Starting with .wav or .aiff files... 

Step 1 - Download the LAME v 3.97 codec. 

Win LAME 3.97 codec: http://www.rarewares.org/dancer/dancer.php?f=lame-current

Mac LAME 3.97 codec: http://www.rarewares.org/files/mp3/Lame-3.97.dmg

If you are on Windows, after saving the .zip file, you will need to unpack it so it's a .exe file (the Mac version is a .dmg file already).

Remember the location of your .exe or .dmg, b/c you will have to reference it in the next step.

Step 2 - Download the mp3 frontend client. 

Mac LAME client: http://blacktree.com/?itunes-lame (this controls the LAME.dmg)

Select "-V2 --vbr-new" or "--preset fast standard" from the drop down.

Win LAME client: http://www.dors.de/razorlame/download.php (this controls the LAME.exe)

Download Razor Lame for Windows. Unzip the files into the folder C:\Program Files\RazorLame on your computer.

RazorLAME is a user friendly front end for the LAME mp3 codec. You will use this instead of Exact Audio Copy IF and only if you are starting with .aiff or .wav file instead of a CD.

Open RazorLAME.

Go to the Edit | Options menu.

Enter the location where you saved lame.exe (for example: C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Lame\lame.exe)

Go to the Edit | LAME Options menu. Go to the "Expert" tab.

Check "Only use custom options"

Enter "-V2 --vbr-new" (without the quotations) into the Custom options textfield.

Click OK and close RazorLAME.

NOTE: If you are getting log errors, overwrite your RazorLame.dat file with the one included in the original install package.

Step 3 - Download the flac codec/client. 

FLAC stands for free lossless audio codec. In short, it's a way to compress audio without loosing any quality (unlike an mp3). More info on FLAC.

Download (Windows version) then install the .exe into C:\Program Files\FLAC on your computer.

If you are on a Mac, go here to download the Mac install.

Open FLAC FrontEnd.

Under Encoding Options, set the Level to 7. Make sure Verify and Add tags are the only things checked.

Close FLAC Frontend.

Step 4 - Encode from .wav or .aiff to .mp3 and .flac files. 

IMPORTANT: Only perform this step IF and only if you are starting with .aiff or .wav file instead of a CD.

Steps to get mp3 files from .wav or .aiff:

1. Open RazorLAME or Blacktree
2. Drag and drop the .wav and/or .aiff files you wish to convert
3. Click Encode
4. Check the directory where your .wav and/or .aiff files are and now you should see .mp3 file(s) there too.

Steps to get .flac files from .wav or .aiff:

1. Open FLAC Frontend
2. Drag and drop the .wav and/or .aiff files you wish to convert
3. Click Encode
4. Check the directory where your .wav and/or .aiff files are and now you should see .flac file(s) there too.
5. IMPORTANT: Once you have .flac output files, you should delete the .wav and/or .aiff files to save space on your hard drive!

Starting with a CD... 

Step 1 - Download and install Exact Audio Copy. 

Here's an article on how to use EAC with a Mac.

However, all of the following instructions are for EAC on Windows.

Download our Windows Exact Audio Copy package.

This package includes the Windows versions of:

• EAC v0.95 beta 5
• MAREO v4.0.5
• LAME v3.97

You may also wish to download the latest EAC from their site (the instructions below are for our version though).

Once it has finished downloading, unzip the contents of the file to a new folder C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\ (or any location you wish to install to, but make a note of the location).

Note:Make sure you only have 1 folder named Exact Audio Copy. Sometimes with .zip files and extraction you can end up with nested folders with the same name.

You will want to create a shortcut from EAC.exe, so that you can open it later. Do this by clicking on EAC.exe and selecting Create Shortcut. Now you can drag this shortcut to your desktop.

I need detailed help with this!

Step 2 - Initial EAC config. 

Start EAC.exe (again, if you haven't you might want to create a shortcut for this and drag it to your desktop).

From the EAC drive selection pulldown box (right below the menu system) select the drive you want to use with EAC. (It may already be selected).

Beside the drive name it will either say Adapter: 0 or Adapter: 1 or Adapter: 2, make a note of which Adapter your drive uses. Also note which ID your drive uses, such as ID:0, ID:1, etc.

I need detailed help with this!

Step 3 - Load the correct adapter for your CDrom drive. 

Make sure EAC is still open. Put an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive. (Cancel the Wizard if it pops up). From the drive selection menu at the top, choose the drive you want to use.

Depending on which adapter and ID your drive uses (see Step 2) you are now going to load one of the following .cfg profiles (located in Exact Audio Copy\Profiles\ folder):

• [Adapter0 - ID0].cfg
• [Adapter0 - ID1].cfg
• [Adapter1 - ID0].cfg
• [Adapter1 - ID1].cfg
• [Adapter2 - ID0].cfg
• [Adapter2 - ID1].cfg
• [Adapter2 - ID2].cfg
• [Adapter2 - ID3].cfg
• [Adapter3 - ID0].cfg
• [Adapter3 - ID1].cfg
• [Adapter3 - ID2].cfg
• [Adapter3 - ID3].cfg
• [Adapter4 - ID0].cfg
• [Adapter4 - ID1].cfg
• [Adapter4 - ID2].cfg
• [Adapter4 - ID3].cfg

Under the EAC Menu, choose 'Profiles' -> 'Load Profile' and select the .cfg file that goes with the adapter and id you noted from Step 2. (MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE FILE, THEN CLICK OK).

I need detailed help with this!

Step 4 - Setup EAC to talk to MAREO. 

Now we have to configure Exact Audio Copy so that it executes MAREO after a CD is ripped. MAREO is a special program we will use with Exact Audio Copy that has the ability to execute multiple encoders for each track ripped. It is already included in your Exact Audio Copy folder (probably C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Mareo\)

Note:Don't go changing default settings unless we explicitly tell you to do so here!!

Open your installed copy of Exact Audio Copy.

Press F9 or go thru the menu EAC | EAC Options... Once on the EAC options dialog box, under the "Filename" tab, set the fields as follows:

1. Naming scheme: %N - %A - %T
2. Use various artist naming scheme (check this field) and put %N - %A - %T in the box

Click OK to save your settings.

Now press F11 or go thru the menu EAC | Compression Options... Once on the Compression options dialog box, under the "External Compression" tab, set the fields as follows:

1. Use external program for compression: checked
2. Parameter passing scheme: User Defined Encoder
3. Use file extension: .mp3
4. Program, including path, used for compression: the full path to the .exe where you installed MAREO in step 5 (probably C:\Program Files\Mareo\mareo.exe)
5. Additional command line options:
mareo.ini %s %d "%a" "%g" "%t" "%n" %y "%m"
6. Delete WAV after compression: unchecked
7. Use CRC check: unchecked
8. Add ID3 tag: unchecked
9. Check for external programs return code: unchecked
10. High Quality: checked

Click OK to save your settings.

Step 5 - Configure MAREO to launch mp3 and flac codecs. 

Find the Mareo folder within Exact Audio Copy (usually at C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Mareo\)

Inside the Mareo folder there is a file called mareo.ini

Right click on mareo.ini, open with Notepad or your favorite text editor (not MS Word though!!).

Change the FINALPATH to be where you want the files saved...just change "C:\GigacrateConversions" to a folder of your liking (don't change stuff from [ARTIST] on though)

Make sure the ENCODEREXE lines (for both mp3 and flac) point to where those .exe files are located. If you installed EAC in C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\ you won't have to change these.

Save the file, then close it.

Step 6 - Start converting! 

Put an audio CD in your CDROM and Open up EAC.

Since most of the tracks we will be ripping will be brand new, chances are you will have to manually enter the id3 data.

However, if you wish to see if it can be auto-filled in for you, simply click the CD icon or hit Alt-G (you must be connected to the internet).

Either way, YOU need to make absolute certain that the id3 tags are entered according to these guidelines:

• CD Title: Agent Orange (use capital letters and spacing!)
• CD Artist: Pharoahe Monche
• Release Year: 2001 (the year it was released)
• Genre: Hip-Hop (make sure you select the correct one from the drop down)
• freedb: ignore this field
• ** to change the track names, you must single click on them.
• Single click "Track01" and enter song name like: Agent Orange (instr)
• Single click "Track02" and enter song name like: Agent Orange (clean)
• Single click "Track03" and enter song name like: Agent Orange (dirty)
• Single click "Track04" and enter song name like: Agent Orange (acapella)
• Single click "Track05" and enter song name like: Push (instr)

You have to highlight the tracks you want to rip then Click the MP3 button. EAC will ask you where you want to save your extracted files. Choose a directory and make a note of it.

Click Save.

EAC is now extracting the audio from your CD. Once the first track is complete, a black DOS window should open (that's your MP3 being created), don't close it, it will do that automatically once it's done.

When all the tracks you selected are done being converted, your PC will beep and EAC will tell you "Audio Extraction Complete".

Click OK.

Then a message appears telling you of any errors, they will be saved into a .log file

Click OK to save the log file.

Congratulations, you are now creating the highest quality MP3s on earth! Wow, that wasn't so hard after all was it?

Note: It is up to you to verify that your id3 tags and filenaming follow our convention above. Here is an example: "Pharoah Monch feat 2Pac - Song Name (dirty).mp3".

If your tags came out wrong or backwards, you can always edit/change them after you upload the files to the Gigacrate server. Or you can download a 3rd party tag editing program like Tag N Rename and verify your tags are right before uploading.

Step 7 - Verify EAC is in secure mode. 

After extraction is complete, open the .LOG file it creates in your album directory (use a text editor), and verify that it was extracted in 'secure mode'. If it says 'burst mode' the .CFG file wasn't loaded properly, try re-loading the .CFG file again. If you plan on using a different CD-ROM drive later on, you will need to load the MP3byMyden[AdapterX - IDX].cfg file again.

WARNING: Please note that the whole point of using EAC is to use it's 'secure mode'. For some users, this .CFG file will load all the options correctly with the exception of putting EAC in 'secure mode'. (Which is why I have you look at the .log file to make sure).

Another way you can check is by going EAC -> Drive Options -> Extraction Method tab and selecting Secure Mode. You will want to place a checkmark beside the first two boxes ONLY. ('Drive has accurate stream' and 'Drive caches audio data'). If you are in burst mode using EAC is pointless!

Uploading your music 

Step 1 - ID3 tag all your songs. 

It's important that you verify you have all the appropriate tags filled in for each song. Especially Label, Artist, Song, Album, Track # and Genre!

If you are on Windows, you have several choices such as...

Tag N Rename

Mp3 Tag

Easy Tag

If you are on Mac, you also have several choices...

Jaikoz

iTunes is not recommended, b/c it sucks for tagging.

Step 2 - Buy a promo package. 

You purchase one of our promo packages (or choose the FREE Basic Promo Package) in order to get your music on the site.

Our promo packages offer a variety of options such as email blast, featured images, targeted promoting and more.

Is there an approval process for Promo Packages?

Paying promoters are automatically approved, however the FREE Basic Package requires approval (after you upload your song(s)).

In an effort to keep some level of quality control, we automatically remove any songs uploaded from the free Basic Promo Package that have a rating of less than 3 stars.

Step 3 - Upload each song. 

NOTE: We only accept 160kbps or better .mp3 files. Each file is limited to 25MB. You must have at least 500px by 500px, 72dpi, RGB, .jpg album art as well.

After you have encoded your albums/songs, you will need to upload the files to the Gigacrate server. There are several places where you can do this...

Go to your Actions tab (on the right side) or your Profile | Music tab and click "Upload song".

After your song is done uploading...

1. We BPM your song. (This can take up to 8 hours depending on the size of the queue)
2. When your song is ready, you must "set live" from your Profile's Music | Pending Songs tab (or your the song's details page).
3. You can visit your profile to edit your music if you need to.

* Again, if you are uploading as a part of our FREE Basic Promo Package, your song must be approved.

Further reading (if you are so inclined)

Want some more help? Wonder why we are using the tools we are?

Here are some very useful links for further reading:

• Hydrogen Audio's Guide to EAC
• Hydrogen Audio's Guide to LAME
• Hydrogen Audio Forums