Importing 16 bit, 41000hz audio tracks into a 24 bit, 96000hz project?

Neil-Kendall wrote on 8/17/2019, 9:06 AM

Hi, I'm working on an original song and myself and my band mate recorded the guitar and vocal parts on a Boss multitrack recorder which is 16 bit, 44100hz sample rate. However, for various reasons I need to import the vocal and guitar tracks into Samplitude and then sync them up with the drum track I created in Samplitude. I noticed that in the 'record options', Samplitude offers the option of making a project either 16 or 24 bit and goes up to a sample rate of 96000hz. Obviously it would be more desirable to record in the highest quality possible, but I'm wondering if I make the project 24 bit, 96000hz, what happens if I import 16 bit, 41000hz quality audio tracks? Would the final mix and master then be in 24 bit, 96000hz? Or would I need to set the record options to the same bitrate as the tracks recorded on the Boss multitracker? Thanks.

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 8/17/2019, 10:32 AM

@Neil-Kendall

A good question! I don't own Samplitude but, speaking from experience of using other DAWs, I would always attempt to ensure that all the constituent tracks are in the same bit rate and sample frequency. Otherwise the program, Samplitude in this case, must carry out Sample Rate Conversion "on the fly".

However, do be aware that these "higher" sampling rates (88.2Khz or 96kHz, or even higher) cannot offer any real audio benefit!! I know that by saying this I'm asking for a great deal of flak but the practicalities of this argument over these higher sample rates are essentially these:

Sample Frequency is always twice as high as recordable Audio Frequency. Thus 96kHz has an upper frequency limit of 48kHz. Fine, but the highest audio frequency that any human can hear is 20kHz, at best.
No microphone known to exist is capable of handling any audio frequency above about 25kHz, if that.
No headphone or speaker is capable of reproducing audio frequencies anywhere near the possible 48kHz upper limit.
Any audio file recorded at these higher sample rates will include a considerable amount of digital noise (all the samples which would, theoretically, contain audio frequencies higher than your microphone can handle so have no audio content.)

HTH

Jeff