New to Cubase...a few questions...input appreciated

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thejakebox

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Hey all...

I'm a singer/songwriter, recording on my own for the first time. I've recorded a fair bit before, but never completely engineered a CD...I want the experience, though, so I'm giving it a shot! Anyway...I have Cubase SX...along with the M-Audio USB Quattro sound card (soon to get the Omni expansion). I also have a decent computer system (soon to get a top of the line system). I just had a few questions for anyone who uses Cubase SX, or is a little more advanced with this stuff in general.

First of all...and most importantly, I was wanting to know what the best scenario would be for recording the highest quality audio possible, with Cubase SX. Do I record at 24 bit/96000 Hz? Or would another scenario be better?

Also (again, keeping in mind that I'm using SX), what recording format is the best...the 16 track surround mix, or the 12 track audio recorder...? For program setup, do I choose the broadcast wave file, or the regular wave file?

Just a few questions I needed answering. I've been tinkering around, trying to figure things out on my own...(hey, we all start somewhere!)...but any input would be appreciated HUGE.

Thanks!!!
 
Well your question about best audio quality is kind of open to interpretation and could be asking alot of things, but the way I take it is that you are wondering what bit depth and sample rate will sound best right? You are correct in thinking that 24/96 would yield the best resulution but there are other factors to consider. Such as if how many tracks your computer can play back at that resulution not to mention if your interface has those capabilities. Because if the interface does only 16/44.1 there is no reason to record that in 24/96 it will just eat up system resources and hard drive space.

As far as opening a new project those are just templates to get you going. Just open an empty project and add tracks as you need them. Broadcast wave and regular wave files have the same audio quality the only difference is that broadcast wave file can store extra information like song titles artist names.

Most of your questions could be answered by just reading the manual which I would strongly suggest you do, it's an easy read and very informative. But if you get stuck don't hesitate to post your questions here. There are tons of knowledgable people here ready to help and everyone is realy friendly.
 
Re:

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I was wondering about bit depth, sample rate, ect...(sorry I wasn't more specific)...and my interface actually does support 24/96. It remains to be seen how my current system will handle this kind of resolution...but I'll try it out. I do hope to upgrade to a better system soon anyway. Thanks for answering my other questions as well...

By the way, I have gone through the manual, and I have done a bit of tinkering with the program already...so I had somewhat of an idea of what was going on. However, I just wanted some objective input with regard to my questions, as I wanted to make sure I was interpreting things right...manuals have never been my forte. :) But I'm learning lots, this is great.

Thanks again for bearing with me, all the best.

J.
 
Don't forget that SX operates at a bit-depth of 32-bit (floating point). If you want to use true-tape, you have to work at that level. If your card can do true 24-bit, and you can process at 32-bit, I suggest going that way.

Check into your CD-burning software. It might not support Broadcast wav files. I only use PCM wavs, myself.

Chris
 
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