This Polish program, with a rather ambiguous name, is in fact a very innovative tool for processing MP3 files. Its revolutionary solutions in the form of so-called "knots" through which music flows (similarly to electronic circuits) make it a great solution also for DJs. It allows you to cut and combine MP3 audio files (with the accuracy of one frame), create mixes and automatically control the whole via scripts.

You can also record a sound signal from the sound card input directly into an MP3 file. A big advantage of the program is the ability to handle very large files (up to 4GB). The Butcher program allows you to cut out a piece of music from an MP3 sound file with the accuracy of one frame and save it to a new file.

Any fragments of different mp3 files can be combined to form a single whole. It is possible to record from the sound card input directly to mp3. The program tries to compress the sound "on the fly" using the free Lame encoder.

Commercial compression encoders installed in the operating system (e.g. Fraunhofer codec) may also be used for conversion to mp3 files. The sound recorder can be started automatically at a preset time, e.g.

when the user is away, using Sentences (Control Panel) and calling up the program with the following parameters: -rec X e where X stands for the number of minutes of recording and the optional e parameter switches off the computer after the recording is finished. You can work with the program in two ways:

the first one is used for the above purposes, i.e. to cut and/or combine mp3 files, while the second one allows you to create your own music compositions. Usually, when creating a piece of music we use a set of instruments or samples, which are often repeated in the piece.

The role of these instruments in the Butcher is played by fragments of .mp3 files called nodes. Nodes can be played with pre-set gain, balance and speed. Nodes as fragments of works can be combined to form a musical piece.

(Hence the name of the knot, because the whole thing resembles a string with supplements tied up). In transitions between nodes, you can specify the time when the gain falls or builds up, as well as the delay with which the next node is to be played back. The idea of creating music via knots is that they take up very little space in the view, so that the whole project can fit on one screen, and in any case, it is easy to find what is needed at the moment.

Scripting You can also type what you want to cut into a text file (without using the program), and then you can open the file in Butcher. All the information needed to complete the task will be retrieved from the file. The program reads and saves mp3, mp2, mp1 files (all layers L1, L2, L3).

This can be either a CBR (constant compression) or VBR (dynamic compression) file. Incomplete support (read only) of files of the following types: *.wav;

*.snd; *.au; *.aif;*.aifc;

*.aiff; *.wma; *.asf;

*.wm; *.wma; *.mid;

*.rmi; *.midi The maximum file size to read or save is 4GB Support for MPEG Audio Tag ID3 Ver. 1.1.

audio playback via the MS Windows Media Player engine. Recording from multiple sources with the use of system encoders and free Lame encoder created on an open source basis. Support for multiple sound cards NOTE!

1. The current license of the program allows free use of the program in 30-day cycles or the possibility of one-time, paid registration of the program. The Butcher program requires Windows Media Player version 5.2 or later to work properly.

The latest version of Windows Media Player can be downloaded under PROGRAMS -> Multimedia -> Playing audio and video files.

The latest version of the LAME encoder used by the program can be downloaded under PROGRAMS -> Multimedia -> Multimedia extension and codecs.