How to cut, convert and record
sound with Nova Audio

Before you start

Nova Audio runs in your web browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for. It is built for phones first and works the same on tablets and computers.

The screen at a glance

Nova Audio has a few simple screens. The first one lets you choose a file or record. Then you see the editor, then a screen that shows your finished file. This is the editor on a phone:

The four tools and the Menu

Nova Audio has four tools. They share one editor, so they work almost the same way. Only the first screen and the last button change.

Switch tools with the Menu

Tap ⋯ at the top right to open the Menu. Under Tools tap another tool. The file you opened stays open, so you can open a song in the MP3 cutter, then switch to the Ringtone maker without choosing it again. A tick shows the tool you are in.

Under More you find About Nova Audio, All free tools, and links to Nova Clip (edit videos), Nova Studio (edit photos) and Nova Animate (draw cartoons).

MP3 cutter

Cut a song or any audio file down to the part you want.

1. Tap Choose an audio file (or drop a file on the page on a computer). Nova Audio shows Reading the sound… and then the editor.
2. Drag the two handles, or use Start here and End here, to pick the part. See Pick the part.
3. Tap the play button to listen to just that part.
4. Add a fade or make it louder in More options if you like.
5. Under Save as choose MP3, M4A or WAV, and the quality.
6. Tap Cut and save, then Save file on the next screen.

The new file keeps the name of the original and adds -cut, for example song-cut.mp3, so the original is never changed.

Video to MP3

Save the sound of a video as an MP3. You can also keep just the part you want.

1. Tap Choose a video and pick a video from your phone or computer (MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, MKV or 3GP).
2. The editor shows the sound of the video as a wave. By default the whole sound is kept. Drag the handles if you want only a part.
3. Tap Save as MP3, then Save file.

The file gets the name of the video with the new ending, for example holiday.mp3. The video itself is not changed and is not uploaded.

Ringtone maker

Make a ringtone from any song, for Android or for iPhone.

1. Tap Choose a song and pick the file.
2. Under Ringtone for choose Android (MP3, up to 40 seconds) or iPhone (M4R, up to 30 seconds).
3. If the song is longer than the limit, Nova Audio starts on the loudest stretch of that length. Move the handles to pick the part you really want. The part cannot be longer than the limit.
4. Under Quality choose Small, Good or Best. A 1 s fade out is already on, so the ringtone ends gently. Change it in More options.
5. Tap Make my ringtone. When it is ready the screen says Your ringtone is ready. Tap Save file.

Using the ringtone

• Android: the ringtone is an MP3. Most phones are happy with 30 seconds or less. In your phone's Settings, open Sound, then Phone ringtone, and choose the file.
• iPhone: the ringtone is saved as M4R. Add the file with Finder on a Mac (or iTunes on Windows), or open it in GarageBand. Then pick it in Settings, Sounds & Haptics, Ringtone. Nova Audio shows these steps on the finished screen too.

Voice recorder

Record your voice, take the background noise out, and save it as an MP3.

1. On the first screen tap Record your voice. (In the other tools it is called Or record your voice.)
2. Allow the microphone when your browser asks. If you tapped Block before, see the microphone fix.
3. Tap the red button to start. A level bar moves while you speak and a timer counts up. Your screen stays on while you record.
4. Tap the red button again to stop. You can record up to 30 minutes at a time.
5. Your recording opens in the editor, named Recording with the date and time. Cut off the start and end with the handles.
6. In More options (it is already open in this tool) turn on the Noise remover if there is hiss, a fan or a hum, and choose Louder if the recording is quiet.
7. Tap Save recording, then Save file.

Tap Back on the recording screen to go back without recording. You can also choose a file that is already on your device with Or choose a file and clean it the same way.

Pick the part

The sound wave shows your sound over time: tall bars are loud, short bars are quiet. The part you keep is bright. The rest is dimmed.

• Drag the handles. The left handle sets the start and the right handle sets the end. A line at the edge of each handle is the exact point.
• Tap or drag on the wave to move the play position without changing the part.
• Start here / End here. Play the sound, and tap these at the exact moment you want. It is often quicker than dragging.
• Start and End with − and +. Each tap moves the point by a tenth of a second. Hold the button and it repeats, then speeds up.
• Zoom in. Tap Zoom in (the button says Show all while you are zoomed) to see only your part and a little around it, so the handles are easier to place.
• Play. The play button plays only the part you picked, with your fades, and stops at the end. Tap it again to pause.

The line under the wave shows the play position and, after Keeping, how long the part is. Below the player a line such as Saves 0:12.3 as MP3, about 190 KB. tells you what the saved file will be. A part must be at least a tenth of a second long.

Fade and volume

Open More options under the buttons. It lists fade, volume and the noise remover.

• Fade in: Off, 1 s, 2 s or 3 s. The sound starts softly instead of with a jump.
• Fade out: the same choices. The sound ends gently. A one or two second fade out hides a cut in the middle of a song.
• Volume: Same keeps the loudness. Louder lifts the quietest recordings, as far as it can without spoiling the sound. You hear the change after you save.

You hear the fades when you play the part, before you save.

Noise remover

(PRO tag, free for now.) The Noise remover takes out steady noise such as hiss, a fan or a hum. It is in More options, with four choices: Off, Low, Medium and High.

• It learns what the noise sounds like from the quietest moments, then takes a little more than that away from the whole recording.
• Low is gentle and leaves the voice natural. High removes the most noise, but can make a voice sound a little thin. Try Medium first.
• It works best when there are a few quiet moments to learn from, and on up to 10 minutes at a time. For a longer file, pick a shorter part. The line above the save button warns you: The noise remover works on up to 10 minutes.
• While it works, the screen says Cleaning the sound… and shows a bar. Keep the page open.

Save as: format and quality

Under Save as choose the kind of file. (The Ringtone maker chooses it for you from Android or iPhone, and shows only Quality.)

For MP3 and M4A choose the Quality: Small (64 kbps), Good (128 kbps) or Best (192 kbps). Higher is clearer and the file is bigger. Good is right for most things. WAV has no quality choice.

The line above the save button shows the length and about how big the file will be. If WAV would be too big, the line turns into a warning: WAV is too big for this length. Pick MP3 or M4A, or a shorter part.

While Nova Audio makes the file, you see Making your file… with a bar. Keep this page open. Tap Cancel to stop.

When your file is ready

The last screen says Your file is ready (or Your ringtone is ready). It shows the file name, its size and its length.

• The player lets you listen to the finished file before you keep it.
• Save file downloads it to your device. On a phone it goes to your Downloads folder.
• Share opens your phone's share menu so you can send the file to WhatsApp or another app. It appears only if your device can share files.
• Change something takes you back to the editor with your choices still there. Change the part, the fade or the format and save again.
• Start with another file goes back to the first screen.

Files and limits

• Files you can open: MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, OGG, Opus, FLAC, and the sound of MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, MKV and 3GP videos, as long as your browser can read them.
• Files you can save: MP3, M4A and WAV, and M4R from the Ringtone maker.
• Recording: up to 30 minutes at a time.
• Noise remover: up to 10 minutes at a time.
• Ringtones: up to 40 seconds for Android and 30 seconds for iPhone.
• Very big files: a browser that cannot read a file piece by piece has to hold all of it in memory, and then very large files are refused with This file is too big for this browser to open. Try a smaller file, or a computer.

Privacy and offline

• Private. Your files are read, cut and saved on your device. They are never uploaded, and your recordings are not sent anywhere.
• No account, no watermark. Nothing is added to your sound.
• Offline. After your first visit the page can open without a connection. The MP3 maker (and on some browsers the M4A maker) is saved the first time you use it.
• Nothing is kept between visits. Nova Audio does not keep your files after you close the page, so save the finished file before you leave.

Ideas to try

Keyboard (computer)

On a computer you can move the handles with the keyboard. Click a handle first so that it is in focus.

You can also drag a file from your computer onto the page to open it.

Common problems

Still stuck? Visit the Help Center, or write to team@novaclip.tech with your phone model and browser.