Converting WAV to mp3 on an Intel Mac

[carol m 66]

I recorded a mulit-track song using Reaper for Mac and consolidated it as WAV. Now I need to convert it to mp3. I tried a few months ago to download lame for macs from Soundforge (I'm not sure if it was them) and it didn't work - had the wrong endings or something.

So does anyone know of a reliable WAV to mp3 encoder. There are a few from googling, but they all seem to have their problems of various sorts.

I think I could open up the final Reaper file (saved before consolidating) and consolidate it into AIFF. Is it a better solution to convert from AIFF to mp3, and if so, what encoder is good to use?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[eddiez152 129]

Carol m,

I use a program called SWITCH

Here is the link

Switch Plus Audio Converter Software Download Page

Now let me see if I can find something for free out there.

The other option is to take the wav file drag it into Garage Band and compress it to an mp3 format. Easy to do.

It will do it to a Wav or Aiff file

Or send me the wav file and let me convert it for you.

eddie

[carol m 66]

Thanks for the info Eddie. I remembered you told me about Switch before (doh!) and have downloaded it and it works well.

However, I 'Render to File'-ed it in the Mac Reaper, and it was full of pops and clicks!

I changed the render settings to a lower 'Resample Rate (if required) to 'good 64pt' instead of 'better 192pt' and checked the Noise Shaping box for smoother rendering, and that's better, but still a few pops and clicks.

I recorded in WAV 16bit, and rendered to WAV 16 bit, and the master track does not show clipping (red) but is definitely in th orange zone. There's no problem now with the mp3 conversion.

Any ideas how to get rid of the remaining clicks and pops anyone?

[carol m 66]

Now I'm stuck. I reduced the master track volume on the final mix to make sure it wasn't clipping and rendered it again....and I still have the first render audio even tho I saved/renamed/rendered it differently.

How do I get back to the audio before I rendered it the first time???? I saved a copy of the audio in Reaper before I rendered it the first time, but when I open that rpp file and render it again, it still results in the original higher vol rendered version, not the pre-rendered version with reduced master vol. I could be getting confused.

[eddiez152 129]

Try the original wav file again.

[carol m 66]

I think I've found a copy of it before it was rendered the first time, but how can I be sure there are no clicks and pops in the rendered file when I try rendering it again? The first time, the master track was going into the top of orange, just below the point where, if you go into the red, the red stays lit up, and I got clicks and pops anyway.

So is there another cause of clicks and pops? Or a way to reduce the risk of clicks and pops? If I reduce the master track volume to less than 0.0 db it is still in the orange area - do I have to go even lower?

Has it anything to do with the bit rates, sampling rates, or the speed of the computer/ram? I did close every other program that was open before I rendered it to be safe, but it didn't stop the clicks and pops anyway.

I've not used Reaper for Mac before, and have never had clicks or pops before either. Any tips?

[eddiez152 129]

Carol m,

I found this about pop and clicks in Audacity

Removing Pops and Clicks with Audacity | Silicon Valley User Group Alliance

Here is another

How to Remove Pop Sounds From Audio Tracks | eHow.com

Here is one for the Mac

Audio: Removing Clicks And Pops

[carol m 66]

Thanks for those links Eddie - I think it might be something to do with checking the Noise Shaping option which seems to have some sort of audio boost mechanism to be used if you are reducing the bit size from the recording to the rendered file. I'll try again without that checked and see what happens.