Mix down to stereo wav file?

Discussion forum for Amadeus users

Moderator: Martin Hairer

Post Reply
kenfield
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:10 pm
Contact:

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by kenfield »

I'm a new Amadeus Pro user, formerly ProTools user.

I've created a 2 hour (radio program) session with one mono track & 2 stereo tracks.

When I try to save it as wav, it says the file is too big. I was able to save it as aif. But when I look at the aif file, it is 3GB.

When I previously saved a 2 hour session with only one mono and one stereo track, the output file (aif or wav) was about 1.2GB.

I conclude that somehow it is not doing an actual mix down to stereo when I save it as wav or aif.

Is that true, and if so, how do I do a mix down to stereo from Amadeus Pro? In ProTools this would be a Bounce. Do I use the Sound/Bounce to New File command?
Ken Field • ken@kenfield.org • kenfield.org

philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by philxm »

Did you try saving it in Amadeus format? That’s usually the best way to preserve proprietary features such as multiple tracks, envelope settings, etc.

If you want to fold down to a single track (whether M or S), there are several ways to do so. My preferred method is to set the playback volume at about half, play the file while recording it, and then Normalize the resulting file. That takes a couple of extra steps, but I find it gives me more control than other methods.

Plus, it’s kind of fun.
On Apr 30, 2020, at 8:10 PM, kenfield <forum2mail@hairersoft.com> wrote:

I'm a new Amadeus Pro user, formerly ProTools user.

I've created a 2 hour (radio program) session with one mono track & 2 stereo tracks.

When I try to save it as wav, it says the file is too big. I was able to save it as aif. But when I look at the aif file, it is 3GB.

When I previously saved a 2 hour session with only one mono and one stereo track, the output file (aif or wav) was about 1.2GB.

I conclude that somehow it is not doing an actual mix down to stereo when I save it as wav or aif.

Is that true, and if so, how do I do a mix down to stereo from Amadeus Pro? In ProTools this would be a Bounce. Do I use the Sound/Bounce to New File command?

------------------------
Ken Field • ken@kenfield.org • kenfield.org



User avatar
Martin Hairer
Site Admin
Posts: 1975
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:49 am
Contact:

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by Martin Hairer »

If you want to fold down to a single track (whether M or S), there are several ways to do so.
The easiest is to just use "Bounce Document".
My preferred method is to set the playback volume at about half, play the file while recording it, and then Normalize the resulting file. That takes a couple of extra steps, but I find it gives me more control than other methods.
I certainly wouldn't recommend to physically play back and record the file as this is bound to degrade its quality. You could use BlackHole for this, see

http://www.hairersoft.com/Downloads/BlackHole.zip

using a multi-output device to route the playback simultaneously to BlackHole and your speakers and recording it back from BlackHole. In this way, the recorded sound would be completely identical to what is being played back. Still, I do not see any advantage over using "Bounce Document", unless you want to do some adjustments in real time. Regards,

Martin

--
HairerSoft
http://www.hairersoft.com/

philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by philxm »

I never before noticed the fourth section of the Tracks menu. I see now that it includes some extremely useful features:

Clear envelopes
Apply envelopes
Bounce track
Export track

Not to mention time-savers! I will start experimenting with them today.

On May 1, 2020, at 6:18 AM, Martin Hairer <Martin@HairerSoft.com> wrote:
If you want to fold down to a single track (whether M or S), there are several ways to do so.
The easiest is to just use "Bounce Document".
My preferred method is to set the playback volume at about half, play the file while recording it, and then Normalize the resulting file. That takes a couple of extra steps, but I find it gives me more control than other methods.
I certainly wouldn't recommend to physically play back and record the file as this is bound to degrade its quality. You could use BlackHole for this, see

http://www.hairersoft.com/Downloads/BlackHole.zip

using a multi-output device to route the playback simultaneously to BlackHole and your speakers and recording it back from BlackHole. In this way, the recorded sound would be completely identical to what is being played back. Still, I do not see any advantage over using "Bounce Document", unless you want to do some adjustments in real time. Regards,

Martin

--
HairerSoft
http://www.hairersoft.com/


philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by philxm »

A couple of questions regarding functions in the fourth section of the Tracks menu:

* What is the difference between Apply Envelopes and Bounce Track? They seem to do the same thing for me. (Alas, I don’t find these functions mentioned in the manual.)

* Is there a way to apply such settings as track volume, or overall playback speed and volume to a file? I haven’t found any, which is the reason I began re-recording files. (The Change Pitch effect has its uses, but it creates anomalies whereas adjusting playback speed does not.)

Also, you mention that re-recording a file degrades quality. What causes that degradation?

Thanks very much,
—Phil


On May 1, 2020, at 6:18 AM, Martin Hairer <Martin@HairerSoft.com> wrote:
If you want to fold down to a single track (whether M or S), there are several ways to do so.
The easiest is to just use "Bounce Document".
My preferred method is to set the playback volume at about half, play the file while recording it, and then Normalize the resulting file. That takes a couple of extra steps, but I find it gives me more control than other methods.
I certainly wouldn't recommend to physically play back and record the file as this is bound to degrade its quality. You could use BlackHole for this, see

http://www.hairersoft.com/Downloads/BlackHole.zip

using a multi-output device to route the playback simultaneously to BlackHole and your speakers and recording it back from BlackHole. In this way, the recorded sound would be completely identical to what is being played back. Still, I do not see any advantage over using "Bounce Document", unless you want to do some adjustments in real time. Regards,

Martin

--
HairerSoft
http://www.hairersoft.com/


User avatar
Martin Hairer
Site Admin
Posts: 1975
Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:49 am
Contact:

Mix down to stereo wav file?

Post by Martin Hairer »

* What is the difference between Apply Envelopes and Bounce Track? They seem to do the same thing for me. (Alas, I don’t find these functions mentioned in the manual.)
Bounce Track also applies any Audio Units that you added to the track.
* Is there a way to apply such settings as track volume, or overall playback speed and volume to a file? I haven’t found any, which is the reason I began re-recording files. (The Change Pitch effect has its uses, but it creates anomalies whereas adjusting playback speed does not.)
I see. There's the Amplify effect to change the volume and, as you mentioned, the Change Pitch and Speed effect. (The bug you ran into should have been fixed from version 2.7.5 on.)
Also, you mention that re-recording a file degrades quality. What causes that degradation?
You're doing a digital / analog conversion, run it through a preamp, and then do another analog / digital conversion... Maybe "degrade" wasn't quite the right word, but it would certainly affect the sound, potentially in a non-negligible way. Regards,

Martin

--
HairerSoft
http://www.hairersoft.com/

Post Reply