I am trying to convert wav. files to AU Audio Units Mac’s VST format. I am trying to create a VST/AU for the music composition software Finale that only uses VST/AU formats. I called Apple Care Tech support and they said AU’s are a Unix code and and that the Audio Unit plug-ins were Unix as well. So I got Audacity to convert wav. files to .au (unix code). I wanted to know if anyone knew if the .au format was the same format and function as the Mac Audio Unit (VST) format and function ?
There is an audio file format that has a file extension “.au” that was developed by Sun Microsystems. This format is rarely used (virtually obsolete) these days. More information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au_file_format
Audacity uses a file format that has the file extension “.au” for storing data that is associated with the Audacity Project. These files are not the same as the Sun Microsystems files and are specific to Audacity Projects.
Finale can import “.WAV” files (16 bit PCM WAV) which is a standard format supported by most modern software.
The main functionality of Finale is achieved using their own special “.MUS” document format, (or MIDI, or Music XML). These are not “audio” formats, so Audacity is not suitable for working with these file types.