Author Topic: Wav splitting on a Mac? (Read 12823 times)

Brian E. · « **on:** August 16, 2009, 02:35:38 PM »

CDWAVE is a no-go on Macs, and that's what I used to use. I have Audacity, but I don't see a track split option. Help!

splitting a 24-bit 48K recording.

E@rl · « **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2009, 03:22:46 PM »

Create a label at the part where you want to split the tracks ( Tracks> create label at selection) and then use the (File> export multiple) function to create two .wav tracks.

If you have the beta version you can export them straight to .flac... or whatever type of file you'd like... hope that helps...

Brian E. · « **Reply #2 on:** August 16, 2009, 03:52:38 PM »

thanks I will try that

dean · « **Reply #3 on:** August 16, 2009, 05:40:54 PM »

Not sure if this is what you're after or if E@rl's got you covered, but if you're trying to work on just one channel, on the left side of the wav there's a scroll down that allows you to "split stereo track" and "make stereo track" (once it's been split).

Brian E. · « **Reply #4 on:** August 16, 2009, 05:56:26 PM »

just looking to track shows by song. I found the easiest way was to plug my external in a PC and use CDWAVE, haha. Wish I could find a similar mac product.

printguy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 16, 2009, 05:59:06 PM »

Quote from: Brian Emerick on August 16, 2009, 05:56:26 PM

just looking to track shows by song. I found the easiest way was to plug my external in a PC and use CDWAVE, haha. Wish I could find a similar mac product.

Fission: http://rogueamoeba.com/fission/

Super easy to use. And Mac only. Try it for free...

Brian E. · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2009, 06:12:46 PM »

thanks chris!

dean · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2009, 06:15:10 PM »

Quote from: Brian Emerick on August 16, 2009, 05:56:26 PM

just looking to track shows by song. I found the easiest way was to plug my external in a PC and use CDWAVE, haha. Wish I could find a similar mac product.

Oh, gotcha. It's easier if you use labels in Audacity instead of the method E@rl described, IMO. So you've got the full show up, follow these instructions:
1. Find where you want to split the track and set your cursor there. You MUST make a mark where you want your first track in Audacity. Everything before that first track mark doesn't export when you set tracks this way.
2. From the top menu, select Project, scroll down to Add Label At Selection. (If it's the first track or last track, you'll want to do your fades immediately by selecting that track marker, drag the cursor to where you want the fade to start/stop, then make the fade).
3. Make the rest of your tracks, and when done, from the top menu, select File, then scroll down to Export Multiple, then...
4. Task box pops up, select WAV, select your location, select Numbering Consecutively (then make any changes in the naming box if you want), then Export. It will number your wavs for you do to the Numbering Consecutively selection.

It'll create an "extra" track with all the wav following your last track marker. Just delete that file and you've got a fully tracked out show.

And of course, on a Mac you may need to fix SBE's (I use xACT), though I know there's a method of creating your tracks in Audacity so SBE's aren't created to begin with. If you do a search here you'll find it in one of the many Audacity threads. I'm just so accustomed to doing it the other way it's become a habit.

E@rl · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2009, 07:14:32 PM »

Quote from: deanlambrecht on August 16, 2009, 06:15:10 PM

Quote from: Brian Emerick on August 16, 2009, 05:56:26 PM
just looking to track shows by song. I found the easiest way was to plug my external in a PC and use CDWAVE, haha. Wish I could find a similar mac product.

Oh, gotcha. It's easier if you use labels in Audacity instead of the method E@rl described, IMO. So you've got the full show up, follow these instructions:
1. Find where you want to split the track and set your cursor there. You MUST make a mark where you want your first track in Audacity. Everything before that first track mark doesn't export when you set tracks this way.
2. From the top menu, select Project, scroll down to Add Label At Selection. (If it's the first track or last track, you'll want to do your fades immediately by selecting that track marker, drag the cursor to where you want the fade to start/stop, then make the fade).
3. Make the rest of your tracks, and when done, from the top menu, select File, then scroll down to Export Multiple, then...
4. Task box pops up, select WAV, select your location, select Numbering Consecutively (then make any changes in the naming box if you want), then Export. It will number your wavs for you do to the Numbering Consecutively selection.

It'll create an "extra" track with all the wav following your last track marker. Just delete that file and you've got a fully tracked out show.

And of course, on a Mac you may need to fix SBE's (I use xACT), though I know there's a method of creating your tracks in Audacity so SBE's aren't created to begin with. If you do a search here you'll find it in one of the many Audacity threads. I'm just so accustomed to doing it the other way it's become a habit.

This is what i was going for just didnt want to type it all out... plus i wasnt sure if you were tracking out a show or just splitting one track.

greenone · « **Reply #9 on:** August 20, 2009, 10:50:50 PM »

Dean (or anyone) - how do you get the export at 24-bit wav? I have a 24/96 file that I'm splitting but I don't have just plain "WAV" in my Export Format dropdown - it gives me the 16-bit wav/aiff option but no 24-bit option. I can do "Other uncompressed files" but when I select WAV and 24-bit there, it exports as 16/96. And am I correct that there's no need to fix SBE's on 24-bit files?

Update - export as 24-bit FLAC appears to work correctly so I'm mystified as to why 24-bit WAV won't work. What am I doing wrong?

dean · « **Reply #10 on:** August 21, 2009, 08:14:06 AM »

Quote from: greenone on August 20, 2009, 10:50:50 PM

Dean (or anyone) - how do you get the export at 24-bit wav? I have a 24/96 file that I'm splitting but I don't have just plain "WAV" in my Export Format dropdown - it gives me the 16-bit wav/aiff option but no 24-bit option. I can do "Other uncompressed files" but when I select WAV and 24-bit there, it exports as 16/96. And am I correct that there's no need to fix SBE's on 24-bit files?

Update - export as 24-bit FLAC appears to work correctly so I'm mystified as to why 24-bit WAV won't work. What am I doing wrong?

It seems like you're doing it right from your description, but when I do what I think you're doing as described above, it def exports as 24 bit. I use an older version of Audacity, so I hope they haven't changed anything in regards to 24 bit export. Here's the exact path I use - perhaps I'm doing something you missed??
Audacity>
Preferences>
In the "Uncompressed Export Format section, select the dropdown/scrollbar>
It's likely set to "WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM)", so select "Other">
This creates a pop up box, in the Header selection, select WAV, in the Encoding selection, select "Signed 24 bit PCM", then OK>
Select OK on the main Preferences menu

Should be good to go as best I can tell.

And you're correct, no need nor ability to fix SBEs in 24 bit. It's not recognized as "CD quality" or something like that, which is the "error message" that pops when I tried to fix 'em at 24 bit in xACT.

HTH. Let me know if I misread you.

greenone · « **Reply #11 on:** August 21, 2009, 10:09:13 PM »

I'm not doing it in Preferences, but selecting it from the dialogue when I hit Export Multiple. I'm not running the absolutely latest Audacity - 1.3.6 - but pretty close. It's not a huge deal as I don't usually work with 24-bit files in my workflow (these are from another taper), so as long as the FLAC export works fine, I'll live with it. Thanks

dean · « **Reply #12 on:** August 22, 2009, 12:24:09 PM »

Quote from: greenone on August 21, 2009, 10:09:13 PM

I'm not doing it in Preferences, but selecting it from the dialogue when I hit Export Multiple. I'm not running the absolutely latest Audacity - 1.3.6 - but pretty close. It's not a huge deal as I don't usually work with 24-bit files in my workflow (these are from another taper), so as long as the FLAC export works fine, I'll live with it. Thanks

Oh, yep, you'll have to change it back and forth in the preferences if you want to avoid the flac output. I'm not yet running a flac output version, but I'd actually prefer that, so maybe it's time for me to download the latest Audacity.

willndmb · « **Reply #13 on:** August 23, 2009, 10:09:13 PM »

if you are using audacity export to 16/44 first

Simp-Dawg · « **Reply #14 on:** January 30, 2010, 01:14:22 PM »

instead of starting a new thread i thought this might be a good one to resurrect...i posted this in team osx not long ago but didn't get much feedback.
anyway, found this recently:
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/xK3Vqu7Viv0/winebottler-turns-windows-programs-into-standalone-os-x-applications

i figure some clever nerdy type out there could figure out how to "bottle" cd wave editor into a standalone osx ap with this utility. i tried it but didn't know what i was doing and thus didn't get very far. anyone wanna give it a try?

scb · « **Reply #15 on:** January 31, 2010, 10:51:49 AM »

i still don't see why mac users need to use cd wave. tracking is simple in plenty of mac apps....

Todd R · « **Reply #16 on:** January 31, 2010, 11:47:12 AM »

Quote from: scb on January 31, 2010, 10:51:49 AM

i still don't see why mac users need to use cd wave. tracking is simple in plenty of mac apps....

QFT. When I first moved back to mac, I wanted CDWav since I liked it so much and was used to it. Now I really don't have any real interest. I'm using Amadeus for both editing and tracking, and it works great. I haven't followed the latest releases of CDWav, but Amadeus gives me pretty much the same capabilities, plus it allows me to save directly to a variety of formats, including flac and mp3. It even allows tagging I believe, though I haven't been using that feature.

Not to say Amadeus is the only choice, just reiterating that there are plenty of mac track splitting programs, and many might even supply functionality that goes beyond cdwav.

Simp-Dawg · « **Reply #17 on:** January 31, 2010, 06:42:42 PM »

how many of them are free though?

page · « **Reply #18 on:** January 31, 2010, 06:46:24 PM »

Quote from: Simp-Dawg on January 31, 2010, 06:42:42 PM

how many of them are free though?

Audacity (which I use as an all in one). To it's credit, it's the only one that tracks that is free off the top of my head.

printguy · « **Reply #19 on:** January 31, 2010, 08:29:47 PM »

Quote from: Simp-Dawg on January 31, 2010, 06:42:42 PM

how many of them are free though?

Some are free... But why not splurge and spend $20 to support a program developer?

Simp-Dawg · « **Reply #20 on:** January 31, 2010, 09:04:24 PM »

Quote from: printguy on January 31, 2010, 08:29:47 PM

Quote from: Simp-Dawg on January 31, 2010, 06:42:42 PM
how many of them are free though?
Some are free... But why not splurge and spend $20 to support a program developer?

and i may do just that, if i cannot get the features i'm looking for for free. i generally have no problem purchasing a piece of functional software, assuming it does exactly what i need it to do. if a free alternative is available though, i will go that route. at the same time, in the interest of supporting developers i would probably rather donate to a freeware developer than purchase a paid version if the freeware does just what i need.

in this case, it's not so much about finding a mac alternative for splitting tracks, i'm posting this in the interest of generating a "proof of concept" for porting cd wave editor (or other great windows utilities) to the mac where a simple, free alternative doesn't exist, such as in this case. i'm sure i can track with audacity but the workflow of cd wave editor is a compelling reason for me to want to try getting it to work on mac, and that's why i'm asking if anyone here has the knowledge and ability to "bottle" cd wave with the aforementioned wine bottler utility.

Əkoostikal · « **Reply #21 on:** January 31, 2010, 09:22:42 PM »

I am a VERY pleased user of Amadeus.... It doesn't get any easier to track than that prog and splits on sector boundaries and export to flac with metadata. It's the only prog. I use to track shows on my OSX system.

Todd R · « **Reply #22 on:** January 31, 2010, 10:32:45 PM »

Quote from: Simp-Dawg on January 31, 2010, 06:42:42 PM

how many of them are free though?

Damn grad students -- always on a shoestring budget.

Well, CDwav is supposed to be $15 if you use it beyond the trial period, so technically it isn't free either. Amadeus is $40, so not free, but only $25 more than CDwav and it is a full featured editor as well. I guess Audacity is the ticket for free, though I don't know how user-friendly the tracking is.

Not to shoot down the wine bottle thing, though I have no idea how to accomplish it to get it to bottle up CDwav. But I'm very happy as well with Amadeus -- it works great start to finish with getting shows transferred and tracked.

Brian E. · « **Reply #23 on:** January 31, 2010, 10:37:30 PM »

i didn't realize there was a way to just put markers in Audacity and then have it auto-split upon save.

page · « **Reply #24 on:** January 31, 2010, 10:55:06 PM »

Quote from: Todd R on January 31, 2010, 10:32:45 PM

I guess Audacity is the ticket for free, though I don't know how user-friendly the tracking is.

Open your giant wav file.

Hit Apple+B where you want a new track to begin. It creates a little marker below the channel (see pic below).

If you set it to CDDA Frames prior to placing the label and selecting "snap to", then you cut on sector boundaries as well. (also see pic below)

Quote from: Brian Emerick on January 31, 2010, 10:37:30 PM

i didn't realize there was a way to just put markers in Audacity and then have it auto-split upon save.

All of this is easier to accomplish in the v1.3X and up world, 1.2.6 took more effort if I remember correctly as this and the "processing the wav file while it's loading" instead of just waiting till it's done opening as two features that made me upgrade.

it-goes-to-eleven · « **Reply #25 on:** January 31, 2010, 11:21:03 PM »

Quote from: scb on January 31, 2010, 10:51:49 AM

i still don't see why mac users need to use cd wave. tracking is simple in plenty of mac apps....

The cdwave UI is really outstanding... I can't really think of how it could be quicker for tracking shows. Most alternatives are clunky in comparison.

scb · « **Reply #26 on:** February 04, 2010, 09:38:26 AM »

Quote from: Freelunch on January 31, 2010, 11:21:03 PM

Quote from: scb on January 31, 2010, 10:51:49 AM
i still don't see why mac users need to use cd wave. tracking is simple in plenty of mac apps....

The cdwave UI is really outstanding... I can't really think of how it could be quicker for tracking shows. Most alternatives are clunky in comparison.

i click on a spot for a new track and hit a keystroke for a track marker. then simply export the markers. i've been doing that in a few different mac apps since 1999. nothing clunky about that, and I don't really see how it could be faster.

I'm not saying CD WAV sucks, I just don't see how trying to get a windows app to work on the mac is a "better" solution than having the native mac app that works the same or even better in some cases (more functionality if you want it)

page · « **Reply #27 on:** February 05, 2010, 01:55:03 AM »

Quote from: scb on February 04, 2010, 09:38:26 AM

Quote from: Freelunch on January 31, 2010, 11:21:03 PM
Quote from: scb on January 31, 2010, 10:51:49 AM
i still don't see why mac users need to use cd wave. tracking is simple in plenty of mac apps....

The cdwave UI is really outstanding... I can't really think of how it could be quicker for tracking shows. Most alternatives are clunky in comparison.

i click on a spot for a new track and hit a keystroke for a track marker. then simply export the markers. i've been doing that in a few different mac apps since 1999. nothing clunky about that, and I don't really see how it could be faster.

I'm not saying CD WAV sucks, I just don't see how trying to get a windows app to work on the mac is a "better" solution than having the native mac app that works the same or even better in some cases (more functionality if you want it)

agreed

it-goes-to-eleven · « **Reply #28 on:** February 05, 2010, 03:11:59 AM »

Quote from: scb on February 04, 2010, 09:38:26 AM

i've been doing that in a few different mac apps since 1999. nothing clunky about that, and I don't really see how it could be faster.

Good UI design is a wonderful thing. It rarely happens by chance. It especially defies belief that a random selection of dated programs are all somehow equivalent at it.

Cdwave is designed to do one task very well.. Audacity pales in comparison. Wavbreaker could match it, with some enhancements. Those tools, like the others I have tried, require more steps and time to complete the task.

Doing the track split in the main processing program is ideal, but it is typically clunky in comparison.

scb · « **Reply #29 on:** February 05, 2010, 09:53:05 AM »

Quote from: Freelunch on February 05, 2010, 03:11:59 AM

Good UI design is a wonderful thing. It rarely happens by chance. It especially defies belief that a random selection of dated programs are all somehow equivalent at it.

Does this mean I'm making it up?

The ability to create a marker and then export the markers is not a complex thing. Most apps have that ability. The rest of the interface to do processing might be "clunky," but you don't have to deal with the rest of the interface to just make some markers and export. If you really want to get CD Wav working in "OS X," I'm sure you can. But you might find that other mac apps do it just as well.

Simp-Dawg · « **Reply #30 on:** February 05, 2010, 05:22:25 PM »

i appreciate the debate, but all i'm asking is if this can be done. whether another program can accomplish the task is a moot point in my mind.

this is what i'm saying:
1. many of us windows guys are familiar with cd wave, and there's nothing not to like about it's dead simple interface
2. it ain't on mac
3. wine bottler purports to be able to run windows apps on a mac
4. will it work with cd wave?

i believe that your way is also good and simple...but that's not what i'm asking.

ebernet · « **Reply #31 on:** December 13, 2010, 05:19:39 PM »

I use Wave Editor from AudioFile Engineering. It is pricy ($80) but has great SRC/dither, the workflow is pretty good (once you get it down) and they are VERY responsive to ideas. I am working on them to expand the tagging and make it brain dead easy for us tapers.

Brian E. · « **Reply #32 on:** December 13, 2010, 05:24:09 PM »

I ended up just using Audacity and once I figured it out it works great

burris · « **Reply #33 on:** December 13, 2010, 05:49:31 PM »

I just ran CDWave and tracked a file under Wine using MacPorts Wine. Worked OK though there was a temporary drawing issue and I think it barfed on a zero length track at the end. Give it a shot. I've never used CDWave before though I might give it a go.

acidjack · « **Reply #34 on:** September 26, 2011, 10:01:36 PM »

Bumping this topic. I've been using Audacity for tracking, but the current beta has become massively unstable and hang-prone on my computer and I don't know why, since Audition seems to work fine. In any event, I need an alternative. I'd rather not spend money but I guess I'm going to have to. Is Fission the best thing?

Specifically, I want to be able to do what Audacity does, with adding labels that are track names at each break point, then exporting fully tagged FLACs that correspond to each label. My favorite thing about Audacity is that you don't have to deal with two steps.

Any thoughts?

Related: Has anyone had serious problems with Audacity since installing the new OS? Because that's about when my problems started.

Brian E. · « **Reply #35 on:** September 26, 2011, 11:09:41 PM »

I have Lion and Audacity, and have no issues.

acidjack · « **Reply #36 on:** September 27, 2011, 02:36:35 PM »

^^ Uggh.. Then I'm really not sure what is going on. I haven't messed with any settings or anything AFAIK; it just suddenly stopped working in a stable fashion, especially with large files...

Fried Chicken Boy · « **Reply #37 on:** September 29, 2011, 02:28:50 AM »

You should be able to do batch processing of marked tracks in Audition (add labels, export individual tracks/files, etc). Pretty straightforward and there's a step-by-step here > http://forums.adobe.com/thread/852255