gapless

[wmarkj]

I was wondering if others had this experience: Gapless is more likely cleaner on mp3's imported through itunes or purchased through itunes. Live albums I imported from mp3 CD's given to me by others, not so clean on gapless. If others have found this also, is there a way to clean it up? I do have "Gapless" checked off in the tags.

[rockmyplimsoul]

Originally Posted by wmarkj

I do have "Gapless" checked off in the tags.

Note that the "gapless" selection in the tag is not an on/off for gapless playback. What does it do? For songs which are truly gapless, checking this option will disable the iTunes crossfade playback mode, that's all. It has nothing to do with making a song play gapless, and has no effect on your iPod since iPods don't support crossfade playback.

With regards to gapless performance between mp3's from other sources vs. songs ripped or purchased via iTunes, there could be several variables which would prevent an mp3 from playing gapless. When you add songs to iTunes, it analyzes them to see if they have audio right up to the end of the file. If iTunes "thinks" the song should play gapless, then perhaps it remembers that for such songs. It could be that some mp3's you have added have a very slight moment of "dead air" right at the end, so iTunes isn't going to think they're to be played gapless. Or, it could be any number of technical issues with the mp3's compatability with this feature.

[studogvetmed]

If there are issues with MP3 files you have received from friends, it could be that the MP3s were accidently ripped with gaps.

For instance, if I have Dark side of the moon in my library and I burn it (but accidently burn it with a 2 second, or some sort of gap on the CD), Should I just then rerip it, it will rip with the gap.

[kornchild2002]

Additionally, as long as your mp3 track tags are correct, then iTunes should be able to properly determine the correct gapless information. If your mp3s were ripped using older software like MusicMatch or Windows Media Player, then the gaps may be in the mp3 whether you want them there or not depending on the options your friends enabled.

Just keep in mind that the iTunes store does not sell mp3s, it sells protected mpeg-4 AAC audio files. Also, if you just installed iTunes, put in your CD, and started ripping without changing any import settings, then all your music is also in the mpeg-4 AAC audio format.