Zoom H4n/Audacity

[general eclectic]

Does anybody here use the Zoom H4n or Audacity? If so, I'd like to pick your brains...


...just recorded Cassandra Wilson at the Sydney Opera House and it sounds great (IMO) but the Zoom seems to be unable to handle/make files bigger than 2GB. Am I able to use Audacity to join the two files together, and if so, how? When I get this sorted out I'll put it up.

[spidergawd]

Yes, you can join files together with Audacity. I'm not sure if there's an easier way, but I've done it by opening the first file, then selecting "file > open" and opening the second file in a second window, selecting the entire second file and then "edit > copy", then going back to the first file and after moving the cursor to the end of the file selecting "edit > paste". If there's a way to directly append the second file I don't know of it myself, it would make sense and be a lot easier so it's probably possible and I'm just missing it.

[spidergawd]

Also, I believe the file size limit of a .wav file is about 4 GB, or roughly 6.8 hours at 16/44.1 stereo, but some programs/file systems may have their own limit. I'm not sure about Audacity.

One more thing, and I know some people are afraid of the command line, but it's actually much easier to use something like sox:

sox file1.wav file2.wav combined.wav

[general eclectic]

Thanks spidergawd, I now have one complete file. Just need to track it out, label the tracks and up it. Won't have good access the interwebz for another week or so, hopefully I'll have it ready within a fortnight...

[spidergawd]

Originally Posted by general eclectic

Thanks spidergawd, I now have one complete file. Just need to track it out, label the tracks and up it. Won't have good access the interwebz for another week or so, hopefully I'll have it ready within a fortnight...

WooHoo!!!

[Audioarchivist]

I record at 24 bit 96 khz, which barely gives me an hour before it starts a new file. I do most of my serious editing with Wavelab 5.01b, and I also can't actually save a file bigger than 2gb with that, either, for some reason! This does make copying and pasting files together a little more tricky. I actually have to track out the first part of a file until I'm left with that half a song at the end of part one, and THEN paste my part two file onto the end of the remainder part one - unless the part two file is also a full 2gb when I'd have to split the part two file into smaller pieces as well... It's kinda fucked! hahaha

[spidergawd]

Originally Posted by Audioarchivist

I record at 24 bit 96 khz, which barely gives me an hour before it starts a new file. I do most of my serious editing with Wavelab 5.01b, and I also can't actually save a file bigger than 2gb with that, either, for some reason! This does make copying and pasting files together a little more tricky. I actually have to track out the first part of a file until I'm left with that half a song at the end of part one, and THEN paste my part two file onto the end of the remainder part one - unless the part two file is also a full 2gb when I'd have to split the part two file into smaller pieces as well... It's kinda fucked! hahaha

I don't know why some progs limit the file size to 2 GB. I also shouldn't ass-ume that everyone is using .wav format, but .wav is limited to the 32 bit unsigned integer that proclaims the chunk's size in the header, which is roughly 4 GB. Perhaps you could do your editing in a raw format, and only convert to .wav (or whatever) when finished with editing? Going commando (raw) only limits file sizes to the limitations of the file system, etc.

Actually, I'm over my head here, shoulda' just stuck with the Audacity advice.

[dorrcoq]

John - Wavelab 6 definitely can save files larger than 2.0 GB

[tonebloke]

GE.
Not got a Zoom but with the Edirol, and Tascam (and others recorders I presume) the default max file size they record is 2gb before moving on to the the next one (as a continuous recording). I don't know why!!

As Audioarchivist points out, a capture at 24/96 will give you 1hr 02min per 2gb (1.99gb actually) but with continuous capture and fresh batteries you can record upwards of 6+ hrs no problem at that res.

Not used Audacity. With CEP2 you can join two file with the "open append" ( JamesKG) tab but I too have trouble joining two large files, so have to edit parts there of to get them together.