Changing from 48.000 to 44.100Hz? (What to expect)

[MoeWalsaad]

Hello, even though I don't always export for videos, It's been years and I always record and mix in 48.000Hz inside my DAW, and I keep it that way "to be safe", and "Just in case".

Now I am considering ways to minimize the load on my CPU, File sizes, loading/exporting time and RAM, so I want to try 44.100Hz, since most of my final exports are 44.100Hz already.

Here are my main questions and concerns as I'm switching to 44.100Hz:

1. Will quality drop when I stretch and tweak my audio/samples?
   
2. Will quality drop if I apply Extreme EQ's, compressions and other processing plugins?
   
3. If I change my sample rate workflow, will my EQ parameters and other processors become more or less sensitive?
4. Is mixing in 44.100Hz really lighter on CPU and Memory, and files/project sizes, sample libraries loading time /and save/export time?
5. Converting a WAV File from 44.100 to 48.000 Hz later on in my projects when needed, will this affect the quality notably? Will clients care if it's originally a 48.000 or no human perception can notice?
6. Mixing on 44.100 but Exporting the final file at 48.000 will It make a difference?
7. What else should I expect?

Thanks in advance

Click to read more...

 

[gsilbers]

Keep it all at the same sample rate. There is virtually no difference whatsoever between 44.1 and 48k in every sense. But there is all the chance in the world to get sync issues going between them that will be way more problematic than any audio quality or performance issue.. which again.. is extremely ... and i couldnt put more enphasis on this... extremely .. almost non existent difference between 48k and 44.1. And it barley is any difference cpu/memory etc difference on the computer. Those issues you are asking about become more relevant on 88.2k and 192khz sample rates.
whats you computer specs? maybe there something else that can be done? im a mac guy but seen some interesting windows forum comments about upping the perfornace with some under the hood tweaks.

 

[MoeWalsaad]

Keep it all at the same sample rate. There is virtually no difference whatsoever between 44.1 and 48k in every sense. But there is all the chance in the world to get sync issues going between them that will be way more problematic than any audio quality or performance issue.. which again.. is extremely ... and i couldnt put more enphasis on this... extremely .. almost non existent difference between 48k and 44.1. And it barley is any difference cpu/memory etc difference on the computer. Those issues you are asking about become more relevant on 88.2k and 192khz sample rates.
whats you computer specs? maybe there something else that can be done? im a mac guy but seen some interesting windows forum comments about upping the perfornace with some under the hood tweaks.

Thanks for your input, good to know that there is almost no difference in quallity, nor PC resources, but may have syncing issues.

I use a Windows 10 System, intel i7-3820, 32G of Ram
I think my machine is just okay but I often overwhelm my mix with fancy plugins and large samples, and I often keep sample libraries loaded. I indeed should tame myself to bounce my tracks more often.

 

[JohnG]

I indeed should tame myself to bounce my tracks more often.

It depends on what you want to do with music and what kind of projects you work on. If you're writing songs and you're the final say in what everything sounds like, bouncing might be tolerable.

If, by contrast, you're working for someone else -- composing for a game or film or TV, for example -- it's nice to stay "in midi" until the last possible second in order to accommodate edits to picture or other surprises.

The other matter is money. I see a lot of people (not you specifically, a general observation) driving themselves nuts using equipment that is inadequate for their needs, when a couple of thousand dollars for a new / additional PC with 64 GB of RAM might fix the entire problem.

Your TIME is your most valuable resource. If you are wasting time juggling samples and plugins, and you have the money, consider treating yourself to a more substantial rig.

I don't know you so apologies if I'm on the wrong track here.

Kind regards,

John

 

[MoeWalsaad]

It depends on what you want to do with music and what kind of projects you work on. If you're writing songs and you're the final say in what everything sounds like, bouncing might be tolerable.

If, by contrast, you're working for someone else -- composing for a game or film or TV, for example -- it's nice to stay "in midi" until the last possible second in order to accommodate edits to picture or other surprises.

The other matter is money. I see a lot of people (not you specifically, a general observation) driving themselves nuts using equipment that is inadequate for their needs, when a couple of thousand dollars for a new / additional PC with 64 GB of RAM might fix the entire problem.

Your TIME is your most valuable resource. If you are wasting time juggling samples and plugins, and you have the money, consider treating yourself to a more substantial rig.

I don't know you so apologies if I'm on the wrong track here.

Kind regards,

John

Indeed I agree with everything you said, and I prefer the midi environment, because of its flexibility to go back and forth, I try to improve my PC resources whenever I can because time is the most valuable resource!

 

[kurtvanzo]

As a test bring up your toughest past session (most problematic) that is all midi tracks and switch rates to see if you have any issues or if it runs any smoother. More likely than not there will be no difference, but if your doing a post session (TV, film) I would still work at 48 to avoid the upconversion.

I had a major CPU drag on a session the other day that was confusing until I realize I had created a session that was 96k after doing a recording session for a client. So keep an eye out while switching back and forth. That’s probably the main reason I try to stick to one sample rate (and I do mostly post).

 

[MoeWalsaad]

As a test bring up your toughest past session (most problematic) that is all midi tracks and switch rates to see if you have any issues or if it runs any smoother. More likely than not there will be no difference, but if your doing a post session (TV, film) I would still work at 48 to avoid the upconversion.

I had a major CPU drag on a session the other day that was confusing until I realize I had created a session that was 96k after doing a recording session for a client. So keep an eye out while switching back and forth. That’s probably the main reason I try to stick to one sample rate (and I do mostly post).

Great to know, thanks for your input!

 

[FourFour]

Technically, yes. The quality of your audio will drop. Especially if the source material was recorded at 48k.
Whether one would be able to hear the difference? Most people probably won't be able to.