Need to increase sample rate but keep original pitch and speed.

Gregory-Hamilton wrote on 12/29/2019, 9:43 PM

PLEASE help. I'm sure this is a basic question for many of you but...I have some Mp3 tracks I am attempting to upload to a digital distribution service. I keep getting messages that I need to change (resample?) the Sample rate to 44.100. When I do this - I am using soundforge, the pitch goes up a third and speeds up. how can I change the sample rate and preserve the original pitch and rate of playback or restore it. I have tried every setting in the resample dialog box.

I have tried using pitch alter to bring the pitch down, but it's not precise, and i have tried to altar the p;playback length and this seems to alter the sample rate again or creates flanging... Help please.

Comments

rraud wrote on 12/30/2019, 4:41 PM

Welcome @Gregory-Hamilton to the Sound Forge forum discussion group and Happy New Year

What format (PCM, MP3, AAC, other?) does the "digital distribution service" state or recommend what format to upload?

There are a number of ways to resample a sound file to 44.1kHz.. Most of the 'Save as' file type settings have a sample rate parameter. 'Save as' to 44.1k should not change pitch & speed. Click 'Save as' in the 'File' menu and select the file type, Then select the desired sample rate in the custom setting or select an appropriate preset. 44.1kHz / 16 bit is usually the standard for CD quality. However it will not get any better than the original MP3 even if you use a higher sample rate and/or bit depth.

Changing the sample rate factor at the bottom of the timeline will affect pitch & speed,,, as will changing it in 'Properties'. There are resample options in the "Process> Resample" menu as well that will not alter pitch/speed. But be sure you save or 'Save as' with the same sample rate.

Gregory-Hamilton wrote on 12/30/2019, 11:08 PM

Thanks! I will try the save as option.

I have tried pretty much every setting in the "process-Resample" dialog and I can't get any results that either 1.Don't change the actual sample rate or: 2. change the pitch and speed. If you can tell me how to do this, I would be very grateful. However. I will try the save as option. Thanks Again!

Gregory-Hamilton wrote on 12/30/2019, 11:09 PM

Oh it's an Mp3 and the distribution company requires 44.100 which I believe is the standard these days.

Gregory-Hamilton wrote on 12/30/2019, 11:53 PM

That did it THANKS. Your reward is great......

rraud wrote on 12/31/2019, 11:15 AM

The "Process> Resample" 'should' work. Perhaps your soundcard does not recognize the new sample rate w/o reopening the file in a new timeline window. In any case, I am glad the "Save as" worked.

If the "digital distribution service" accepts PCM <.wav> files, I recommend 'Saving as' in that format (PCM .wav, (44.1kHz stereo / 16 bit ). Each time an MP3 is re-encoded, a quality loss takes place, and most 'digital distribution services" (YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, ect.) re-encode the file again with their own encoder, so it is a double-whammy. I always recommend folks stay away from lossy formats like MP3 all together until the absolute final file for distribution. If the distribution service only accepts MP3, do they specify or recommend the kbp/s, CBR, ABR, ect.? For a high resolution MP3, wouid use the 44.1kHz maximum, 320kbp/s CBR. For spoken-word and other mono sources, encode as mono, which doubles the resolution. For instance, a mono 320kbp/s CBR file is virtually lossless. Sum and difference phase tests support this... However, the Sound Forge Fraunhofer encoder does not allow mono encoding above 128 kbp/s.

I also recommend 'proper' levels for digital distribution, otherwise the 'distribution service' re-level with an awful sounding sledgehammer approach.. If you are not familiar with the LU / LK level scale, check your file levels using the on-line Loudness Penalty Analyzer, which measures the LU scale integrated loudness (for music, that is around -12 to -16 LUFS depending on the service). LUFS should not be confused with dBFS.