Ubuntu – How to install Ruby Ripper, or another app that does MP3s through a GUI

My suggestion involves:

• recording your tape as one file
• Removing the tape hiss
• Splitting the file individual tracks
• Re-encoding the tracks into individual mp3 files

To do this will involve the following software which you can install from the Software Centre:

• Audacity
• Gramofile
• Installing restricted codecs - search for restricted and choose the restricted extras for your variant of ubuntu
• Sound Converter

Audacity

Audacity is a fantastic sound editor.

1. Plug in you jack into the appropriate sound-in / headphone socket in your laptop or PC sound card.
2. On your tape, approximately forward to where you have the "loudest sound"
3. Play your tape
4. Using Audacity, press the record button
5. Adjust the input levels so that the sound doesnt "clip"
6. Stop recording and rewind the tape
7. Choose from the Audacity Menu - Transport - Sound Activated Recording
8. Play your tape and record until the end of the tape

Now a bit of clean-up of the sound recorded.

To remove the tape-hiss choose from the Audacity Menu:

1. Effect - Normalize. This will adjust the approximate sound level through the entire track
2. Effect - Noise Removal. This will remove some of the lower frequency sounds that is the tape hiss - just follow the two suggested steps on the window. Play with the results to get the best sound on your track.

Finally, save the file as a .wav file.

Split Tracks

To break the one big .wav file into individual tracks use the Gramofile software.

Start the application and open the .wav file. Tell the application which folder to save the individual tracks.

Convert to MP3

Finally use Sound Converter

Ensure you have installed the restricted codecs for your ubuntu variant.

Run the application and select all the .wav tracks in the folder saved to by gramofile

Choose the Convert option and choose MP3

Sit back and wait for all the .wav files to be converted to MP3.

Is there a problem with having both installed? And using the versions from the repositories? I would install ruby 1.9.2 with:

sudo apt-get install ruby1.9.1-full

And then update the "alternatives" system to use ruby 1.9:

$ sudo update-alternatives --config ruby
There are 2 choices for the alternative ruby (providing /usr/bin/ruby).

  Selection    Path                Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0            /usr/bin/ruby1.8     50        auto mode
  1            /usr/bin/ruby1.8     50        manual mode
  2            /usr/bin/ruby1.9.1   10        manual mode

Press enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: 2
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/ruby1.9.1 to provide /usr/bin/ruby (ruby) in manual mode.
$ ruby --version
ruby 1.9.2p290 (2011-07-09 revision 32553) [x86_64-linux]

This will also set the alternatives for erb, irb, rdoc, ri, testrb and the man page. However you need to update the gem command separately:

$ sudo update-alternatives --config gem
There are 2 choices for the alternative gem (providing /usr/bin/gem).

  Selection    Path               Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0            /usr/bin/gem1.8     180       auto mode
  1            /usr/bin/gem1.8     180       manual mode
  2            /usr/bin/gem1.9.1   10        manual mode

Press enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: 2
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/gem1.9.1 to provide /usr/bin/gem (gem) in manual mode.

I know, it is confusingly called ruby1.9.1 rather than 1.9.2, some upstream debian packaging thing.