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Thread: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to MP3?

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    Default Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to MP3?

    I used to have a program that would convert wav audio files to MP3. I don't have it anymore, and I'm guessing it's because it was incompatible with my new computer, which uses Windows 10.

    I record things on Easy Voice Recorder in my Kindle Fire, and the audio is very good (considering how rudimentary this methods is. But it really is good!)

    I have two tunes I recorded that I want to convert to MP3 and then put them on YouTube.

    I just tried to upload a wav file of one of the tunes (Baby Ben, me playing it) to this thread, but it would not upload.

    Anyone have any solutions for me here?

    Thanks in advance for anyone who posts to this thread!

    Stringalong

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    I use Audacity. It's a free download, and pretty easy to use.
    https://www.audacityteam.org/

    Gordon

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    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    You should be able to import a wav file into Audacity (the free audio recording program) then export it as an mp3. I have had a quick look at this on my PC which runs on Windows 10 and it seems to work fine. When I am recording for the MC site and YouTube I use REAPER as my DAW, record amd mix in wav format then RENDER to mp3 format for using on the video clips I make. Wav files are very much bigger than mp3 so this is maybe why you cannot get them to upload?
    Hope this helps.
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  6. #4

    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    You can change wavs into mp3s in ITunes.
    File--add file to library.
    Then convert.........after you make mp3 your import choice

    I have also converted wavs to mp3 in REAPER and Audacity

  7. #5

    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Thank you all for replying. Turns out I already have Audacity. But File/Export audio is greyed out. What can I do about that?

    Stringalong

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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Quote Originally Posted by stringalong View Post
    Thank you all for replying. Turns out I already have Audacity. But File/Export audio is greyed out. What can I do about that?

    Stringalong
    I think you first have to import the wav file into Audacity. Then you can export same as mp3.
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    You need to download the Lame mp3 library. All explained in the Audacity manual. I think the newest versions of Audacity now include the library.

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  12. #8

    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Quote Originally Posted by stringalong View Post
    ... I want to convert to MP3 and then put them on YouTube. ...
    Well, unless something has changed...

    You can't upload audio-only files to YouTube, whether mp3 or wav or whatever other audio-only format.

    To upload to YouTube, the file has to be in a *video* format. Such as, for instance, mp4 (note the 4, not 3) etc. And no, of course, you can't just change the extension letters from mp3 to mp4, it doesn't work that way.

    So you'd first need to use some sort of video-creation app (there are a bunch of them to choose from), [1] and create a video in which your audio file(s) form the audio track for the video.

    For your video's visual/picture part, you can use anything, it doesn't have to be fancy, just a single picture or even a solid-color background would suffice if you wanted to keep it simple.

    Misc.: I see other people sometimes using various audio-only sites such as SoundCloud or whatever, to put their audio-only files onto (I've never tried any of the audio-only sites myself), so there are apparently other ways to put your audio onto the internet besides making videos for YouTube. I have no personal experience with SoundCloud though, other than hearing perpetual rumors of its impending demise, so I can't advise one way or the other about SoundCloud etc. Maybe someone else can provide more info about audio-only sites to put one's music on?


    But aside from that pesky little detail, pretty much what everyone else above said.


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    Footnote:
    1. I currently use the absurdly overpriced Adobe After Effects app as my video editor/creator, but that app is way beyond what most people need, in fact it's way beyond what *I* need and for me I found it to have a very steep learning curve (i.e., took me forever to figure out how to use it). But I'm intrigued by the possibilities of someday improving my meager animation skills so that's why I keep using AE even though I barely scratch the surface of what it's capable of. I started out, a few years ago, using the free Windows Movie Maker which worked great (and was easy to learn) until I decided I wanted layers which WMM wasn't capable of, so that was when I switched to AE instead.

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    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    What Jim said re importing the file into Audacity then Exporting it again. On my version (2.3.2) the option to import and export is there when I click on FILE on the toolbar. Mclaugh points out the need to have the LAME mp3 loaded into Audacity; version 2.3.2 seems to have it there.

    I was a user of Soundcloud for some time, both the free option then one of the pay versions, and it was fine for uploading audio-only files. I stopped using it because the type of music I was posting (Scottish trad on mandolin) was otherwise hardly seen. Soundcloud seems to cater for a different clientele musically! But it worked without many problems while I was using it. One of the main reasons I post on the SAW group is that it caters very much for mandolin-based music, so we are reaching like-minded people when we post there. Mandolin Cafe has a facility for posting mp3 files too, though I have rarely used it, and would need to refresh my memory of how to post an mp3 here.
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    MediaHuman has a good free audio format conveter works on win 10

    mediahuman.com/audio-converterl

    I found Audacity to be limited in MP3 conversion, easier to output to WAV and then convert with something else
    lets face it WAV has better quality, just bigger file size.
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    These online ones work well and no program or app to download. Something like these or search others. https://www.media.io/ https://online-audio-converter.com/

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    Registered User Mandobart's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Quote Originally Posted by stringalong View Post
    Thank you all for replying. Turns out I already have Audacity. But File/Export audio is greyed out. What can I do about that?

    Stringalong
    You need to get LAME, another bit of freeware that plugs into Audacity. When I first got Audacity many years ago there was a link for LAME.

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    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    I run into this fairly frequently, since I move files between programs a bit and also serve some mp3 and m4a audio files at my website. Yes, programs like Audacity, iTunes, etc. can export mp3 versions of files, but can also be a PITA sometimes. So sometime in the past month or two, I went and found a standalone program that can batch process files, etc. Just a straight up converter program. I had to license it after the trial period, but I needed the convenience so I did it. It's great having the tools you actually need.

    It's called "Switch" Sound File Converter. I don't remember what I paid after the trial period was over, but my memory says it seemed too pricey. Whatever, I have the convenience now and it works, no fuss. NFI
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Just checked, and yeah, pricey enough ... I paid $35 for the commercial level version. Looking at their web page, it seems they have a free, never expires version for home use as well. Website at https://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

    Just scroll down the page a bit and look for the "Get it free" paragraph (in the right column on a laptop, not sure about mobile).

    At my website, I serve mp3 and m4a files for old blues recordings. You can visit my website using the link "Advice For Mandolin Beginners" in my signature and use the "Audio" tab to see what I mean.

    Here's what the Switch program does for me:

    Convert from: .3GA, .3GP, .AAC, .AC3, .ACT, .RCD, .RED, .AIF, .AIFF, .AIFC, .AMR, .APE, .AUP, .AU, .ASF, .AVI, .CAF, .CDA, .DART, .DCT, .DS2, .DSS, .DTS, .DVF, .FLAC, .FLV, .GSM, .M2A, .M3U, .M4A, .M4B, .M4R, .MID, .MKA, .MKV, .MOD, .MOH, .MOV, .MP1, .MP2, .MP3, .MP4, .MPA, .MPC, .MPEG, .MPGA, .MPG, .MPEG, .MSV, .OGA, .OGG, .OPUS, .PLS, .QCP, .RA, .RAR, .RAW, .REC, .RSS, .SHN, .SPX, .VOB, .VOC, .VOX, .WAV, .WMA, .WMV, .WPL, .WV, .ZAB, .ZIP
    Convert to: .AAC, .AC3, .AIF, .AIFF, .AIFC, .AMR, .APE, .AU, .CAF, .CDA, .FLAC, .GSM, .M3U, .M4A, .M4B, .M4R, .MOV, .MP1, .MP2, .MP3, .MPC, .OGG, .OPUS, .PLS, .RAW, .RSS, .SPX, .TXT, .VOX, .WAV, .WMA, .WPL
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

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    Last edited by Mandolin Cafe; Apr-25-2022 at 8:34am.

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    Registered User Dan Adams's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    We used to use Audacity to trade tunes back and forth. (Could have been a good COVID practice). They are WAV files and can be added to by the other recipients of the file. After the shared tune/song was completed, LAME was used to convert it to an MP3. After the conversion, the tune or song can still be sent, but not altered. I haven’t done this conversion in years, but it should still work?
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    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    Audacity dies a great job. Garage band too.
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    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    AnyVideoConverter.
    Works for vids and sound files. I believe you can convert Mp3 to video I believe using embedded backdrop picture...
    Adrian

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    Registered User John Flynn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    +1 for AnyVideoConverter. I use Audacity for some things and it is great, but AVC does conversions faster, with fewer mouse clicks. You just drag the WAV file into AVC and click "convert" and it is practically instant. AVC does have a bit of a funky interface, but you get used to it. You can also put in the URL of a YouTube video and it will make an MP3 out of it. It will pretty much convert any audio or video format to any other.

  26. #20

    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    I've used an older program called foobar2000 for file type conversions of all kinds. Very easy and intuitive. It does need the LAME plugin for MP3. I generally prefer FLAC.

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    Default Re: Do you know of an easy, safe program to convert wav files to

    I use RealPlayer and RealPlayer Converter from real.com. They're free and easy to use. The converter comes with the RealPlayer download. So does Trimmer, good for rough edits - sometimes a little clunky. Won't help with video content for youtube, but will enable uploads to the Café.
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