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From: Donna Ohl on 7 Jul 2010 02:53
Refreshing this tutorial because google groups is lame when it comes to
searching.

Freeware:
a) Koyote CD Ripper - (or any program that converts CDA to MP3)
http://www.koyotesoft.com/indexEn.html
b) Audacity - (to isolate a section of a song for the ringtone)
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
c) LAME MP3 Encoder - (allows Audacity to export a 128kbps 300KB MP3
ringtone)

Step 1: CD to MP3:
http://www.cd2ringtone.com/wmptutorial.shtm

Step 2: MP3 to Ringtone:
http://www.cd2ringtone.com/audacitytutorial.shtm

Step 3: Ringtone on PC to ringtone on cellphone:
http://www.cd2ringtone.com/pctophonetutorial.shtm

Previous details on using Audacity to create free ringtones follow below.
Choose the ringtone source

The source for your ringtone will most likely be an audio file on your
computer. Select the file you want and import it into Audacity using the
Project > Import Audio command (or File > Import > Audio in Audacity Beta).
Audacity can import MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG and FLAC files. If your audio file
is not in this format, you can convert it to WAV or AIFF (as long as it is
not a purchased file) with SuperPlayer for Windows, FFMPEGX for OS X, or
mplayer for Linux.

Alternatively you can play any audio file on your computer (including
purchased files), or a CD, or any other sound on your computer including
sounds playing over the internet, and record it . This is not the highest
quality way to grab the sound from a CD or from a purchased file, but it is
probably OK for making a ringtone, as quality often needs to be compromised
in a ringtone to make the file size smaller. But if you want to grab a
perfect digital copy of the CD track, or you cannot record it easily,
extract it digitally to WAV or .AIFF as described at How to import CDs. Or
to make a perfect copy of a purchased file, burn it to an audio CD in the
application licensed to play it, then extract the CD track in the same way.

[edit] Edit your ringtone

1) Click Project > Import Audio (or File > Import > Audio in Audacity Beta)
and import your source file. This can be any MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG or FLAC
file that Audacity can open.

2) Select the portion of audio you want to use for your ringtone (say 15-20
seconds). To do this, click in the audio track and drag a selection area to
left or right with your mouse - you can see the length of the selected
audio in the timeline above the track. Many phones will loop the ringtone
automatically (repeat it over and over), so choose your selection area with
that in mind. To hear your selection play looped in Audacity, type L on the
keyboard or hold down SHIFT while clicking the green Play button. To stop
the playback, hit spacebar or click the yellow Stop button.

3) Click Edit > Trim. This will remove the rest of the file, leaving only
the section you selected. If you want to use the whole file, then skip this
step.

4) Add any effects you may want to the ringtone, by clicking in the Track
Panel where the mute/solo buttons are to select all the track, then click
the Effect menu. Be sparing with effects, but two you may want to consider
are:

- Equalization. Many phone speakers cannot reproduce very low frequencies
so consider removing them. You'll notice a horizontal line that keeps a
steady 0 dB across all frequencies. Using the mouse, you'll be able to
click a series of points along the scale to create a curve. Bring the line
down to -24 dB on the Y-axis for the low frequencies from 30-300Hz on the
X-axis. You may want to increase the lower frequencies above this point say
to 600 Hz, and reduce the highest frequencies above say 10 000 Hz. This
should make the sound somewhat richer and less "tinny" on a small cellphone
speaker.

- Compressor (which will reduce the difference between loud and soft and so
make the ringtone sound louder). This will again suit a small cellphone
speaker which may not be able to handle large changes in dynamic range. The
terms of the compressor effect are as follows:

* Threshold is the volume level at which compression starts to be
applied. The further right the slider, the louder the input has to be
before compression is applied.

* Ratio - the further the slider is to right, the stronger is the
compression applied

* Attack time - amount of time compressor waits to respond after the
Threshold is reached

* If the "Normalize" box is checked then after compression the audio
will be set to maximum possible amplification without adding distortion.
This may be a bad idea on cellphone speakers which can give distortions
before the maximum possible level is reached. Instead use Effect > Amplify
after compression and choose a new Peak Amplitude (dB) of -3 dB.

Or instead of Compressor, consider using the Hard Limiter from the LAPSDA
plug-in package which will also restrict the maximum volume to -3 dB. "Wet"
and "dry" refer to the strength of an effect, with 1 being full effect and
0 representing no effect. Set the Hard Limiter to a dB limit of -3 dB, Wet
Level to 1.0 and Residue Level to 0.0. Now, just the same as when you
amplify to -3 dB after compression, you will get no signal above -3 dB, but
you will also get a very sharp reduction in dynamic range which will be
more extreme than that you get with the compressor.

If after Compressor or Hard Limiter your ringtone does not sound quite loud
enough on the phone, you could try setting the Peak Amplitude or dB limit
to -2 dB or -1 dB instead.

[edit] What type of file does your phone require?

You need to check what type of file format your phone requires for its
ringtones, and whether the file needs to be mono or stereo.

[edit] Ringtone formats

There are many different ringtone formats in existence, but they fall into
three main categories:

* Monophonic - just one note at a time, usually RTTL format. If you
want a ringtone in this format, it's often easiest to simply key it into
your phone if it supports that.

* Polyphonic - multiple notes at a time. Some phones can play true MIDI
files, others rely on sp-midi or .mmf formats

* Music ring tones - actual digitally sampled music files including MP3
and WAV supported by Audacity, plus other formats like AMR and QCP.

Most new phones will support polyphonic ringtones. Phones supporting music
ringtones tend to be more expensive models, or PDA phones combining a
handheld computer.

[edit] Convert stereo to mono

Irrespective of the required file format, many phones will want mono
ringtone files. So if the track you are editing is stereo, the next step is
to convert it to mono.

1. Click on the name of the song (in the Track Panel to left of the
waveform, where the downward pointing arrow is). This brings down a
selection menu.
2. Select the Split Stereo Track option.
3. Click on the name of one of the resulting tracks then on "mono" using
the same menu
4. Close the other track by clicking on [X] on the Track Panel.

The remaining track will now only have the contents from one of the stereo
channels you had before. If you want information from both channels in your
ringtone, do this:

1. Choose Split stereo Track as in steps 1) and 2) above
2. Click on the name of both tracks in turn and make each mono as in
step 3) above
3. Select both tracks by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + A (CMND + A
on a Mac) and play them, and look at the green VU playback meter (the
left-hand meter in the Meter Toolbar):

VU Playback Meter

If the meter is not visible, enable it on the Interface tab of Preferences
by checking Enable Meter Toolbar. All you have to do is make sure the red
hold lights to right of the green bars are not showing, which indicates the
combined volume of the two tracks is too loud and will distort. In the
image above, you can see the left-hand channel had distorted at one point
and brought on the red light. If any hold lights are showing, move the
-....+ gain sliders (below the mute/solo buttons) on each Track Panel to
left by the same amount until the green bars are well over to the right,
but no longer bringing the red lights on. Then click Project > Quick Mix.
HINT: If you use Audacity Beta, it's much simpler to convert stereo to
mono! Simply click in the Track Panel then Project > Stereo to Mono, which
mixes in data from both channels to mono without distortion.

[edit] Export the file from Audacity

The following instructions show you how to export your edited (and mono if
needs be) ringtone from Audacity as a WAV or MP3. If your phone needs a
ringtone to be in some other format, skip to here.

[edit] Phones requiring WAV files

If your phone requires an MP3 file, skip to here.

As an example of exporting a WAV file specific to a particular type of
phone, consider the following Motorola Sprint Nextel cellphones:

i265, i275, i405, i450, i560, i710, 730, 750, 760, 830, i833, i836 ,850,
860, i870, i930

These require ringtones to be in the following format:

WAV (Microsoft); Bit depth: 8 bits; Sample Rate: 8 000Hz; Channels: 1
(mono).

If your phone has the same requirements as this, the instructions below
should work for your phone. If the only information you have is that the
WAV needs to have a bit rate of 64 kbps, these instructions will also
probably work for your phone, because in a WAV file the bitrate is always
the bit depth multiplied by the sample rate, multiplied by the number of
channels, and so the WAV in our example is (8 * 8 * 1) = 64 kbps.

If your phone requires WAV files with slightly different characteristics
than these, you can adjust the tutorial instructions below appropriately.
It's assumed you've already made the file mono as per the instructions
above.

1. Look at the Project Rate button at the bottom left of the screen. If
it is already showing "8000", skip to step 4) below. Otherwise, click on
the button and select the "8000 Hz" option. If there isn't an 8000 Hz
option, select "Other ..." and type 8000 in the box that pops up (or in
Audacity Beta, select and overtype one of the values).
2. Click Project > Quick Mix.
3. You'll see silence added to the end of the audio due to the
conversion to 8 000 Hz, and silence in front if you chose a portion of
audio that wasn't at the start of the track. Simply select the area of your
audio again, and Edit > Trim. Note: If you use Audacity Beta, it's much
simpler: after changing the Project Rate button to 8000, do Tracks >
Resample, type 8000 in the box that pops up, and click OK.
4. In other than Audacity Beta, click Edit > Preferences (Audacity >
Preferences on a Mac) and then the File Formats tab. In the "Uncompressed
Export Format" dropdown, select "WAV Microsoft 8-bit PCM)" and click OK.
Then click on File > Export As WAV, select a file name to export your WAV
file to and hit Save.
5. In Audacity Beta, click File > Export and in the Save as type
dropdown in the "Export File" dialogue, choose "WAV, AIFF and other
uncompressed types" and choose a file name to export to in the "File name"
box above that. Click the Options button and in the "Format" dropdown,
select "WAV (Microsoft 8-bit PCM)". Click OK, then Click Save.

[edit] Phones requiring MP3 files

As an example of a phone requiring an MP3 ringtone, the Motorola i580
requires MP3 files at:

Bit Rate: 32 kbps; Sample Rate: 8 000 Hz; Channels: 1 (mono).

If your phone has the same requirements then it should also work for you.
If your phone requires MP3 files with slightly different characteristics
you can adjust the tutorial instructions below appropriately. It's assumed
you've already made the file mono as per the instructions above.

1. If you have not already done so, download the LAME MP3 encoder to
your computer and tell Audacity where to find it. Instructions on doing
this are here.
2. Look at the Project Rate button at the bottom left of the screen. If
it is already showing "8000", skip to step 3) below. Otherwise, click on
the button and select the "8000 Hz" option. If there isn't an 8000 Hz
option, select "Other ..." and type 8000 in the box that pops up (or in
Beta, select and overtype one of the values).
3. In other than Audacity Beta,click Edit > Preferences (Audacity >
Preferences on a Mac) and then the File Formats tab. In the MP3 Export
Setup section near the bottom, in the "Bit Rate" dropdown, select "32" and
click OK. Then click on File > Export As MP3, select a file name to export
your MP3 file to and hit Save.
4. In Audacity Beta, click File > Export and in the Save as type
dropdown in the "Export File" dialogue, choose "MP3 files" and choose a
file name to export to in the "File name" box above that. Click the Options
button, then at "Bit Rate Mode" select the "Constant" radio button, and
choose 32 kbps in the Quality dropdown. Leave Channel Mode at "Stereo".
Click OK, then click Save.

[edit] Phones requiring other formats

If your phone requires files in other than WAV and MP3 format, then the
best course after editing the file is to export it as a 44 100 Hz 16 bit
PCM WAV file (either mono or stereo according to how the file is now), then
convert it to the format you require with an appropriate conversion
program.

1. Look at the Project Rate button at the bottom left of the screen. If
it is already showing "44100", skip to step 4) below. Otherwise, click on
the button and select the "44100 Hz" option. If there isn't an 44100 Hz
option, select "Other ..." and type 44100 in the box that pops up (or in
Audacity Beta, select and overtype one of the values).
2. Click Project > Quick Mix.
3. You'll see silence added to the end of the audio due to the
conversion to 44 100 Hz, and silence in front if you chose a portion of
audio that wasn't at the start of the track. Simply select the area of your
audio again, and Edit > Trim as before. Note: If you use Audacity Beta,
it's much simpler: after changing the Project Rate button to 44100, do
Tracks > Resample, type 44100 in the box that pops up, and click OK.
4. Click Edit > Preferences (Audacity > Preferences on a Mac) and then
the File Formats tab. In the Uncompressed Export Format dropdown, select
"WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM)" and click OK.
5. Click on File > Export As WAV and select a file name to export your
WAV file to.
From: Orak Listalavostok on 7 Jul 2010 03:11
Filter ringtone frequencies as some reputedly blow fragile phone speakers!
Also, remove stereo tracks as most phones are mono (or combine stereo
tracks).

To create your own free ringtones:

IMPORT MP3:
1. Locate the desired MP3 song on your Windows computer hard drive
2. Start Audacity 1.2.6 freeware (http://audacity.sourceforge.net)
3. Import the desired MP3 using "Project > Import Audio"

CHOOSE MP3 SNIPPET:
1. Using left click, play, & stop, roughly choose the desired snippet
2. With nothing playing, left click near the middle of your selection
3. "View > Zoom to Selection" to get rough start & end points
Note: You want only about 25 to 30 seconds showing in your window

DELETE THE REST:
1. With nothing playing, left click near the beginning of your selection
2. Press "Edit > Select > Start to Cursor" & then "Edit > Delete"
3. With nothing playing, left click to set the cursor at the snippet end
4. Press "Edit > Select > Cursor to End" & then "Edit > Delete"
Note: Aim for a ringtone of about 20 seconds (25 seconds maximum)

REMOVE STEREO:
1. Set "Edit > Preferences > File Formats > Bit Rate: 32 kbps" > OK
2. Locate the arrowed pulldown on left to the select "Split Stereo Track"
Note: This pulldown is hard to find; it's not on the pulldown menus;
it's on the left; there is an X to the left, then the song title,
then the downarrow has the pulldown for "Split Stereo Track".
3. Hit the "X" for one of the now-split tracks to delete that one track
4. Select the one track (ctrl+A) & press "Project > Quick Mix"
Note: That creates an empty second track; I'm not sure why it's needed.

FADE & FILTER:
1. Set the "Project rate:" at the bottom left to 22050 Hz (22.05 kHz)
3. Sweep-select the last two seconds & hit "Effect > Fade Out"
4. Ctrl+A, choose "Effect > High Pass Filter > 150 Hz"
Note: This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to protect your phone speaker!
5. Amplify by selecting ("ctrl + A) & pressing "Effect > Amplify"
Note: Turn "Allow Clipping" off and only amplify enough not to clip;
do not allow the "New Peak Amplitude" to rise above 3 dB.

EXPORT:
1. File > Export selection as MP3 & give it a name.
2. The filename (not counting the .mp3) cannot exceed 32 characters.
3. The file size should be less than 100 KB (average around 80 KB).

This creates a good loud 20 second mono ringtone at the right bitrate and
with the right frequencies so as not to destroy your telephone speaker.

How you then get this ringtone from your computer into your telephone is by
one of the following methods (in decreasing order of desireability):
1. Save directly onto a microSD (or whatever memory card fits in the phone)
2. Transfer from the PC to the phone via a tethered USB data cable
3. Transfer from the PC to the phone over the air (10 meters) via bluetooth
4. Email it to your phone (if you have an unlimited data plan)
5. Email SMS it to your phone (if you have an unlimited texting plan)
6. Upload it to a website (generally a ripoff) which will message it back
to your phone (not recommended).
From: Donna Ohl on 7 Jul 2010 03:25
I found this similar frugal-living freeware ringtone tutorial long ago.

IMPORT MP3:
1. Obtain the desired MP3 song (various methods)
2. Start Audacity 1.2.6 freeware (http://audacity.sourceforge.net)
3. Project > Import Audio (browse to select the desired MP3 file)

SELECT SNIPPET:
1. Hit SPACEBAR repeatedly as you adjust the swept-out ringtone area
2. View > Zoom to Selection to get close to your rough start & end points
3. Hold & sweep LEFT to the start & press DEL to delete the selected area
4. Hold & sweep RIGHT to the end & press DEL to delete the selected area
5. You are aiming for a ringtone of about 21 to 25 seconds maximum

REMOVE STEREO:
1. Locate the arrowed pulldown on left to the select "Split Stereo Track"
Note: This pulldown is hard to find; it's not on the pulldown menus;
it's on the left; there is an X to the left, then the song title,
then the downarrow that has the pulldown for
"Split Stereo Track".
2. Hit the "X" for one of the now-split tracks to delete that one track
3. Select the one track (ctrl+A) and press Project > Quick Mix
Note: That will create an empty second track.

ADD FADE IN & FADE OUT:
1. Set the "Project rate:" at the bottom left to 22050 Hz (22.05 kHz)
2. Edit > Preferences > File Formats > Bit Rate: 32 kbps
3. Sweep-select the last two seconds and hit Effect > Fade Out

FILTER HARMFUL FREQUENCIES:
1. Ctrl+A, choose Effect > High Pass Filter > 150 Hz
Note: I'm not sure where to set this to "mono"
2. Effect > Amplify (if desired) (eg 9 db at 1000 Hz)

EXPORT YOUR NEW RINGTONE:
1. File > Export selection as MP3

Note: Some phones limit ringtone size to 100KB (e.g., Motorola RAZRs) while
others, like the LG VU, limit ringtone file size exactly at 300KB. YMMV.
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