App for basic trimming of sound files (cutting out middle too)

[Doju]

I need a basic app (not some amazingly expensive app with a million functions) that lets me edit an .MP3 file and cut out part of the middle, the ends, and export it.

Quicktime X would be perfect, but you can't edit out the middle.

 

[stuarthatto]

Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 

[bagelche]

Rogue Amoeba's Fission does basic editing work on mp3 files natively. It costs $32 dollars.

Audacity is freeware, but require a bit more setup fiddling and you have to import/export the mp3s, but free, y'know. The beta tends to be stable and has notably more/better features than the release version.

I use both of these on different occasions.

 

[bagelche]

A few more thoughts.

Audacity has the free thing going for it which is nice. Its noise reduction algorithm is solid and I tend to use it over the one in Soundtrack Pro which hits that "underwater" sounding aliasing much quicker. It is, however, not a pretty interface and can be a bit clunky to maneuver around.

Fission is all pretty. RA does nice work with their apps. It's quick and easy. The fact that it handles mp3s natively without needing to transcode coming in and going out is a solid--meaning no loss in quality for the edit and no time spent transcoding (great when working with 2 hour files). It is also really easy to make iphone ringtones with it.

Couple it with RA's Audio Hijack Pro and you have a quick and capable setup for recording podcasts, radio shows, internet audio streams, skype, whatever. There is a discount for purchasing both together.

 

[Cromulent]

The fact that it handles mp3s natively without needing to transcode coming in and going out is a solid--meaning no loss in quality for the edit and no time spent transcoding (great when working with 2 hour files).

Audacity can do that too as long as you install the MP3 library plugin.