HELP, Please: Convert Apple Loops to .WAV Using a PC (or a Mac)?

G

gvdv

Member
Hi,
Apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

Quite a while ago I switched to from GarageBand (and, to an extent, Reaper) on a Mac to Reaper on PC.

I never thought that I could convert the loops on the Mac to .WAV or any other format that I could use in Reaper (the native wrapper for these loops is .caf).

However, I came across a 2017 thread on one of the Cockos Reaper forums (link below) in which someone had used a program called 'Easy CAF Converter for Logic Pro'. One of the people on the thread I was reading here used this successfully, but someone else could not get the program to work.

I cannot seem to find this program any more, and I also am not sure that the conversion would work for GarageBand even though GB is Logic's little brother.

I also found out that NCH Software's 'Switch Audio File Converter Software' can, apparently, convert .CAF to .WAV, but I am a bit suspicious of using NCH Software stuff because of all the bloatware that usually comes with all of its programs.

There is also an online option for converting sound formats; this is called 'CloudConvert' - I would prefer to avoid using this if possible.

Someone on another forum suggested that Sox might work, but the reviews I have read show that is not reliable and that there are some problems with using it.

So, my questions are:
1. Can I convert .CAF to .WAV?
2. If so, how?
3. Can I perform this conversion on a PC?
(My Mac now has a very old OS, and it is also difficult to hook my Mac up to the net, so it would be easier for me to copy the loops across to a PC and do the conversion on the PC).
4. Has anyone here successfully used NCH's 'Switch Audio File Converter'?
5. If you have used Switch successfully to convert .CAF to .WAV, does it also convert all of the file's metadata?

I would be grateful for any help that anyone can give with this.

Many thanks.

2017 'Apple Loops in Reaper' Thread on Cockos's Reaper forums, mentioning the Easy Caf Converter program
404 Not Found

Online options:
'CloudConvert'
Pricing | CloudConvert

'Switch Audio File Converter Software'
NCH Software - Free Software Downloads and Installs
 
CrowsofFritz said:
Zamzar should be able to do it for you. I’ve always used it.
Click to expand...
Hi CrowsofFritz,
Many thanks for your reply and suggestion.

I was reading a review of the free versions of various audio converters, and for some reason all of them were unsuitable (cannot remember exactly, but it might have been that Zamzar's free version had a limit on the amount of files you could convert per day; or perhaps it was one of the ones that specified a fixed bit-rate for the file).

I will go back and try to find that list again.

Thanks very much.

EDIT - Found the link to '7 Best Free Audio Converter Software Programs'
7 Best Free Audio Converter Programs and Services

Under the 'What We Don't Like' part of the review for ZamZar, the authors list:

- Conversions are sometimes slower than other online converters.

- Limits conversions to two for any single session as well as every 24 hours.

- Really large files aren't supported for free users (over 50 MB)

I will give it a go, though, and will consider buying the paid version.

Is there anything you do not like about the paid version (if that is the one you use)?

Perhaps I will start a separate thread asking people what they like and do not like about the paid versions of the audio converter programs.
 
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CrowsofFritz said:
Ah, how many files were you considering to convert? I imagine there’s a lot.
Click to expand...
I have not fired up my Mac in a few years, so I am going by memory when I say that I think there are about 300 loops.

I have no idea what the average length is, though.

It looks like I am going to use AVConvert (a free audio and video converter program for PC only) to accomplish this task.

It is very easy to install, but for some reason is not working on my system, so I am chatting to the developer to get it working.

AVConvert
AVConvert - super-fast media conversion via context menu
 
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