to in the top image an option somewhere I haven't found? Thanks.

[Aminifu]

Trying disabling all the fades on the "Fading" tab except that set for the 'on pause/stop'.

The fades on start and end are intended for crossfading. You may have missed the note: "FAQ: fades on end of song and on start will disable gapless". However, very short crossfades will provide a gapless effect, especially if you disable 'Smooth volume changes'.

Also check your playlist for tracks with long silent lead-ins. The silence remover works on the end of tracks. The free app "MP3DirectCut" can be used to clip excessive silence from the start and/or end of tracks without having to re-encode the files.

[MrSinatra]

Originally Posted by Aminifu

Also check your playlist for tracks with long silent lead-ins. The silence remover works on the end of tracks. The free app "MP3DirectCut" can be used to clip excessive silence from the start and/or end of tracks without having to re-encode the files.

i would like an app that examines my files for leading and trailing silence, and presents me with a list based on a certain db threshold, and allows me to check or uncheck if they should be cut or not up to that threshold. i have installed this app, but i'm not sure it does what i'm looking for?

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by MrSinatra

i would like an app that examines my files for leading and trailing silence, and presents me with a list based on a certain db threshold, and allows me to check or uncheck if they should be cut or not up to that threshold. i have installed this app, but i'm not sure it does what i'm looking for?

"MP3Trim Pro" (not free) would be better at doing that. But I think it only works on mp3s.

[MrSinatra]

hmm. gotta be free. so not possible with the first app? i poked around it, but its not terribly intuitive. it looks like it might have the ability, but i'm not sure.

[Aminifu]

Originally Posted by MrSinatra

hmm. gotta be free. so not possible with the first app? i poked around it, but its not terribly intuitive. it looks like it might have the ability, but i'm not sure.

"MP3Direct Cut" lets you play a track and mark and remove sections. I use it to remove excessive silence at the start and/or end of tracks and the click that sometimes is present at the start or end of tracks. It is also good for making a short clip of part of a song.

It also lets you add a fade out to the end of tracks that end abruptly.

"MP3Trim Pro" is not expensive and is better at doing what you are looking for, setting a dB level for the parts to be removed at the start and end of tracks, among other things.