Cakewalk Mixdown Nightmares

  • Thread starter Thread starter DavidK
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DavidK

DavidK

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I finally have some stuff near completion and I want to post samples here and other places. If I mixdown to wav. or mp3, the files are huge, and I am only doing two minutes of audio. I mixed to a wav. file, and it was 151,000kbs!!!! An Mp3 can be 20,000 kbs for two minutes. What gives?

Cakewalk pro 9
Darla 24
Celeron 566
128 ram


I am recording at 44100 at 16 bits. I was doing 24bits then switched to 16, then the files got bigger!!! I RTFM, but it aint helping. Ideas?
 
I was hoping that somebody would have answered this by now. This is an interesting problem. As I only have the low end software, Guitar Tracks II, Pyro, etc, I don't have the expertise to tackle this as yet. Hope somebody has a suggestion.
 
I have no idea why a 2 minute long stereo .wav file is 151MB for 16bit and 44.1kHz. Thats impossible unless you mixed down to a 24bit stereo file.

...Wait, you wrote 151,000kbs. I hope you didn't mean kbps cause thats a bitrate, not a file size. Anyway I'll assume that you meant kb's, otherwise I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Well, mp3's can be encoded at different bitrates. The standard (for mp3.com, etc.) is 128kbps. When you mix downto mp3 in Cakewalk, it lets you select the bitrate you want. The higher the bitrate, the better the sound quality but the bigger the file. You'll probably have trouble hearing the difference in sound quality above 320kbps anyway. A 2 minute song should be <3MB at 128 methinks.

Sorry for the rambling response, but its been a long day. Let me know if I need to clarify further.
 
If somebody doesnt answer soon, Gitfiddle, I will start a new thread with the title "Free nude photo's of Dick Cheney". Oh wait,that might not work either.

Hopefully, AlChuck will save the day, he has in the past for me.

As I am writing, I saw the post from gnarled, thanks gnarled.

When I mixdown to MP3 in cakewalk, how do I change the settings? I am not a computer person, but I am not seeing how to change the MP3 conversion rate anywhere.

When I mixdown, I save files in a folder I made called music, and
I think the culprit is that they are being played back in Realplayer, which I know nothing about. Should I save in Cakewalk instead?

I dont care so much about sound quality right now, because I just want to make a few clips and put them on the internet.

I made a file of two minutes worth of music, stored it in a new file, and it says it is 151,800KB. I would assume that means 15MB?
Any help is welcome. In return, you can have sex with Brads mom ( I see that in the Dragon Cave all the time and havent a clue as to what that means). Or, maybe you need a violinist for your next CD. http://www.geocities.com/dkempers/dkempers.html?962145609960
 
I'll try... but I haven't really got a good idea...

I am not seeing how to change the MP3 conversion rate anywhere.
Click to expand...

Right after the progress bar that says "mixing down audio" finishes, there should be dialog box with a few settings you can adjust.

When I mixdown, I save files in a folder I made called music, and I think the culprit is that they are being played back in Realplayer, which I know nothing about. Should I save in Cakewalk instead?
Click to expand...

You really aren't a computer person, are you? :) I don't think RealPlayer has anything to do with this. When it was installed it associated the MP3 file extension with itself -- that way a Real Audio icon will appear in the directory list and if you doble-click on the file name, it will open in Real Audio. You did save it in Cakewalk.

I just tried a file. It is about 35 MB 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo. The MP3 Cakewalk made is about 3.2 MB encoded at the 128 kbps.

2 minutes of stereo WAV should only be about 20 MB. The MP3 encoded at 128 kbps should be about 1/10th this size.

If you really have a giant mixed WAV file then something is hosed in Cakewalk. Does the giant WAV play? I would think it must be corrupt in some way and shouldn't play at all. Unless it's like 75 copies of itself back to back...

Are you sure it's not a bun file that's that large? It's really a mixed-down, stereo, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit WAV file?

If you saved as an MP3 at the highest possible quality (that is, virtually no compression), it might indeed be close to a mixed-down WAV file in size. So maybe you're looking at different files than you think you is...??

I made a file of two minutes worth of music, stored it in a new file, and it says it is 151,800KB. I would assume that means 15MB?
Click to expand...
That's 151.8 MB. A megabyte is 1000 kilobytes.

Oh, and keep the Cheney photos and Brad's mom for yourself, you'll need 'em when you get out of this fix.
 
Thanks a bunch, AlChuck and gnarled, your helping me a lot.

The file truly is 151mb, however I think I know why, please be patient, I am not as smart as I look:

My piece I am working on is 15 minutes long, and right now it is only midi ( big Orchestral piece). I do know how to change midi to audio.
What I did is just record 2 minutes of midi-to-audio, for a sample I will eventually put on the net. I have left the midi parts intact. So, when I convert to MP3 or wav., what I am doing is making a wav. file that is 15 minutes long, with 2 minutes of audio and 13 minutes of silence! Aha, I figured it out.

How do I get around this? I dont want to delete the midi parts because it is a work in progress, I just want two minutes of audio for a sample.

Basically, a wav. file is 10 mb a minute right? If so, then 151mb is right for a 15 minute tune.

Thanks again. How come you guys dont live in Cleveland? Its a pretty decent city, and the river hasnt caught fire in years...
 
DK:

Open your file and before doing anything else save it under a new name. Make a cut in all the tracks at the 2:00 minute mark and delete everything after 2:00. Then export to .wav (or .mp3 or whatever).

Once you're done you can delete the new file. Your original file should still be intact with all 15 minutes under the old name.

(BTW, this assumes all your midi has already been converted to audio - otherwise the exported file won't have the midi stuff in it).
 
P.S. The first time I was in Cleveland I asked a cabbie where to go for some fun. His reply was, "Have you tried New York?"
 
DavidK,

Do you improvise at all? Might be fun sometime to send you a rhythm track to wail over ala Jean-Luc Ponty or Jerry Goodman or David Cross or Eddie Jobson... get it back and mix it up with my own wailing...

Otherwise, I might need some solo violin for something as yet unwritten... maybe your offer will inspire me...

-AlChuck
 
Who'd a thunk it

I thought there was sumptin' funny goin on here . . .

Well Dave,
The reason I aint in Cincy is cause I'm by Chicago. It's got a lake and the city proper hasn't caught fire in about 100 years.
 
Thanks dachay and everyone, I am getting it now.

Dont be dissin' my Cleveland. We got the Rock Hall here and the greatest Football tea...... I mean Basketba.... I mean, oh hell, go ahead and diss it, I havent been here that long anyways.

bball, send me some pizza from J and B's on Morse Ave in Rogers Park. I lived in Chicago for many years before I came here.

AlChuck, I improvise fluently, and just got me a funky new electric violin. Check out www.woodviolins.com Mark just made me a fiddle, I got the Stringray model, and it is great. BTW, I checked out Ka-ching, very very cool, I would love to do something with you. I will post an MP3 soon thanks to everyones help. This will blow everyone away, it is Bela Bartok's Concerto #2 for Violin, obviously very weird and very cool.

Now if someone can explain to me about Brad's Mom, I will truly be an expert in recording...............

Thanx guys.
 
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