44 or 48 (I need both)

[Olijanovi]

I am currently in the midst of writing music for a theatre show. A CD will be produced prior to the show. Now what do i do? Do I do everything in 44? And then in 48? I'll have to rerecord all the tracks?

 

[TyphoidHippo]

Why do you need both? Are you planning to make a DVD, too, or what? Most people record at the sample rate of the format they intend to end up with, so if it's just a CD - record everything at 44.1.

Either way - you won't necessarily have to re-record; resampling is a simple process. It's just not ideal and it's easily avoided in most cases....which brings us back to - why do you need both?

 

[Olijanovi]

Well I am saying both because I heard or read somewhere that for theatre production we needed a 48 sampling rate?

 

[TyphoidHippo]

Unless there's a lot more to what you read there, or they were talking about aiming for DVD (which uses 48 natively), I think it's safe to say you read some nonsense . If you're going to end up on a CD (which uses 44.1) - record at 44.1. This is one of the few things in recording that really is as simple as that (in reality, that is....but nobody really even argues the theoretical differences in sampling rates anymore - because nobody can tell the difference....again...in reality)

 

[Olijanovi]

Even if at the theatre they use a computer with the loaded sessions on it? They won't use a CD and the singers will sing live to it

 

[TyphoidHippo]

I'm not sure what you're asking, there - can you explain that last question a little more?

 

[Bobbsy]

I do a lot of musical theatre and work almost exclusively in 44.1 (because I back up my computer playback with CDs).

Unless there's something going on that you haven't explained then I don't see the need for 48.

 

[Olijanovi]

It's a theatre production/musical. Obviously,for cost efficiency reasons we will use pre recorded material and the actors/singers will be singing over it. I was told that for that, I needed to be at a 48 sample rate. BUT there is also a CD to be produced (before the show gets out) with the same songs on it + (obviously) recorded singers.

 

[Olijanovi]

I do a lot of musical theatre and work almost exclusively in 44.1 (because I back up my computer playback with CDs).

Unless there's something going on that you haven't explained then I don't see the need for 48.

OK. I hear you. The only something going on is... I was told to do it in 48... haha

 

[Olijanovi]

I want to be sure that when the time comes, I can explain well why I can solely use a 44 sample rate.

 

[TyphoidHippo]

It's a theatre production/musical. Obviously,for cost efficiency reasons we will use pre recorded material and the actors/singers will be singing over it. I was told that for that, I needed to be at a 48 sample rate.

Ok, well, unless the playback device is only capable of playing back music recorded at 48Khz, like an old ADAT machine or something, this doesn't make any sense. You said it was a computer with the sessions on it (which will play back 44.1 material just fine), sooooo again - you were told some nonsense . There's a good reason to record everything at 44.1 (that being that you're ending up on a CD at some point), and no reason to record anything at 48, based on all that's been said here - stick with 44.1.

 

[Bobbsy]

I think you need to query the person who told you to use 48kHz. I can think of a few possible reason--for example a digital mixer with the word clock set to 48 and an assumption that you'll be interfacing via ADAT or something.

If you're using their hardware for playback, that could be an issue--but if you're just plugging your in via analogue, it seems strange to me.

 

[Olijanovi]

Thanks! I'll investigate further with what they'll be using. I believe they are buying a computer (or two) to go on tour with the show.

 

[Bobbsy]

Sounds like they may have reasons for their request (to be confirmed). If so, I'd work at 48 and sample rate convert (probably with dither) to 44.1 for CDs after you mix. It frankly won't make much difference.

 

[RAMI]

Even if at the theatre they use a computer with the loaded sessions on it? They won't use a CD and the singers will sing live to it

This leads me to believe that there may be something to what the OP is asking. I don't know enough about sample rates, etc....But the above statement makes me think that his question is valid and he might need to be using 48 for the live production....possibly.

 

[Olijanovi]

Ok, at the next production meeting I'll try to get better answer. One thing I really don't want to do is to say: Hey! I was told that 48kh was bullcrap and I am doing everything in 44kh. Hehe

 

[Bobbsy]

Yeah. If you're using your own gear you can use whatever you want--but if you're working with an installed system there may be local standards that you have to adhere to.

 

[TyphoidHippo]

Ok, at the next production meeting I'll try to get better answer. One thing I really don't want to do is to say: Hey! I was told that 48kh was bullcrap and I am doing everything in 44kh. Hehe

.... yeeeaaaa... don't do that . They're probably using some old ADAT stuff or something that only works with 48Khz - all you can do is get them to clarify. This post made me laugh out loud, though...literally

 

[chuckduffy]

The obvious question I would ask (sincerely) - is it worth making a big deal about? Just give them what they want. Doing a single SRC down to 44.1 on mixes for CD is not that big a deal. SRC has come a long way since the early days...

Or flip it around - do it all at 44.1 and convert a copy of the final mix to 48 for them.

Unless you are doing this for an audience of audiophiles it's not going to make one whit of difference. People listen to 320kb mp3s all the time and have no problem, and that does a hell of a lot more to f up a recording than a single SRC will....