14 DAY TRIAL // I feel I could shout "Evrikaaa!" as I have seen, downloaded, installed, used and reviewed the first ringtone software that had the Zoom In/Out function! No matter how freeware or how eye candy would a ringtone software be, the zoom tool was never where I looked for it; and this meant far more work and with less quality results than in a program whose features included the zoom in/out.
When cutting from dance or techno MP3 files such as to obtain cool-sounding ringtones, things were relatively easy because of the exact measures and very clean audio separation between the musical phrases. Cutting off a metal or symphonic track is no longer so easy due to the fuller sound, the more complicated musical arrangements and the much harder work one has to put up to perfectly sample a loopable selection.
Hence, a zoom tool was dearly needed if we were all to produce free ringtones out of favorite tracks on CDs or on our PCs or even mobile devices. Lest for a professional audio editing tool (which I am so sure nobody would buy for ringtones only) things were rather hard and imprecise, exactly when and where the ease of the whole process and precision were critical. Weep no longer my friends, RingtoneEditor is here!
The Looks
RingtoneEditor is one simple program with an even simpler GUI: in fact, I guess this is one of the simplest and "clearest" such pieces of software I met in a very long time. Some time ago, as I was reviewing ringtone-creation programs, I wasn't aware of all the exact finest details of their construction as it was neither the time nor place, let alone my job. But now, as I own a very capable smartphone at hand each minute of my work program and I can actually run proper tests, I have surprisingly seen myself noticing even the slightest (dis)functionalities.
Well, in the case of the RingtoneEditor, it's not the case. The space is very well organized and even a child could easily find his way through RingtoneEditor: a very large screen comprises the waveform of the loaded media, while the buttons at the bottom of the window are few, with very clear and direct text on them. RingtoneEditor sports no menus, so one simply - technically and physically - can't get lost in the program: in fact, there is nowhere to get lost, because the total of 2 windows, each with specific destination won't allow misuse.
The waveform has a deep blue color over white background and, as you select a region of it, it changes to an even more contrasting dark orange on black background that makes perfectly visible selections. One thing I have to say, though: RingtoneEditor does not sport - and I desperately want it to - a playback cursor so you know where you are along a track, at any moment. This would make things like trimming a selected portion a truly easy thing, exactly the way professional audio editing softwares feature.
No skins and no color schemes are to be found in RingtoneEditor and everything looks WinXP. Slightly 3D effects on the very large and visible buttons add a bit of safer feeling while operating RingtoneEditor. The main window is scalable up to the full size of your screen, so that to zoom the waveform you can really visualize the track as in the pro-grade editing softwares. Finally, I'd say that RingtoneEditor has really managed to implement pro techniques in a freeware program thus making the transition towards a new category of software, something one could describe as freeware professional soft.
The Works
This part will be rather short, as RingtoneEditor's works are quite simple. First of all, I must say that RingtoneEditor will process only WAV and MP3 files and will rely only on the quality of the source file: you can't make quality settings in this software. This may seem as a bad thing, but believe me, you won't feel these potential differences while your phone will ring; maybe you could be concerned about the space the MP3 will require on your phone's memory...but again, it's a subjective matter.
Things are as simple as it gets when it comes to operating the RingtoneEditor: you load a track of your choice (again - WAV or MP3) and make a selection according to your liking. You can play preview for the selection you have made so you can actually control quite well what your are doing. There are two things I miss in RingtoneEditor: the first is a cursor bar moving over the waveform and indicating the current location of a certain sample.
The second thing is a numeric manual adjustment system which would help finely trim the selections; after having selected a portion of the file with your mouse and previewing it, one might discover that it is some 2 tenths of a second too long or too short and re-selecting it would be ineffective and even prolong the overall process as it's also possible to make a wrong selection next time. Thus, manually setting the beginning and ending points of the wanted region makes a much safer selection and obviously a more accurate editing process. Hopefully, the next version will feature such elements to my great appreciation.
The RingtoneEditor will also let you easily grab a track from an audio CD and then convert it - or a part of it - to one cool-sounding ringtone. Just load a CD, choose the track and press Grab - the program will rip that song on your drive so you can then load it in and cut it the way you like. Saving the results of your work is very easy, just press (obviously) Save, choose a name and one of the two file formats, set a location (if you don't like MyRingtones default folder) and here you go. The RingtoneEditor offers upload possibilities by means of internet and interconnection with cell-networks around the world but I could not test it. The best solution is upload the fresh ringtone to your phone yourselves by classic means of data cable or Bluetooth connections.
Well, that's how things go with RingtoneEditor: very good-looking, easy to learn and use, highly accurate because of the exceptional idea of adding the Zoom In/Out feature and, last but not least, totally free.
The Good
As you might have guessed by now, "the heaviest rock" is the zooming capability; the generic ease of use and functional simplicity just add more value.
The Bad
No bad things, just that the numeric adjustment and the cursor bar would totally make a pro out of RingtoneEditor.
The Truth
Needless to say, RingtoneEditor has become my favorite MP3-ringtone software and I guess this will last a bit. I warmly recommend you to download it and I just know you won't be disappointed.
There you go with the screenshots:
