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RE: don't record hot in digital

In the work that I do (mostly with cassette tapes) I keep three levels of each project:

1. The original digital transfer, as digitized with no editing, level changes, etc. (Sometimes there may be more than one transfer if there was some kind of a glitch when playing the tape, in which case I will keep both if there is the slightest possibility that the "inferior" one might not be so inferior in some dimension. These are generally done in high resolution, e.t. 88/24.

2. A "studio master version" after all restoration work, editing, and mastering. This will be in the original hi-res sampling rate but at bit depth of 32 bits floating point. This allows for further processing with the minimum possible loss of resolution since there won't be any conversions to/from floating point to a integer file formats. (By working in 32 bit there is no danger of an intermediate result causing clipping in the work file, but to play it back or render as 24 bit or 16 bit integer it may be necessary to adjust levels.) This will typically be a single file divided into markers or regions. If there have been multiple steps of processing and some chance that there may be a desire to redo some aspect of the project, I may keep multiple working versions, e.g. an edited version but without any pre-mastering, and the final version that includes additional processing such as EQ. In addition, if there were many hand edits involved in the process of clean up (e.g. removing clicks and pops on a vinyl transfer) I may keep a additional versions. On most projects, however, I keep only the single studio master after I have completed the project. I also keep a text log file of all of the steps that I've done so that I can redo any of them if desired.


3. A distribution version, produced from the studio master version after reducing down to the final sample rate and bit depth. (e.g. 44/16). These files will be used to burn a master CD-R if the recording is going to be duplicated and as source for subsequent release as downloads. Each track will be a separate file and will be an integral multiple of 1/75 second frames (so the file can be burned correctly to CD without any problems in the gaps). In some cases there will be distribution versions at multiple sample rates, e.g. 88/24 and 44/16.

Each of these versions is stored on my audio workstation. In addition every day these files are synced to a file server on my network that keeps a second copy on a RAID array. Periodically, this file server is backed up to offsite storage. So as you can see, one hour of music may use a lot of storage space with at least three files (two hi-res) stored in three separate places. For those files that are actually released for download additional copies and additional backup copies occur on the server machine(s).

I'm not suggesting that everyone be so paranoid, it's just what has worked for me. It doesn't take much time to get into this workflow once the system is set up. It is a pain, however, to have to manage multiple computers. I have three Windows PCs that I have to manage, a Linux based NAS, a router and four hosting accounts on various server companies.


Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar


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  • RE: don't record hot in digital - Tony Lauck 07:46:43 03/26/12 (0)

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