Post by wannaplayblues on May 1, 2024 2:36:00 GMT -6
Grab a coffee, take a seat, time for some thinking...
It dawned on me this week, my backing tracks are all MP3 format. Even ones from books - I rip the CD to mp3 format and import it into my DAW to use. The ones I download off websites are mp3; it suits the publisher as server-space is saved as the filesize is greatly reduced with mp3. That's because the mp3 format strips out top-end frequencies we may not be able to hear much of and then also produces an "approximation" of the audio wave sound (some clever magic) to reduce overall filesize when writing to file. This is all fine when you want a finished product...
but...
if we are to use it as a backing track to then render to a final mp3, that's compression and loss *twice* for the backing track with my compressed guitar recording and effects being thrown into the mix somewhere. It struck me as not a very good way to get an end product (perhaps I'm wrong and don't understand this stuff).
So let's go a step further...
With my new book CD, I had a look at it as data in Linux and noticed that each track is actually just a WAV file. WAV files retain full 44.1kHz quality, which is the quality my DAW records my guitar in too. So, for my most recent recording I ripped the CD as WAV files to retain the full audio quality and used that as a backing track for my guitar. This way I ensure ALL the audio is 44.1kHz quality before the final compression to mp3 for the video. The loss only happens ONCE.
I'm sure this is a better way of getting a final mix. Perhaps I'm overthinking it, perhaps it doesn't matter 'cos I'm a nobody posting videos on the 'net of my bedroom-performances, but the end product on my last video sounds good to me...
What are your thoughts?
It dawned on me this week, my backing tracks are all MP3 format. Even ones from books - I rip the CD to mp3 format and import it into my DAW to use. The ones I download off websites are mp3; it suits the publisher as server-space is saved as the filesize is greatly reduced with mp3. That's because the mp3 format strips out top-end frequencies we may not be able to hear much of and then also produces an "approximation" of the audio wave sound (some clever magic) to reduce overall filesize when writing to file. This is all fine when you want a finished product...
but...
if we are to use it as a backing track to then render to a final mp3, that's compression and loss *twice* for the backing track with my compressed guitar recording and effects being thrown into the mix somewhere. It struck me as not a very good way to get an end product (perhaps I'm wrong and don't understand this stuff).
So let's go a step further...
With my new book CD, I had a look at it as data in Linux and noticed that each track is actually just a WAV file. WAV files retain full 44.1kHz quality, which is the quality my DAW records my guitar in too. So, for my most recent recording I ripped the CD as WAV files to retain the full audio quality and used that as a backing track for my guitar. This way I ensure ALL the audio is 44.1kHz quality before the final compression to mp3 for the video. The loss only happens ONCE.
I'm sure this is a better way of getting a final mix. Perhaps I'm overthinking it, perhaps it doesn't matter 'cos I'm a nobody posting videos on the 'net of my bedroom-performances, but the end product on my last video sounds good to me...
What are your thoughts?
