Creating WAV's in Audacity to use with Zoom R16

[Douglas Schuch]

I have a Zoom R16 for recording. I want to create a backing track with Audacity. So I pieced together the track and exported as a WAV file - but when I import it into the Zoom, it is never "accepted" by the Zoom - it shows an asterisk before it - meaning it's not the proper format. Zoom supposedly uses AIFF (16 or 24 bit 44.1KHZ WAV format). So I exported in that format - even specified .wav as the extension vs. aiff, and named it according to Zoom's protocol - but no luck! And yes, I know how to import the files into the audio folder in the project I want it in - and it's there - I can see it - it just has the asterisk and flashes when I try to assign it to a track. And yes, I know how to link two channels for a stereo track. I've tried it as stereo, and also exported it as a mono file and tried to assign to a single channel - but no luck. I even tried exporting as an MP3, then running it through Format Factory to covert back to WAV with no luck.

So who can tell me what I need to do to export a file created in Audacity that can then be imported into the Zoom R16?

Thank you!

[Jim Fogle]

Try using a 16 bit wave file.

Another thing is to look at the file name and make sure the filename is no more than 8 characters; for example: No_Name.wav

[Ian Worley]

Have you confirmed the sample rate of the imported file matches the sample rate of the project your importing into (44.1 or 48kHz)? I have an old R24, I haven't used it in eons but I know it works fine with a variety of bit rates, sample rates and different uncompressed audio formats, the associated files just all need to match the sample rate set for the specific project.

[Douglas Schuch]

Jim - I've tried both 16 and 24 bit rate - Zoom supposedly can handle either - without success. And yes, as explained, I've made sure the file name conforms to Zoom requirements - tried three (all cap) letters with nothing else except the .wav extension.

Ian - I've used the AIFF format to export, which supposedly is compatible with Zoom. It is 44.1 khz, which should work. But I've tried other wav formats that audacity can export in, and none seem to work. Who knew there were so many different WAV formats? Kind of defeats the purpose of calling it a "format" if there are dozens that are not compatible!

[Jack Stoner]

Looking at the manual (part I looked at) it looks like you need to play the track you want on the PC, connect the PC audio out to an input on the Zoom and record it.

[Douglas Schuch]

Jack, there is a procedure for importing a backing track to the Zoom and assigning it to a track (or two tracks is stereo). I've done this before with commercial backing tracks I have, but don't think I've ever succeeded in getting an Audacity export to work.

[Jack Stoner]

What was the format of the backing tracks? Commercial CD Audio is 16 bit 44.1 Khz (what a standard wav file is).
I have commercial recording studio software so I don't use Audacity but it should save as a wav file. Verify the saved file by playing it on the PC with a player such as Windows Media Player.

I assume you save the Audacity wav file and then transfer it using the Zoom PC software via USB?

[b0b]

Zoom supposedly uses AIFF (16 or 24 bit 44.1KHZ WAV format). So I exported in that format - even specified .wav as the extension vs. aiff, and named it according to Zoom's protocol - but no luck!

AIFF and WAV are different file formats. You can't just rename one to make it the other.

Are you importing from a thumb drive or from a USB cable? The thumb drive method is the one documented in the manual. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/lit_files/90429.pdf

[K Maul]

I never have tried importing into my ZOOM but have exported lots of files using Audacity. When you mixdown you save it as .aiff if that’s file the R16 accepts. It is not a wav file at that point.

[b0b]

I can't find any reference to AIFF in the manual. Page 72 has some helpful information:

NOTE
• To import an audio file into the R16, its format must
be WAV with a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz and
a bit rate of 16 or 24.
• File names should use only capital letters, numbers
and the "_" (underscore). They should be 8 or fewer
characters plus the “.WAV” extension.
• You can connect the R16 and a computer by USB
when the power is on. If you connect the R16 by
USB when its [POWER] switch is OFF, you can start
it up with power supplied over USB.
• When you are using the R16 as a card reader
or as an audio interface, you cannot use it as a
recorder.

If you export as AIFF in Audacity, it won't work. Export as WAV and make sure that the name and extension are uppercase, as in "<tt>TRACKS_1.WAV</tt>".

[Greg Cutshaw]

I import .wav files to my Zoom R24 quite a bit and never had a problem. I render them as .wav files in Reaper, load them onto a USB drive, plug the drive into the Zoom USB port, Hit the USB button, then on the menu select STORAGE, then LOAD then select the desired project.

Perhaps there is a limit on the supported USB thumb drive size or your file format is wrong. It may be useful if I linked you one of my .wav files that I know works so you can try it to eliminate any questions about your USB drive or Zoom? All my .wav files list as 2116 kbits/sec and they are very large, usually in the range of 35 - 55 MBytes.

[Bob Hoffnar]

Could you just bail on the file type computer compatibility stuff and use your zoom to record an audio output from whatever interface you are using ?

[Tony Prior]

Another option, grab WAVEPAD Sound Editor, its a free downlead and free use for awhile , IT CONVERTS ANYTHING TO ANYTHING . ( SAVE AS ) ALL formats, also allows for full editing etc...

I believe its a $29 license and well worth it. Its a workhorse program to have in the toolbox.

Sometimes stuff just ain't compatible and we have to make it compatible even though its all supposed to be. ITS NOT a recording program, its an editing program.

One of my favorite "other" features is splitting LONG files into separate tracks, WE can also choose the DB level point of the splits if need be. It will save each split file independently to any format we desire.


Audacity is a fine program but sometimes we expect it to do too many things of which some things it doesn't do well. Its FREE , maybe thats why its free !

When I record Audio from the NET, thru the PC to the Phones out, its to an external recording device , to an SD card or USB memory stick. NO internal PC processing to interfere with the Audio. No file type limitations, no clicks, or internal PC sound card issues, no compatibility issues.

An external recorder should allow for saving in any format desired.

In the situation discussed here , as Bob says above, why not feed the PC PHONES out to the ZOOM directly to the SD card ? The only reason I don't use the Zoom R16 daily is because it only records in Wav format. I live the MP3 world . But if I needed a ZOOM compatible audio file I would go directly to the R16 and bypass Audacity and/or any software program all together. The unit I use is a Gemini DRP-1, it records in MP3 formats or 16/24 bit Wav to an SD card or USB memory stick .

Also keep in mind, and I'm certain everyone knows this, I-Tunes and all NET sourced music is capped at 16khz and is massively compressed before we capture it.

[Bob Hoffnar]

Also keep in mind, and I'm certain everyone knows this, I-Tunes and all NET sourced music is capped at 16khz and is massively compressed before we capture it.

Not Qobuz or Bandcamp. 24/192 is common and sounds really really good. Way better than CDs or vinyl. There is a very big market opening up for hi res music. Even DSD is growing fast. Many streaming services are starting to offer hi res options.

The hottest products for listening to music are music streaming players. They can play the hi res stuff with no problem. It is a giant leap forward in fidelity and pretty much taking over at this point.

Most of the session work I get is recorded in at least 24/192 these days. The market has actually dictated this.

It's great news if you think how it sounds has at least a little to do with the music !

[b0b]

Back to the original question (exporting from Audacity to the Zoom R16), here's what I'd use:

Export as WAV
Filename: uppercase, 8 characters plus ".WAV" (like a Microsoft DOS file)
Encoding: signed 16-bit PCM

That is the most common WAV format accepted by legacy software. Any software that doesn't support it doesn't support WAV at all.

Additionally, your project sample rate in both Audacity and Zoom R16 should be 44.1 kHz (CD quality).

[Tony Prior]

Not Qobuz or Bandcamp. 24/192 is common and sounds really really good. Way better than CDs or vinyl. There is a very big market opening up for hi res music. Even DSD is growing fast. Many streaming services are starting to offer hi res options.

The hottest products for listening to music are music streaming players. They can play the hi res stuff with no problem. It is a giant leap forward in fidelity and pretty much taking over at this point.

Most of the session work I get is recorded in at least 24/192 these days. The market has actually dictated this.

It's great news if you think how it sounds has at least a little to do with the music !

Good News Bob, thx for sharing !

[Jack Stoner]

Electronics and recording GURU Craig Anderton discussed higher bitrates and how they are better for effects and other manipulation. He had several articles about this on the Cakewalk (Sonar) forum.

[Douglas Schuch]

thanks for all the replies. I will get back to testing ideas soon. The idea of recording it direct to the R16 from the PC is one I had not thought of - will need to check to see what adapters I need to get them to connect.

Bob, I think your advice is on the right track - I don't think I can set all the specifics of the format when exporting from Audacity - just have to chose one of the options, which includes "WAV (Microsoft)". The details on this are:

A container format, almost always used for lossless, uncompressed, PCM audio. The format is in Microsoft's Little-Endian byte order.

https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/glossary.html#wav

When I select "WAV", I then can chose one of these encoding formats:



I tried the 16 and 24 bit options with no luck, but need to go back and try them again, making sure I followed correct naming procedures, etc.

I've gotten tied up with other stuff at the moment, but I managed to get through the project I was working on by using one side of the headphones to listen to the backing track and recording the other parts one at a time and mixing them down. It was just a sample to show my band how I want to do a song, so high-quality was not required.

Again, thanks for all the feedack. I'll report back soon.

[b0b]

The first option, "Signed 16-bit PCM", is probably the right one. Like I said, if software doesn't support that, it doesn't support WAV. Their manual says to use WAV, and 16-bit PCM is the most common encoding.