Ripping Tracks From CDs

Unlock The Music On Your Audio CDs

Drew's CD Ripping Tutorial
Or, Why You Need To Rip Rather Than Copy Music From Your CDs

The new DAK CD ripper is a very powerful but easy to use program that lets you take the music from your CDs directly to your computer so you are not locked out of your music and so you can:

Create compilation CDs of your favorite tracks.
Copy tracks to your hard drive for editing and or mixing.
Copy your favorite CD tracks to MP3s for use in iPods and other MP3 players.

Why do you need to Rip CDs?

The music on CDs is in files like Wave Files (which are the standard uncompressed audio files), but they are called CDA (Compact Disc Audio). So you can't just drag them to your computer to edit them or copy them to MP3 files.

DAK's new ripper allows you to copy any or all the tracks on any CD and save them as Wave files which you can edit, rearrange or do anything you want with. Or you can save the tracks as MP3 files ready to drop into your iPod or any MP3 portable player.

It's super easy to use. And it has some very nice extra features so that you can copy your music and have it just the way you want it.

You can select any tracks you want by just checking or unchecking the individual tracks in the display. The DAK ripper will save the tracks using the track number that's on the CD so you'll know which track is which. And now you will actually get the Track Name and even MP3 Tags for most CDs. Plus DAK's unique Preserve Track order will keep your tracks in perfect order too.

And finally you can AUTOMATICALLY put all the tracks in any folder on your computer that you choose.

So, the tracks will be called what you want them to be called, they can be numbered or named and they'll be put into the folder of your choice. Pretty neat. Now let me show you how easy and automated this whole process is.

Quick Index
Of Major Functions

The Interface
Picking A Folder To SAVE Your Tracks
Preserve Track Order
Ripping Tracks By Names
MP3 Bitrate Options
Preview Music
Rename Tracks
FreeDB Lookup Your Tracks

OK, let's get started. . .

Meet Your Powerful Ripper Interface.

Here's your main CD Ripper Interface. It's so easy to use, this is just about all you need to see and do. When you put a CD in your drive, the DAK CD Ripper automatically displays all the tracks as I've shown above if it finds the names or the track numbers if it doesn't find the names.

Arrow 1.) Target Folder. Where do you want to keep the tracks after you rip them? Just open this box by clicking on the . . . Button to the right and navigate to and select the folder you want the tracks to go to. Don't type in the box. Navigate to where you want the files stored.

Arrow 2.) Do you want to rip to MP3 or Wav? Just choose by checking here.

Arrow 3.) Track Names or Numbers? If you check this box, the ripper will go out and try to identify the CD and display the track names for you.

Arrow 4.) Track Name Choice - READ THIS. Matching CDs isn't exact. Often there are several CDs that are similar so it might look like you got the wrong names. But check this box to see if there are several CD choices. Use the up arrow to find the choice that matches your CD.

Arrow 5.) Auto Write CD Tags. If the tag names are in the database, then check this box when you are ripping to MP3.

Arrow 6.) Preserve Track Order. This is the newest and most important addition. See below for a complete description. But in short when you rip tracks on just about any other ripper, when you look in the folder or in your MP3 player, the tracks will be arranged in alphabetical order, not the order that they were originally supposed to be in on the CD. DAK's all new CD Ripper eliminates this problem. It's an awesome breakthrough. Now your tracks will be in album order not alpha order.

For Example if you rip Phantom Of The Opera, you wouldn't get to hear the overture till track 7. It would be all wrong. Now with DAK's Preserve Track Order, your music will be stored correctly for the first time.

Arrow 7a, 7b, 7c.) These are your MP3 tags. All your files will carry the tag info so when you play them in your MP3 player or Windows Media Player or DAK's Tune Library, you'll see all the artist and album info.

Arrow 8a, 8b.) Which Tracks Do You Want To Rip? By default, every track on the disc will be checked. If there are any that you don't want to rip, just uncheck them and only the remaining checked tracks will be ripped. Or use these new check boxes to check or uncheck them all. This is very useful if you want only 1 or two tracks; just, deselect them all and then just check the few you want. If you want most tracks, then select them all and then uncheck the ones you don't want. This is a big time saving new feature.

That's really most of what you need to know, but let's go on.

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Please Personalize Your Ripper First.

DAK's new CD Ripper adds the ability to actually identify and name each song/track on your CDs plus add the MP3 Tags if you're ripping to MP3. This works in about 80-90% of most CDs.

To activate this feature, please do the following.

Arrow 1.) Click the Options Choice.

Arrow 2.) Click the FreeDB Options.

Arrow 3.) Put your own email address in this box. (Don't worry, your name won't be used, it's just needed to access the FreeDB database.)

Arrow 4.) This is the URL that the ripper will access to get you your track names.

Arrow 5.) You can leave this as FreeDB unless you are dealing with foreign CDs. However if the FreeDB database is down, check this to access the other mirror sites.

Arrow 6.) Click OK.

That's it. Now we can start ripping AND NAMING, TAGGING AND NUMBERING your tracks.

Track Names Or Track Numbers.

Most people don't know it but CDs don't actually have the track names on them. CDs were invented back in the days of DOS and 8 character fields were the limit. So when you put a CD in a drive and see names, they don't come from the CD.

There's a database on the web called www.FreeDB.org. It's free. It's been assembled by volunteers like you and me who get a CD and type all the track names in and upload them to the database. Then others check it and when several people have submitted the same CD and the results are the same it gets posted for us all to use.

You will find most CDs are covered, but not all. So just check the box on the left and you'll get the full benefit of the names, and the new box at the top right lets you add the MP3 tag info as well, if it's available. This is a big step in helping us find and enjoy our music once it's on our computers.

2 Small Checkboxes With BIG Results.

I just wanted you to be sure not to miss these boxes so I've given you this separate section to highlight their importance.

Please read the sections about each, but now in addition to track names when you are ripping to MP3 you can also add the Album Name, Artist Name and Year to all the tags without individual track typing.

Preserve ripped/track order is a DAK exclusive. The problem is that Windows alphabetizes all files in a folder. But if you want the Overture before the Finale, you can't do it. Well Now you can. My system does it the first time every time. See the next section.

Preserve Track Order.

This is big. This is unique. This is My big invention. Look up at the tracks on your left. You'll see Phantom of the Opera has been ripped to a folder. BUT IT'S ALL WRONG. The Windows operating system will by default alphabetize all your ripped tracks.

So in this example, you won't get to hear the Overture till the 7th track that you hear. This is terrible. I want to hear the tracks in the correct order.

THIS IS AN UNFIXABLE PROBLEM FOR MP3 PORTABLE FLASH MEMORY PLAYERS. TOO. TILL NOW!

Now just check the box, "PRESERVE Ripped ORDER" when you rip and DAK's new CD Ripper permanently corrects the problem.

Look at the right hand column and you'll see Phantom with one massive difference. It's in the correct order. If you look carefully we've inserted a number in front of the track name. So, let windows run it's alpha/numeric sort. We'll still come up in the right order, the first time, every time.

This is a major improvement for:
1. The music you keep on your computer
2. The Music you burn to CDs
3. The Tracks you load in your MP3 Players.

This is the complete and final solution for this native Windows Problem.

Now You Can Rip With the Actual Song/Track Names Too.

Here's your main CD Ripper Interface again. In the last picture we explored how to set up the folders and layout for ripping.

Here we are going to see all the information that we can get to automatically name our tracks.

NOTE: Most of the information that you see above will be filled in for you, so don't worry, there's really not much for you to do. I'm just explaining what everything is.

Arrow 1.) After the CD is loaded with the track numbers, all you do is click the Load CD Album Info box and the DAK CD Ripper will go to the online database and check to see if it knows the information for the Disc. As I've said, it seems to know 80-90% of all the CDs I've loaded.

Arrow 2.) ISRC is an information source that lists all the tracks on the CD. It's actually a file on the CD itself. You would think that all CDs would have it, but only about 20% of the newer CDs have this, so it's an option that you can try.

Arrow 3.) The FreeDB Database uses several methods to determine which CD you are trying to identify. Sometimes CDs are released in different languages. Some are released with different titles. And some CDs seem alike to the database. So sometimes you'll have your choice of 2 or 3 CDs to grab your titles. Just click here if the songs/tracks aren't the ones on your disc and they most likely will be the next ones.

Arrow 4.) Here the database supplies the Title of the Album/CD.

Arrow 5.) Here the database supplies the Artist.

Arrow 6.) Music is separated into types. Here the type is listed. This can be subjective and we only partially support it.

Arrow 7.) Often the year of the CD is listed in the database. For this CD it isn't.

Arrow 8.) Here's the really fun part. Here are the actual song/track names, the duration of the track. The names are the really important part and they are saved as file names when you rip the tracks.

So as you can see the new Song/Track Naming DAK CD ripper provides all the information you'll need to enjoy your CDs after you rip them to Wave and MP3 files. Now the file name will be the original song/track name from the CD. It's a revolution in Ripping from CDs.

Easy Target Folder Destination Setup.

I've repeated this screen because if you don't choose a folder to put your ripped tracks into, you'll get an error message. So. . .

Arrow 1.) Click the Button with the . . . and navigate to the folder you want to rip to. You DON'T type the folder name, just navigate there.

THE TARGET FOLDER RULE

What's a TARGET FOLDER? The Ripper and many of DAK's tools process your files and make a new copy of your file. Or in the case of the Ripper, we rip the CD into separate tracks and put them in the folder of your choice. That folder where we send your tracks is called a Target Folder.

This is a Target Folder Button: CLICK IT, DON'T TYPE the name.

How do you choose your Target Folder? You'll usually see a button with 3 dots on it like this
. . . Button. You DO NOT TYPE IN YOUR FOLDER ADDRESS. Simply click the . . . Button and navigate to the folder using the normal Windows Browse Dialog box that comes up when you click on the . . . Buttons.

Now you know how to use . . . Target Buttons

Arrow 2/3.) Choose if you want to rip to MP3 or Wave.

Arrows 4.) Click the Grab Track Button to start the ripping process. It's 100% automated.

The Choose Folder Dialog Box

When you click the Button with the . . . in the last picture above, it opens the Windows Browser Window. Here as you can see, I've chosen my folder to put the tracks in.

REMEMBER, you don't type in the Target Folder Name, you navigate there.

Arrow 1.) I've chosen Harmony. Then

Arrow 2.) I just click OK, and it's set.

How Many CD ROM Drives Do You Have?

If you have more than 1 CD ROM drive on your computer, just open this box and choose the drive that has your audio CD in it. The DAK CD Ripper will automatically find and display all the tracks in your drive. You don't have to do anything.

Hint. If one of your CD ROM drives doesn't work with the Ripper, try the other.

Instantly Preview Your Music.

But what if you don't remember what a song sounds like? Sure you know the name, you've got the CD and probably the jacket. And of course you'll see the track names like these right in front of you. But does that name remind you of the melody?

Well, no problem If you're not sure, just:
Arrow 1.) Click to highlight the track you want to play.

Arrow 2.) Click Play or Stop on the player.

Instantly Rename Any Track.

Now you can rename any track so that when it's ripped it will have the name you want. You can use the rename feature when you are ripping just by track number or if you want to shorten, or lengthen any name. It's all up to you. Now you're not locked out of your music, or naming the tracks any more.

Arrow 1.) Just click on the name itself. Usually clicking near the beginning and near the bottom of the typing works best.

Arrow 2.) Type in a new name and click somewhere else and you're done. It's really easy to name, rename or change any track name from now on.

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The Wav or MP3 Buttons

The only real decision you have to make is Wave or MP3, or both. You can rip one way for your CDs and another for your MP3 player. It's easy and fast. And you're just a click away. Don't be locked out of the music on your CDs any longer.

Choose Your MP3 Bitrate (Optional)

For ripping MP3 files, some people like to choose a bitrate other than the industry standard 128 kbit/sec. Why? Well MP3 files are 1/10th the size of the standard Wave files that are used in the industry.

You see there is no reason in the world to use MP3 rather than Wav other than to save space (OK you can carry title info too). But really, Wavs do sound better although most people really can't hear the difference.

Anyway what you can do is increase or decrease the bitrate. Why? Well some people think by going to 192 or higher the sound is better. But the files are bigger too. So anyway, you can go all the way up to 320 kbit/sec if you want. But then they are just about as big as a Wav file.

BUT, if you really do need to save space and if you are dealing with say spoken word, then by all means, cut the bit rate to 64 Kbit or even all the way down to 8 kbit/sec. The sound won't be very good, but you can fit hundreds of hours of sound into a very small number of megabytes by comparison. It's up to you. But you might as well do some testing to see what you think You can't hurt anything. Just remember to switch back to 128 when you're finished.

Arrow 1.) Slide the slider to the right for better sound which takes up more space or to the left for less good sound that takes less space.

Arrows 2/3.) This is just showing you the max settings.

Arrow 4.) You can increase Incoder Quality. But this won't have as much effect with most computers today as arrow 1.

Variable MP3 Bitrate (Optional)

OK, so you've got more and less bitrates. Now there's one more option. You can use variable bitrate. What this does is increases the bitrate for musical passages that need it and decreases it for talking parts and less intensive passages. Again, it's all about saving space.

Arrow 1.) Leave default as your coding method.

Arrow 2.) By setting the current bitrate higher at 192, you'll get perhaps better sound when needed without using all the space when not needed.

Most people do not use these settings.

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OK, let's Rip to Track Numbers.

Here's what you see as the ripping is actually going on. There's nothing you have to do, but you are informed.

Arrow 1.) You see the percent of each track as it's ripped.

Arrow 2.) Here's a track that's being ripped right now.

Wasn't that easy?

OK, let's Rip to Track/Song NAMES.

Here's what you see as the ripping is actually going on when the NAMES are being added. There's nothing you have to do, but you are informed. And these names will be part of the final file name, so you'll always know what you've got.

Arrow 1.) You see the percent of each track as it's ripped.

Arrow 2.) Here's a track that's being ripped right now.

Here's What Your Ripped Tracks Will Look Like.

And here's the finished result with actual Track NAMES and Preserve Track Order shown.
You can rip your tracks however you like. And here are the examples.

Arrow 1.) Here I've ripped a track just using the track number.

Arrow 1a.) Track 1 is all you get. It's what's actually on the CD.

Arrow 2.) This is a ripped track showing just the Track Name.

Arrow 2a.) This is the actual track name from the database.

Arrow 3.) Shows you DAK's 'Preserve Track Order' with Track Name which puts the unobtrusive number in front of the track name to fool Windows and your MP3 players into Playing your tracks in the exact order you want them when you rip them. This is an astounding improvement.

Arrow 3a.) This is the track preserving number DAK puts in front of your file name to fool windows into keeping your tracks in the order you want them.

Arrow 3b.) Here's the track name. It doesn't matter what letter it starts with because the DAK Track Preserve puts the number in front to keep your tracks in the order you want them.

More Ripping Options.

Go to Options and choose the Grab Track options to try to recover damaged CDs. In this mode, your drive will try and try again to recover the info from damaged or worn CDs.

Scratched CDs? Tracks You Can't Play?

Got a damaged CD? Well here's where you can try to save your music. Just click one of the choices, I like Paranoid Mode and scratched CDs that will no longer play can often be brought back to life. Just save all the tracks you can and then burn yourself a new CD using your rescued tracks. It's all Included in the DAK CD Ripper. Just click on the Options menu to get these powers.

Don't Be Locked Out Of Your Music Any More!!
OK that's it. Just take your newly liberated tracks WITH TRACK NAMES & WINDOWS DEFYING TRACK ORDER and enjoy your music, on your computer, in the compilations of tracks you've made from multiple CDs and in your MP3 Players now in perfect track order. Now you really can enjoy CDs with only the tracks you love. Now you can edit, mix and control your music like never before. Now you can grab MP3 tracks from any of your CDs quickly and easily.

And now you can grab the Names & Tags of your tracks PLUS Preserve The Track Order too. It's all yours when you use DAK's all new Auto-Naming, Track Order Preserving CD to MP3 & Wav CD Ripper.

Enjoy. . . Drew

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