And as usual, all the tutorials available on the Web were PC-centric thus this tutorial was born. ^_^ The result of this analogue recording would be a 74-minute MD filled with music from your MP3 collection. I won't bore you with the silly and technical details about recording your MP3s onto your MiniDiscs (MDs) so let's get straight to the action!

Essential Ingredients
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- MiniDisc recorder with MiniDisc inserted
- a 3.5mm stereo audio cable (pictured below)
- MP3 software player like SoundJamô MP or Audion
- 74 minutes worth of MP3 audio files
- A 3 sec MP3 file of silence (to separate tracks) <download>
- Your Mac :)
- Reading your MiniDisc recorder manual beforehand

The equipment used for this tutorial are an Apple G3/233 desktop, Sharp MT-831 with SoundJamô MP.

Setting Up Playlist
Launch your favourite MP3 software player and create a new playlist for the sole purpose of recording. Add your desired MP3s onto this list and arrange them in the order that you desire. Do ensure that the playlist does not exceed 74 minutes (or whichever MD capacity you are using e.g. 80mins MD) in play time.

Next insert the 3 sec MP3 file of silence between each track/song. Doing so will tell your MD recorder that it should create a new track on the MD during 'Synchro Recording' mode*. Pictured below is a SoundJamô playlist window setup for MD recording.

Hooking Up Your Mac
Locate the Sound Out port on your Mac as illustrated above. It is indicated by a speaker icon. Plug one end of the stereo audio cable into this Sound Out port and the other end into your MD recorder's Optical/Line In socket.

Start Recording
Place your MD recorder into 'Synchro Recording'* mode first. Once this is done, start playing your MP3s off the playlist that you have created earlier. Now what will happen is that your MD recorder records any kind of sound that is coming out from your Mac onto MD. For every long pause of silence that follows, it will stop recording and create a new track.

As this analogue recording method is done in real-time, recording 74 minutes worth of MP3s will take exactly 74 minutes in duration. Once the playlist has played out itself, you can stop recording and enjoy the tunes on your MD. :)

MD Mac Recording Tips --------------------------
	Read your MD recorder manual for optimal recording techniques esp for analogue.
	Adjust MD recording level to optimum
	Mute the System Alert Volume and any other sounds that will creep into your recording session ie. new email alert
	Use a MP3 software player with excellent output such as Audion from Panic.
	MP3 quality of 160Kbps and higher

Contact Me
Phew! Believe me when I say a lot more could be added to this tutorial but I am trying to keep everything simple. So if you are confused or think any steps mentioned in this tutorial could be made clearer, please feel free to email me for comments and clarifications.
As not all MD recorders were created equal, I would love to hear from those who would like to share their MP3-MD Mac recording tips and techniques especially so for Sony MD recorders owners.

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This tutorial is dedicated to my female Russian Campbell dwarf hamster Missy who now rests peacefully in the field behind my home as of April 1st 2000. I hope she is in hamster heaven right now, munching on her favourite nuts. Missy, you will be sorely missed.
(^_^;)
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Related Stuff
----------------

MiniDisc.org
<http://www.minidisc.org/>

T-Station
<http://www.t-station/>

MiniDiscussion
<http://www.minidiscussion.com/>

PureMac MP3 Software Listing
<http://www.pure-mac.com/mp3.html>

Encoding MP3s on the Mac with freeware
<http://macospage.madbee.com/index.html#encode>

MacCentral MP3 Forum
<http://www.maccentral.com/mp3/>