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Maurice Brines 5 December 2022

Hi everyone, Happy Holidays! 

Here's what I'm having an issue with:

1. I received 34 tracks from some friends for me to mix down in my studio (I'm using my Roland VS2480's for the mix & master).

2. All tracks were originally recorded at 192kHz and converted down to 48kHz by my friends using Studio One.

3. When doing my final mix, we noticed some very faint popping or scratching sound on two of the three Tom tracks. It's not digital clipping.

4. In trying to figure this out, I checked, and I have my DAW project set to 44.1kHx, MTP.

 

My questions:

1. We don't notice this issue with any other tracks...it might be just an issue with the three Tom tracks during recording ?

2. Could it be that since I have the VS2480 project set up at 44.1kHz and not 48kHz, causing the issue ?

3. Or, Is could it be since the original recordings were at the sample rate of 192kHz and then lowered to 48kHz in Studio One has caused this ?

4. Should I have requested all of the tracks sent to me to be at 44.1kHz and not 48kHz since I want to do the final mix/master at 44.1kHz ?

 

Thank you ahead of time for your guidance and ideas. I can easily add more information for you if needed. Mo Brines 

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Comments

Boswell Tue, 12/06/2022 - 06:56

Maurice - this is likely to be an artifact of the 48KHz -> 44.1KHz conversion process. Do you hear the problem if you set up a Studio One project at 48KHz and import the studio-converted tracks?

If the 48KHz tracks do not show the problem, another approach would be to mix at 48KHz and re-capture the analogue 2-track mix on a good-quality 44.1KHz device. Doing this is not as degenerate as you might imagine.

As a further diagnostic, you could ask the recording studio if they would do you a favour and send you a 44.1KHz version of that 192KHz tom track. This would not be to use in your mix but simply to make a direct comparison between the different down conversions.

As an aside, I've had lots of trouble with 48->44.1 down-sampled tracks that clients have sent me. These track sets are almost invariably associated with video shoots. Things usually end up with me asking for the 48KHz originals so that it's me who gets to choose how a CD-compatible 2-track mix is generated. If the mixes are going off to a mastering house, I don't change the sampling rate, as the house will take care of it.

Maurice Brines Tue, 12/06/2022 - 12:44

audiokid wrote:
Check your buffer setting. 

Thank you audiokid for the input, very appreciated ! There is no ability to adjust the buffer size in the Roland VS2480, The issue is fixed tho. I had the customer resend me the tracks in 44.1kHz and no popping or scratching sound. This fix ended up with using the 48kHz tracks while my DAW was set to 44.1kHz.

Maurice Brines Tue, 12/06/2022 - 12:47

Boswell wrote:
Maurice - this is likely to be an artifact of the 48KHz -> 44.1KHz conversion process. Do you hear the problem if you set up a Studio One project at 48KHz and import the studio-converted tracks?

If the 48KHz tracks do not show the problem, another approach would be to mix at 48KHz and re-capture the analogue 2-track mix on a good-quality 44.1KHz device. Doing this is not as degenerate as you might imagine.

As a further diagnostic, you could ask the recording studio if they would do you a favour and send you a 44.1KHz version of that 192KHz tom track. This would not be to use in your mix but simply to make a direct comparison between the different down conversions.

As an aside, I've had lots of trouble with 48->44.1 down-sampled tracks that clients have sent me. These track sets are almost invariably associated with video shoots. Things usually end up with me asking for the 48KHz originals so that it's me who gets to choose how a CD-compatible 2-track mix is generated. If the mixes are going off to a mastering house, I don't change the sampling rate, as the house will take care of it.

Hi Boswell, you're right on mate....after I did some research, the issue is now fixed. I had the customer resend me the tracks in 44.1kHz and no popping or scratching sound. This fix ended up with an issue using the 48kHz tracks while my DAW was set to 44.1kHz. Your help is very appreciated sir !

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