How To Set .mp3 As Default "Save as type" File?

emmrecs wrote on 9/4/2017, 3:54 AM

Hi, welcome to the Magix forums.

I don't have Audio Studio so can't directly answer your question but, as a general principle, the process of saving any audio file as .mp3 should only occur after ALL editing/mixing etc. is completed, always ensuring that a .wav file is also kept.

Why? .wav files are uncompressed audio files, i.e they contain ALL the possible audio data from the original recording. If you ever need to carry out any re-editing, the saved file will always be an absolutely pristine copy of your original and when you re-save it it will still contain everything of the original, minus anything you may have chosen to change/remove in your latest edit!

.mp3 files are compressed on creation; the bit rate is considerably reduced and that reduction is achieved by, essentially, "throwing away" any of the data that the compression algorithm "thinks" is unnecessary because it is "not heard". Once thrown away that data can never be retrieved. If the .mp3 is ever re-opened and edited again, your editing software will convert it to wav since mp3 format is almost impossible to edit accurately because of the way in which the data is stored in "packets"; if you then resave to mp3 even more of the original will be lost because of the recompression that occurs when saving the "new" version. Once you have re-opened an mp3, edited and saved it a couple of times, you will quickly start to hear the degradation in audio quality.

So, the workflow generally considered in pro audio to be the "best" is: record/edit/mix/save as wav files; convert the final version to mp3 (for distribution) always retaining the wav file in case any additional, later re-editing is required. Working that way, your final mp3 will always be the best quality available for the format.

Sorry for the long post but this question of wav v mp3 is one which is a source of considerable misunderstanding to a lot of people.

(I'll get down from my soapbox now!!!)

Jeff

johnebaker wrote on 9/4/2017, 4:36 AM

Hi

Just to add to Jeff's comment.

The WAV file format is a container file and can contain audio in several different internal formats, including compressed audio, eg mp3.

For uncompressed audio the internal format should be LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation) which is generally accepted as the default for WAV files. This you can control on export.

Where an issue may arise, is if you are working with audio files in WAV format from a third party. If you can specify the internal format, then LPCM is the preferred option for best quality, if not then it is advisable to check the internal format, using for example MediaInfo.

HTH

John EB

rraud wrote on 9/4/2017, 9:12 AM

In previous versions of SF, the last saved file format was set to default. This does not happen in AS-12, and I can't find a default 'Save as' file type either. Perhaps this option will be added in a future build.

Shannon-Lukens wrote on 12/17/2018, 1:24 PM

I also want to have MP3 as default, as that is the only format for me to have my voictracks on air. I don't want to change it to MP3 from Wav every time. Please help so I can have it saved as MP3 each time.

CyberBeat wrote on 12/18/2018, 4:57 PM

It should remember the last format you saved a file as. So once you choose "File -> Save As" and specify MP3 and save the file, the next time you go to save a file using Save as, it should be set to MP3.

rraud wrote on 12/19/2018, 11:40 AM

Don't know about AS but as CyberBeat stated, SF Pro remembers the last format a file was saved. Otherwise, with the Batch Converter utility, you could write/save a preset to encode encode an MP3.. Again I don't know if this is relevant to AS-12.