sample rates and mastering

[thomaswomas]

i've just recorded a new songin cubase se. i usually record with 44.1 k sample rate at 16 bit but i tried 48.0 k at 24 bit for this song. i've mixed down to a stereo aiff file at 44.1 k sample rate but when i load that file into t-racks so i can do a bit of mastering, the track plays back at a faster speed.

i've tried mixing down to a 48 k sample rate but this plays back ridiculously slow. the only solution i've come up with at the moment is to mix down to a 44.1 k file, upload this into a new cubase session with the project setup at 44.1 k, then mix down again to a 44.1 k file. i then load up this file into t-racks and it plays back normally.

can anyone tell me where i'm going wrong

thanks

[masteringhouse]

Originally Posted by thomaswomas

i've just recorded a new songin cubase se. i usually record with 44.1 k sample rate at 16 bit but i tried 48.0 k at 24 bit for this song. i've mixed down to a stereo aiff file at 44.1 k sample rate but when i load that file into t-racks so i can do a bit of mastering, the track plays back at a faster speed.

i've tried mixing down to a 48 k sample rate but this plays back ridiculously slow. the only solution i've come up with at the moment is to mix down to a 44.1 k file, upload this into a new cubase session with the project setup at 44.1 k, then mix down again to a 44.1 k file. i then load up this file into t-racks and it plays back normally.

can anyone tell me where i'm going wrong

thanks

I've never used Cubase SE, but in Pro Tools a session is setup at a specific sample rate. However when you import a track to a previous session it will perform sample rate conversion to match the rate in the session if they are different. It sounds like either Cubase isn't matching the sample rate, or you are using an external clock not set to the correct rate?

If it were me, I would mix down at the same sample rate used for the tracks at 24 bit. Then if you are going to master in Cubase, create a new sessiopn for mastering set at the same sample rate as the mixes, and bounce/export as 44.1K/16 bit with dithering at that point assuming that no further processing is being done (including fades).

The basic idea is to avoid as many sample rate and bit depth conversions as possible. Some ME's upsample the source, but it assumes that you have good sample rate conversion going to and back. I don't know that I would trust Cubase for this function.