As soon as I got my Sony W300i cell phone as an upgrade with my plan, I found out you could use your own custom ringtones with it as long as they were 20 seconds or less and in mp3 format. After much research, I couldn’t find a solution that was free that I liked. So I decided I could use some pretty basic software to accomplish the same thing. It’s a little complicated, but pretty easy once you get it. I’ll be using two programs, and one of them is exclusively Windows, unfortunately. If anyone knows about a Mac app that’s as simple and basic as Windows Sound Recorder, be sure to put it in the comments. I’m also not sure if this handy little program is standard on Vista, so if you know one way or the other, mention that as well.

Here’s a list of software components and their versions I’ll be using for this tutorial:

• Windows XP Professional (any XP version will do) Service Pack 3
• iTunes 8 (version 7 does this as well)
• Windows Sound Recorder 5.1

Selecting a Song

There are a couple of tips I generally keep in mind as I look for a song that will be a great ringtone. First off, you don’t want something that starts off slow. You’ll have to get through all the build and do some more intensive editing. I’d recommend finding a song that starts off strong. It doesn’t have to be fast or loud, just one without much buildup.

Secondly, I usually pick a song with no vocals during the first twenty seconds. You might like vocals in your ringtones, but I usually just like a catchy tune.

Lastly, keep in mind that you’re probably not going to want more than 20 seconds max for the length of the ringtone, and you’ll really only listen to the first 10 seconds most of the time, so the part you really like in that intro should be closer to the beginning.

Step 1 – Change iTunes Import Setting to WAV

Windows Sound Recorder is a nice little tiny tool, but it only works with .WAV files. Since most of my music library is in mp3, I’ll need to convert my tune first. Fortunately, you don’t need to bother with the myriad of mp3 to wav (and vice versa) converters out there, you can just use iTunes.

Go to the iTunes preferences, and under the General tab, click on “Import Settings”. In the window that appears, select “WAV Encoder” in the drop down box. Click OK and OK again so your preference is saved.

Step 2 – Convert to WAV

Next, right click on the song you want to use, and click “Create WAV Version”. This will duplicate your song and put it in the same folder that the original is in.

Step 3 – Open the File in Windows Sound Recorder

Open up Windows Sound Recorder (Start Menu >> Accessories >> Entertainment) and navigate to the WAV file you just made. Be sure to select the WAV file and not the original mp3.

Step 4 – Edit the File

Play the WAV until you reach a good stopping point. You shouldn’t need more than 20 seconds for a ringtone. Once you’ve stopped at the exact moment you want the ringtone to end, click on Edit >> Delete After Current Position. Once your file is the right length, save the file.

Step 5 – Convert the File Back to mp3

Go ahead and change the import setting in iTunes back to mp3. Then click on File >> Add File to Library. Find your edited WAV file and add it to iTunes. Once you find the new 20 second version, you can right click on it and select “Create mp3 Version” and you’ll get the finished product.

Step 6 – Clean Up and Send to Your Phone

You’ll want to delete any extra files you created during this process. I like to keep copies of everything for every step so that if I mess up at any point, I don’t have to start over. Unfortunately, this means that by the time I’m done creating a ringtone I’ve got at least one extra WAV file laying around. I like to clean these out of iTunes and delete them from my hard drive so they don’t clutter things up.

Now you can bluetooth the 20 second mp3 to your phone. You can also get a data cable for your phone and send it that way. Either way, once it’s on the phone, you should only have to navigate to it on your phone and select it as your new ringtone! Enjoy!

I saw Radiohead last night and it was amazing. The show was a presentation, not just a music rehearsal. Not only was the music incredible, but the lights and video helped propel this to my favorite concert. Ever. As you can see in this photo I grabbed off Flickr, they had cylinders of light hanging from the ceiling. These would change during songs as each song took on different shape musically. Such a well-coordinated show.

The highlights for me were “You and Whose Army” and of course, the finale, “Paranoid Android.” Justin Schmidt has a list of the whole Radiohead 2008 tour set on his blog.