Encoding MP3s for the Internet

In order to make it easier for people to encode their entries for their various Internet-based distribution (for example, SongFight or somesongs, or a personal website) without having to launch into a long-winded technical discussion which nobody will understand, I have instead just written up some very simple instructions which seem to work the best for the most people. Follow at your own discretion.

What this buys you: Encoded mp3s which are both smaller and higher-quality than the ones which most people post online. Your cymbals will sound better, and your files will be smaller. You will also have better luck with members of the desired sex/gender (or lack thereof).

(Okay, I made that last part up.)

Windows users

It's very simple. First, download LAME and unzip it to a convenient location. Next, download this simple batch file (you'll probably need to right-click the link and select "Save target as..." or the equivalent for your browser of choice) and put it into the WinLame installation directory. Finally, make a shortcut from the sfencode.bat file to the desktop (or somewhere else where you can easily drag your mixdown files to), by using the right mouse button to drag it to wherever you want the shortcut and then selecting "Make shortcut here."

If requested, I'll make a bundle with both LAME and the batch file, making the installation even easier (since there'll be only one thing to download).

To encode a file, simply drag the .wav onto the shortcut's icon. The resulting file will be in the same directory with a .mp3 extension tacked on (so for example, mixdown.wav is encoded to mixdown.wav.mp3).

Çest facil!

(These instructions are also replicated within the .bat file itself, if you open it up in Notepad or whatever.)

Mac users

If you're running OSX, just install iTunes-LAME. Open the .wav/.aiff/etc. file in iTunes, then from your scripts menu, select "Import with LAME..." In the dialog box which comes up, enter "-b 32 -V 5 -q 5 -m j" and then click "import."

If you're running an older version of MacOS, it's time to upgrade and join the rest of us in the 21st century.

UNIX users

Install LAME (your distribution may have even come with it already) and then run something like:
lame -b 32 -V 5 -q 5 -m j input.wav output.mp3

Tweaks

If you find that you need higher quality, try lowering the number after -q; this will produce better-sounding output, but will make the files a little bigger and the encode will take longer.

If you need even higher quality than that, lower the number after -V. This will make the file a lot bigger, though, and usually doesn't have as much of an impact as lowering -q.