sound editing: tool for .wma -> remove cruft -> .mp3

[Tom Roche]

I've got some Windows Media audio (.wma) files that

- are overlong, since they contain inaudible or useless bits

- I want to be able to play on my MP3 player

Several Linux tools (I like `pacpl`) will do the transcoding (i.e., .wma -> .mp3), but I want to do the following (unless there's A Better Way) for each .wma file:

1. Convert the .wma file into a raw-format (e.g., .wav or .raw) file.

2. Edit the raw-format file to remove unwanted portions.

3. If necessary, catenate the wanted bits back into a single file.

4. Convert the edited file to .mp3.

Extra credit for a tool that will also allow me to adjust the playback balance: these were event recordings and speakers were at varying distances from the mic.

Nothing fancy, but I'd appreciate recommendations for The Tool For The Job--esp from folks who have actually used the tool :-) Experience is preferred because, the last time I had a roughly-similar requirement (~5 years ago in a galaxy far away--but it also involved video, now that I think about it), the Linux recommendations I got all proved useless, and I had to use a local Mac (to which I no longer have access) with Final Cut Pro.

FWIW, I'm running Debian 8.

your assistance is appreciated, Tom Roche <Tom_Roche at pobox.com>