Music for traveling

[Ripper238]

Does anyone NOT use streaming or their radio for listening to music while driving? Where do you buy your music from and what device are you using? Thanks.

I love all music so i have to have multiple sources of music. I use mostly XM and Slacker radio (now liveXlive) since XM works anywhere and with Slacker i can download songs to listen off line. I also have a USB stick with a bunch of music i downloaded from my old CD's through iTunes.
I recently started trying YouTube music but i think Slacker is better for primary music. I like some of the odd stuff i can get off YT though.

But my all time favorite for off grid or just camping is shortwave and good old AM/FM.

 

[user 22017]

I love all music so i have to have multiple sources of music. I use mostly XM and Slacker radio (now liveXlive) since XM works anywhere and with Slacker i can download songs to listen off line. I also have a USB stick with a bunch of music i downloaded from my old CD's through iTunes.
I recently started trying YouTube music but i think Slacker is better for primary music. I like some of the odd stuff i can get off YT though.

But my all time favorite for off grid or just camping is shortwave and good old AM/FM.

Finding a radio station that plays music I like is almost impossible. Most play either country or hard classic rock (60's - 70's) and I don't like either. And in urban areas there is Hip Hop, but it is current Hip Hop. I like Hip Hop from around late 90's to 2006 or so. I'm really picky about music. I like rock, just not classic rock. Basically my taste is awful (not refined), because most songs I like made it to the Top 40, lol.

The library route is looking better & better. It includes audio books, too.

 

[user 423]

When I played the song on YT, then hit record on Audacity, YT sounded like the static on a television after the stations turns off for the night. Super loud static and the bar on Audacity that checks for clipping went nuts. It kept maxing out. Yes, learning curve. I'll try it again.

Which version do you have? Start with speaker volume lower.

 

[user 22017]

Which version do you have? Start with speaker volume lower.

3.1.3

 

[user 423]

I have 2.4.2 Maybe updates killed it.

You are recording direct and not using a mic?

 

[user 22017]

I have 2.4.2 Maybe updates killed it.

You are recording direct and not using a mic?

Direct.

Edit: I wondered if they killed it, because I tried several youtube to .mp3 converters and none worked. Then I read about some big lawsuit the RIAA won and youtube/Google was involved. Then again, I prob just messed up with Audacity, lol.

 

[user 423]

Well, you can check for tutorials on using Audacity on YT

I remember I had to play with it for quite a while before it worked for me.

 

[user 22017]

Well, you can check for tutorials on using Audacity on YT

I remember I had to play with it for quite a while before it worked for me.

I was using their youtube tutorial! I'll try again tomorrow. I'm sure I skipped a step (or two). Thank you

 

[Ripper238]

Finding a radio station that plays music I like is almost impossible. Most play either country or hard classic rock (60's - 70's) and I don't like either. And in urban areas there is Hip Hop, but it is current Hip Hop. I like Hip Hop from around late 90's to 2006 or so. I'm really picky about music. I like rock, just not classic rock. Basically my taste is awful (not refined), because most songs I like made it to the Top 40, lol.

The library route is looking better & better. It includes audio books, too.

With your top 40 taste you may be able to download all the top 40 songs from the 90's through today and fit it on a USB stick.

 

[user 22017]

With your top 40 taste you may be able to download all the top 40 songs from the 90's through today and fit it on a USB stick.

My stereo won't play copyrighted music via USB, according to the manual. It didn't state that for Bluetooth, though. This is so confusing.

I just looked at Bluetooth music players at Amazon and there are hundreds of mp3 players that connect via Bluetooth to the car stereo. My playlist on youtube has 165 songs. Oh wow. I searched 'how many songs in .mp3 can 64 GB hold'. Quora says 8,000 (high quality) 3 minute songs. So I guess I only need a 8-16 GB .mp3 player.

You are right, lol. I can grab every song I want. But not via USB. Wonder why mp3 players are so cheap. They seem to run either $28-$50 or they jump to $300-$600

 

[user 423]

See if your phone or a friend's has BT so you can check your stereo.

 

[user 22017]

See if your phone or a friend's has BT so you can check your stereo.

Phones work on Bluetooth with the truck stereo. I've listened to Spotify, youtube and Pandora (with ads). And sometimes have phone conversations.

 

[user 22017]

Well, you can check for tutorials on using Audacity on YT

I remember I had to play with it for quite a while before it worked for me.

Do you remember if you set Audacity to MME or Windows WASAPI?

 

[user 423]

Dang. I went to check that setting and it looks like there's a 3rd. setting...Windows Direct Sound. Now I can't get it to open! I toggled thru all 3 and get 'Error opening recording device'.

 

[user 22017]

Dang. I went to check that setting and it looks like there's a 3rd. setting...Windows Direct Sound. Now I can't get it to open! I toggled thru all 3 and get 'Error opening recording device'.

I saw the 3rd setting, Windows Direct, but the tutorial didn't mention it. I used WASAPI. I'll try the other two. Thanks.

 

[user 22017]

Dang. I went to check that setting and it looks like there's a 3rd. setting...Windows Direct Sound. Now I can't get it to open! I toggled thru all 3 and get 'Error opening recording device'.

Slow,

Would you please look at my Audacity setup and check for any setting obviously wrong? The good news is... it worked! I got a test recording. Only the volume is way too low. I found what I did wrong. Forgot to uncheck Software Playthrough. From the tutorial:

"If playthrough is on, the audio interface will try to play what it is recording then re-record it, creating an increasingly loud series of echoes that may damage your equipment."

I used an audio editor from 2000-2005 for a music website I owned. I recorded bands live with a minidisc recorder and binaural microphones, then put their music online. Seems I forgot just about everything, lol. But opensource stuff is generally not as user friendly. This is kinda fun, though. Thanks for telling me about it.

I'm not there yet. Gotta get the volume/sound right, then transfer to a device that has Bluetooth. The sound seems ok. Probably awful for those who know music.

Edit: I screwed up, I think. The tutorial says keep the monitoring bar under 9 to prevent clipping, but I had no 9. Forgot you must slide the bar over to show more numbers.

Also, do you minimize youtube and audacity when you record? In order to have both on the screen side by side? Just curious how you do it.

 

[user 423]

Sorry, I had to go to the DMV today..

Mine wasn't working earlier because I didn't have it set on WASAPI. I did update to 3.1.3 and now it's working.

Yours looks like my setup except playback volume. Might want to mess with that some.

That's been a problem with some of my recordings, varied sound levels. I think because sometimes I used buds and sometimes I used a speaker. Or forgot the settings or something.

Yes, I do resize YT and Audacity to smaller windows and overlap them,too. So you can look at both and coordinate. There is a Sound Activated Recording (Edit >Preferences) that I guess will automatically start recording when there is a certain level of sound. That would simplify things so you might want to check that.

 

[user 22017]

Yours looks like my setup except playback volume. Might want to mess with that some.

Do you check your recordings for clipping? I remember from when I used to record bands that clipping was really important and in the tutorial it says to avoid clipping. (I think clipping means distortion & the level is higher than Audacity can handle). Also in the tutorial it says that you can select to show clipping, which I selected. It should show a red bar whenever there is clipping. No red bars. But I watched as it recorded and it hit 9 at least a dozen times. But it barely went above 9. Maybe it is ok. It sounds great, to me. lol.

After recording each song, do you immediately export as .mp3? Then you navigate to the Audacity folder via Windows' File Explorer and drag the songs to your device? Audacity shows the option to rearrange the track order, but I can't imagine putting 100+ songs in Audacity to arrange them.

Does your device's software let you select different tracks? Otherwise this will end up one long playlist with no breaks and no way to skip songs (other than fast forward). I know I'm making this harder than it is

 

[user 22017]

I'll PM you, because I have more questions about Audacity.

 

[GntlStone]

You might also want to Google "youtube mp3 extension X" where X is the browser you use(Chrome, Firefox, Opera).

Check applicable Reddit threads too for recent advice/help/software suggestions. Just be a bit careful about trying to avoid malware by downloading from "reputable" sites like official FF, Chrome, Edge extension pages if possible.