How do I burn an audio CD? (Mac)

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The purpose of this short tutorial is to help you burn an audio CD once you have received mastered files from Synaesthesia Studios.

In the case you already own some burning software, and know how to set it to burn your audio CDs, keep using it. Remember that although there is some tolerance in burning an audio CD (the way shown here is not the professional format, which should be Red Book compliant), it’s always better to use a decent brand of CDs. Your CDs are probably of good quality, but try not to use really cheap CDs in any circumstances, as you could face problems and data losses that don’t make the cheaper price worth it.

If you’ve never burned audio CDs before, here are step-by-step instructions explaining the basics that have to be known. All you need to do is use iTunes, the standard program for music and video playback in Mac OS X, and set its parameters properly. After this, you will be able to burn CDs that you can play on most audio systems.

- In iTunes, create a Playlist that features your songs in the right track order.

- Go to the iTunes menu, in the top left corner of the screen, and select ‘Preferences’.

- In the window that appears, click on ‘Advanced’, then on the ‘Burning’ tab.

- Set the parameters in this window as shown above:

- Preferred Speed: choose the lowest value.

- Disc Format: Audio CD

- Gap Between Songs: none. Since iTunes doesn't burn in 'Disc-at-once' mode, and stops the laser beam between the tracks, you may experience gaps between them if you are working on a concert program, for instance. 

- Use Sound Check: make sure it is unchecked. It would otherwise modify the volume of the songs and therefore the balance between them.

- Click on OK to close this window and go back to your Playlist.

- Insert a blank CD and click on the ‘Burn Disc’ icon located in the upper right corner:

iTunes will burn your audio CD. When it is finished, play your music in different places to get a better feeling of  how it sounds on various equipments.