Make Custom Ringtones The RIGHT Way!

[Josh]

Ok, so I have read about 200 different ways to add ringtones to the iPhone and none of them work RIGHT. When I say the don't work right, I mean that you cannot manage them using iTunes like you should. Who wants to use Win SCP every time they want to either add a new tone, or delete an old one? I don't, it's a pain in the butt. So, I am goin gto tell you how to do it the RIGHT way. The first part is pretty easy.
Download Audacity, or any other MP3 editor you want to use. I like Audacity, so it is what this tutorial is written for, but you could easily adapt to using another program.

Make sure you have the LAME MP3 encoder. This allows Audacity to export you masterpiece to MP3 format.

Now it's time to create that masterpiece.

Open Audacity and Click "File" then select "Open".

Navigate to the file you want to use, highlight it, and click "Open".

Once the file is imported, play the file through to find what portion you want to use. You can zoom in and out on the wave pattern to get a more precise location so your end result will be cleaner. highlite the portion of the song before and after the clip you want to use and delete them. All you should be left with is your new ringtone clip.

Once you get it just right, click "File", then select "Export as mp3". Save it to any folder you want. Mine is named "ringtone mp3's".

Next, open iTunes and import the ringtone. iTunes is going to put it in the general library, so you'll have to remember what you named it so you can find it.

Once it's imported and you find it, right click on your ringtone mp3 and select "convert to AAC". This wil convert to ringtone into an MP4.

Now, go into the iTunes Music folder which is in your main Music folder under your documents and navigate to your new ringtone MP4 and move it back into your "ringtone mp3's" folder.

Go back into iTunes and delete the mp4 from your library and send the file to the trash can too.

Now you need to convert the file extension on your ringtone mp4 from .m4a, to .m4r. I am sure there is an easier way than the one I am using now, and if someone knows it, let me know please, but I use WinSCP to edit the entension. You just open WinSCP up and navigate to the ringtone and change the .m4a to .m4r and close WinSCP.

Then you re-open iTunes and import the ringtone and it goes right in your ringtone folder.

The next time you sync your iPhone, it'll be added and you have your very own custome ringtone that you can remove anytime you want.

[Bernie]

That sounds like it would work.:)

I have the older version of GarageBand that almost does it all. The new version which is too supped up for my machine puts the ring tone where it belongs for you. The older version puts your ringtone in your music library. Sort by length in iTunes to find it quickly and pull to desktop. Then trash the one in iTunes.

With every firmware update this part gets different. The sound clip on the desktop is .mp4 and varying on firmware needs to be either .m4a or .m4r. This time I had to reinstall them as m4r. I use iToner to install from here. They do not show up in iTunes but do show up on my iPhone as Custom just above the Standard ones.

I have a loop of the alarm clocks ringing from Pink Floyds Time that is 55 seconds long. I did not realize it was that long until I exported it to iTunes.:rolleyes:
So there is no time limit with this.

My main ring tone is an AC/DC rip from Highway to Hell and a Van Hagar rip from Ain't Talking Bout Love.

Josh, I enjoyed reading your post. It is one of the few that I felt like I understood the first time I read it.:D

[Josh]

Thank you Bernie. I am glad it made sense to you. There are way too many ways to do this out there that can have very negative effects on the iPhone if something goes wrong. With this way, all that will be effected is the tone your creating.