Bouncing a 16/44.1 Master inside a 24/48 session

[SGT PEPPAS]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had any expertise on this matter? If I am mastering myself inside a 24/48 mix session, when I print the mastered track back into the session on a stereo track, with the last insert being a dither plug in that converts to 16/44.1, what is it that I have inside the session? In other words, I think I've printed a 16/44.1 mix back into a 24/48 session. I obviously want to avoid converting twice. It's unclear to me if a 16/44.1 stereo master can live inside a 24/48 session. And if it can, is it possible to export it without putting it through another conversion process? I don't have BTD.

Thanks

[Park Seward]

Im not sure I understand but you can convert to any sample rate/bit depth when bouncing to disk, as you know.

All sound in a session must match the rate of the session. If you insert a sound that has a different rate, the speed and pitch will be different. You always need to convert any sound to the session's rate and depth.

Why not just record at 44.1/16? You gain nothing recording at 48k and downsampling to 44.1k.

[Bob L]

Originally Posted by SGT PEPPAS

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had any expertise on this matter? If I am mastering myself inside a 24/48 mix session, when I print the mastered track back into the session on a stereo track, with the last insert being a dither plug in that converts to 16/44.1, what is it that I have inside the session? In other words, I think I've printed a 16/44.1 mix back into a 24/48 session. I obviously want to avoid converting twice. It's unclear to me if a 16/44.1 stereo master can live inside a 24/48 session. And if it can, is it possible to export it without putting it through another conversion process? I don't have BTD.

Thanks

With respect, I think you are REALLY confused about what's going on... Perhaps I'm not understanding what you've done, or what you are asking....

If you are "printing" to a stereo track in the 24/48 mix session by recording an audio track (Record To Disc, or RTD) inside that same session, you have NOT made a 16/44.1 recording. Based on what you say, you've just made a mixed, dithered, 24/48 stereo track. If you Export that track, you will dither it twice, although not "convert" it twice.

Unless something is very broken in your installation, you DO have Bounce To Disc (BTD).

If you're a hands-on mixing kinda guy, Record To Disc as you've done, but WITHOUT the Dither plug. EXPORT the recorded stereo track to some location where you'll be able to find it; the Dither will be applied to the export, based on what you've selected in Preferences.

If you're Bouncing without doing the RTD method, get your mix the way you like it (this implies writing automation for volume, panning, etc., so that the mix will play back without your intervention), and place a Dither plug of your choice on the last insert of the Master Fader (you do have a Master Fader, yes? If not, make one).

Under File, select Bounce and Bounce To Disc. You'll be asked to confirm the parameters of the file to be made, such as bit depth and sample rate (16 bit and 44.1 KHz, in this case), type of file (.wav for CD burning), select Stereo Interleaved if it isn't already selected, and select a location to place the file when it's done; this DEFAULTS to the current session, but it can go anywhere you'll be able to find it later; it will also ask about converting the file during or after the bounce, choose After Bounce.

Once the Bounce is complete, you'll have your 16 bit, 44.1 .wav file for CD.

If you need to do more work for some reason, best practice is to return to the 24/48 original session and fix it there and re-export or re-bounce; you can create a 16/44.1 session and do further work, but if you're making any adjustments other than edits (in other words, if you're going to touch a fader or pan pot, you're going to negatively impact the dithering you did for the bounce.

Conventional wisdom says that one should only dither once during the process, on the final trip from 24 to 16 bits.

...or did the esteemed Mr. Seward actually answer your question?

Bob