Red Book Master

A professional tool for creating Red Book compatible CD masters with CUE sheet output. Available as both a GUI application and a CLI tool.

Features

• Modern GUI application - Native desktop app with dark theme, waveform display, and intuitive controls
• Interactive CLI wizard - Guided step-by-step experience for creating CD masters
• Red Book compliant - Enforces CD-DA specifications (16-bit, 44.1kHz stereo)
• Automatic format conversion - Converts non-compliant WAV files (resampling, bit depth, channels)
• Waveform visualization - Zoomable/scrollable waveform display with playhead
• Audio preview - Play tracks with real-time position tracking
• Full metadata support - CD-TEXT, ISRC codes, MCN/UPC catalog numbers
• CUE sheet export - Industry-standard format for CD mastering
• TOC file export - Compatible with cdrdao for disc-at-once burning
• CD burning - Direct burning via cdrdao with progress display and CD-TEXT support
• Project files - Save and load projects in .rbm format
• Drag & drop track reordering - Easily arrange tracks in the GUI

GUI Application

The GUI provides a professional desktop experience for CD mastering:

Main Features

• Track List Panel - View and manage tracks with number, title, duration, pregap, and postgap
• Waveform View - Zoomable waveform display for the selected track with playhead
• Metadata Editor - Edit track and album metadata in real-time
• Playback Controls - Play, pause, stop, previous/next track, volume control
• Menu Bar - Quick access to New, Open, Save, Export, and Burn CD

CD Burning Dialog

The burn dialog provides a complete burning experience:

• Drive Selection - Choose from detected CD/DVD drives
• Speed Selection - Auto, 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 24x, 48x
• Options - Eject disc, Enable CD-TEXT, Simulate only
• Real-time Progress - Progress bar with MB written percentage

• Live Log Output - See cdrdao output in real-time
• Cancel Support - Abort burning if needed (disc may be unusable)

• Error Details - Full log preserved for debugging when errors occur

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘+N	New project
⌘+O	Open project
⌘+S	Save project
⌘+Shift+S	Save As
Space	Play/Pause
Escape	Stop playback
↑/↓	Select previous/next track
←/→	Previous/Next track
Delete	Remove selected track

Installation

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.70 or later
• Audio output device (for playback features)
• cdrdao (optional, for CD burning)

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/webmatze/redbookmaster.git
cd redbookmaster
cargo build --release

Binaries will be at:

• target/release/redbookmaster - CLI application
• target/release/redbookmaster-gui - GUI application

Install via Cargo

# Install both CLI and GUI
cargo install --path crates/redbookmaster-cli
cargo install --path crates/redbookmaster-gui

Run the GUI

# From the repository
cargo run -p redbookmaster-gui

# Or after installation
redbookmaster-gui

Run the CLI

# From the repository
cargo run -p redbookmaster

# Or after installation
redbookmaster

Project Structure

The repository is organized as a Cargo workspace:

redbookmaster/
├── crates/
│   ├── redbookmaster-lib/    # Shared library (core, audio, export, burn)
│   ├── redbookmaster-cli/    # CLI application
│   └── redbookmaster-gui/    # GUI application (Slint)
├── screenshots/              # Application screenshots
└── README.md

CLI Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

Launch the interactive wizard:

redbookmaster

This opens a guided menu where you can:

• Create new projects
• Add and manage tracks
• Edit metadata (album, track, ISRC, MCN)
• Configure track gaps
• Preview audio playback
• Export master files
• Burn CDs

Command Line

# Create a new project
redbookmaster new

# Open an existing project
redbookmaster open my-album.rbm

# Add tracks to current project
redbookmaster add track1.wav track2.wav

# List tracks
redbookmaster list

# Edit track metadata
redbookmaster edit 1

# Reorder tracks
redbookmaster reorder

# Configure track gaps
redbookmaster gaps

# Play album preview
redbookmaster play

# Play specific track
redbookmaster play 3

# Play transition between tracks
redbookmaster transition 2

# Validate Red Book compliance
redbookmaster validate

# Export CUE/WAV master
redbookmaster export

# Burn to CD (requires cdrdao)
redbookmaster burn

# Show project info
redbookmaster info

Workflow Example

GUI Workflow

1. Click New to create a project (choose location and name)
2. Click Add Tracks to add WAV files
3. Non-compliant files are automatically detected and can be transcoded
4. Edit track/album metadata in the right panel
5. Drag tracks to reorder them
6. Use playback controls to preview
7. Click Export to generate master WAV, CUE, and TOC files
8. Click Burn CD to open the burn dialog and write to disc

CLI Workflow

$ redbookmaster

Welcome to Red Book Master!

? What would you like to do?
> Create new project

? Album title: My Awesome Album
? Artist/Performer: The Band
? Add WAV files now? Yes
? WAV file path: /path/to/track1.wav
✓ Added: Track 1 (3:42)
? WAV file path: /path/to/track2.wav
⚠ File is not Red Book compliant: Sample rate is 48000Hz (need 44100Hz)
? What would you like to do?
> Convert automatically
⟳ Converting to Red Book format...
✓ Conversion complete: 48000Hz -> 44100Hz
✓ Added: Track 2 (4:15)

? Save project as: my-awesome-album.rbm
✓ Project saved

Audio Format Conversion

Red Book Master automatically handles non-compliant WAV files:

Input Format	Conversion
48kHz, 96kHz, etc.	Resampled to 44.1kHz (high-quality FFT resampling)
24-bit, 32-bit	Converted to 16-bit with TPDF dithering
Mono	Duplicated to stereo
32-bit float	Converted to 16-bit integer

Red Book Specifications

The tool enforces the following CD-DA (Red Book) specifications:

Specification	Requirement
Audio format	16-bit, 44.1kHz, stereo PCM
Maximum tracks	99
Maximum duration	79:57
Minimum track duration	4 seconds
Track 1 pregap	2 seconds (default)
ISRC format	CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN (country-registrant-year-designation)
MCN format	13 digits (UPC/EAN with check digit)

Project Files

Projects are saved as .rbm files (JSON format) in a project directory:

MyAlbum_rbm/
├── MyAlbum.rbm           # Project file (JSON)
├── _transcoded/          # Converted files (if any)
│   └── 01_track.wav
├── myalbum.wav           # Master WAV (after export)
├── myalbum.cue           # CUE sheet
└── myalbum.toc           # TOC file for cdrdao

Project files contain:

• Album metadata (title, performer, songwriter, catalog number)
• Track list with individual metadata (title, performer, ISRC)
• Gap configurations (pregap, postgap per track)
• CD-TEXT information

Output Formats

Single WAV + CUE (Recommended)

Concatenates all tracks into a single WAV file with proper gaps, plus:

• .cue - CUE sheet with CD-TEXT
• .toc - cdrdao TOC file for burning

Best for CD burning and replication.

Multi-file CUE

Generates a CUE sheet referencing original WAV files. Useful for software playback but requires all source files to be present.

External Dependencies

cdrdao (for CD burning)

cdrdao is required only for the "Burn CD" feature.

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install cdrdao

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install cdrdao

# Fedora
sudo dnf install cdrdao

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S cdrdao

Red Book Master automatically searches for cdrdao in:

• System PATH
• /opt/homebrew/bin/cdrdao (Homebrew on Apple Silicon)
• /usr/local/bin/cdrdao (Homebrew on Intel Mac)
• /usr/bin/cdrdao (Linux)

Rust Dependencies

Crate	Purpose
slint	GUI framework (GUI only)
clap	Command-line argument parsing (CLI only)
inquire	Interactive prompts and menus (CLI only)
hound	WAV file reading and writing
rodio	Audio playback
rubato	High-quality audio resampling
rfd	Native file dialogs
serde / serde_json	Project file serialization
dirs	User preferences directory
colored	Terminal colors (CLI only)
thiserror	Error handling
chrono	Timestamps
indicatif	Progress bars (CLI only)

Tips

1. Use lower burn speeds - 4x or 8x is recommended for audio CDs
2. Simulate first - Use the "Simulate only" option before actual burning
3. Check track gaps - Default is 2s for track 1, 0 for others
4. Preview playback - Listen to tracks before exporting
5. Export before burning - The burn dialog requires an exported TOC file
6. CD-TEXT compatibility - Some drives don't support CD-TEXT; disable if burning fails

Troubleshooting

"cdrdao is not installed"

Even if cdrdao is in your PATH, the program searches specific locations. Install via Homebrew on macOS or your system package manager on Linux.

Audio playback not working

Ensure you have a working audio output device. The program uses the system default audio output.

Conversion taking too long

Large files (especially high sample rates) take longer to convert. The FFT-based resampler prioritizes quality over speed.

CD-TEXT burning fails

Some drives don't support CD-TEXT with the --driver generic-mmc-raw option. Disable the "Enable CD-TEXT" option in the burn dialog and try again.

GUI window size not saving

Window size is saved to ~/Library/Application Support/redbookmaster/preferences.json on macOS. Delete this file to reset preferences.

License

This software is licensed under a Personal Use License. You are free to use, modify, and share the software for personal, educational, or internal business purposes at no cost.

You may NOT sell, commercially distribute, or bundle this software with paid products.

For commercial licensing inquiries, contact: mathias.karstaedt@gmail.com

See the LICENSE file for full terms.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

Acknowledgments

• Slint - Modern GUI framework
• hound - WAV file handling
• rodio - Audio playback
• rubato - High-quality resampling
• cdrdao - CD burning