what bit should i record with??

Lot depends on what your soundcard supports.

You won't record 24-bit if your soundcard is only 16-bit capable.

(but you didn't bother to give us any useful info... we're not psychic!)

Otherwise telepaul is right.... go with 24-bit/44.1kHz and you'll have to convert it down to 16bit/44.1kHz before you make an audio CD.
 
TimOBrien said:
Lot depends on what your soundcard supports.

You won't record 24-bit if your soundcard is only 16-bit capable.

(but you didn't bother to give us any useful info... we're not psychic!)

Otherwise telepaul is right.... go with 24-bit/44.1kHz and you'll have to convert it down to 16bit/44.1kHz before you make an audio CD.
Click to expand...


i would even suggest going 24bit/48khz. 48k allows less brutual digital viltering than 44.1k does. here's a lil bit of info on bitrate (also called wordlength):

bitrate determines your dynamic range. if you imagine a graph with volume on the vertical, and time on the horizontal, then the bit rate determines the scale of vertical axis. so from the lowest volume you can record to the point that it clips, 16bit offers you about 65'000 different volume values (this equates to about a 96dB dynamic range). On the other hand, 24bit offers you close to 16.7 million values, or roughly 150dB of dynamic range.

you can count about 6dB of dynamic range per bit.
 
TimOBrien said:
Lot depends on what your soundcard supports.

You won't record 24-bit if your soundcard is only 16-bit capable.

(but you didn't bother to give us any useful info... we're not psychic!)

Otherwise telepaul is right.... go with 24-bit/44.1kHz and you'll have to convert it down to 16bit/44.1kHz before you make an audio CD.
Click to expand...
It depends on your RAM also. 24 bit eats up RAM. I've tried with my pc, and had to go back to 16 because mine won't handle it. Lot's of skips, freezing up. If you have a good, fast pc that is optimized for audio aps, 24 is the way to go. If you are like me, who records on an MR-8 and mixes on pc, you have to stay 16...
 
Robert D said:
Bit Depth, not Bit Rate. Bit rate is for Mp3 encoding and the like.
Click to expand...

I'm glad someone said that. Bit rate (transfer rate) refers to 128 kbps, 1.41 Mbps, that kind of thing.
 
MessianicDreams said:
i would even suggest going 24bit/48khz. 48k allows less brutual digital viltering than 44.1k does. here's a lil bit of info on bitrate (also called wordlength):

you can count about 6dB of dynamic range per bit.
Click to expand...


I millionth the 24-bit wordlength - it rocks!

For the sample rate thing .. I now use 44.1 despite having the 'ability' for 48 and 88.2 ... simply a cost/benefit scenario - I need lots of CPU, and quality sound - the trade off is 44.1khz and 24-bit.

Some one cyber-kick me if I'm wrong here ... but with 48khz, you are getting an extra 4000 or so samples per second, which might sound like alot, but really won't add much to an already well sampled 44 thousand samples per second ...

So, if your stuff sounds harsh and grainy at 44.1 khz, I think that would be the result of crappy converters, or maybe you track too hot (guessing). 88.2khz is a great sample rate if your gear can handle it in large quantities because 1) it sounds really nice and 2) it downsamples to 44.1khz better than 48khz, or 192khz.
 
This thread has one of those classic Waltersesque titles.

Try 16, try 24 and see if hear a difference. I do with my gear. Converter quality matters more though. My better converter at 16 sounds far superior to my cheap converters at 24.

Tim
 
What about the left over bits?
Click to expand...
Isn't that what "meatloaf surprise" is for?

Seriously, I save all my excess bits in a file folder linked to the new version of the Waves L2 limiter. It has a function where it adds in stored bits, that would otherwise be wasted, during sections with lower levels to increase the loundess. And because they're actual bits, it results in higher resolution than if the plugin did it using an algorithm.

Tim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top