Is it correct to convert mp3 backing tracks to 48KHz?

I couldn’t find anything about this by searching, here, or google. It’s probably a silly newbie question. But, maybe this will help someone else. My apologies if I got the category wrong.

First, I’m just goofing around, downloading karaoke tracks and recording over them. I’m using Ardour 6, for now, while I figure out how I like to do this.

It seems like it’s generally recommended to record in 48KHz. Why? I have no idea. Better quality, sure. But, it sounds like it makes things easier when finally getting to the mastering stage, which I haven’t yet.

Anyhoo, the mp3 files I’ve been getting are all in 44100 Hz. I use SoundConverter to turn them into 48KHz wav files.

My question is, is this the correct way to be doing all this? Maybe I ought to just record in 44100Hz?

Thanks for your time. :slight_smile:

No need to. Ardour 6 can import mp3s just fine.

Pretty much every online distribution service uses 48KHz. It’s also DVD audio and what film uses (and youtube inherited it from there). Unless you produce CDs it’s preferable. Also some laptops come with onboard soundcards that only support 48KHz.

For the case at hand however it makes little difference. The mp3s compression has artifacts that are much more significant compared to artifacts introduced by sample-rate conversion.

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Thank you! And, I did notice that v6 seems to see the mp3s. It warns that they are 44100 Hz though. Are you saying that it converts them to 48 when importing? Is that a setting or does it just do it automatically?

I should have done this first. But, I’m still learning. I checked the manual.
https://manual.ardour.org/adding-pre-existing-material/import-dialog/
It says, “If the sample rate differs from the current session rate, it is displayed in red, which indicates that the file must be resampled before importing.”.

So, it seems like maybe I should continue to convert these tracks to 48kHz first? I suppose there’s no need to make them wav files now. But, that’s about it. Right?

It happens automatically and is not optional.

So, then the manual hasn’t caught up with Ardour 6 yet?
I suppose I’ll have to test this now.

Just wanted to confirm. Yes, it does convert on import and the sound quality seems the same as using SoundConverter. There’s even a box to choose the quality that I probably should have noticed. Thanks again.

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