Digital Audio Sampling/Recording Basics (Sample Rate and Bit Depth)
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On to some of the technical “quality” concerns we need to think about with digital sampling. Just like fidelity can vary with analog recordings the same is true with digital (albeit much more methodical). Some people prefer recording lo-fi (thin cheap tape for example) for the sonic aesthetic and coloration. The same logic doesn’t necessarily apply with digital sampling and digital recording.
Typically the idea is to record as high fidelity as possible and then manipulate (color) the sound afterward. So if you want something to sound “vintage” you could you use a plugin on a high quality digital recording to get that effect. I’d prefer not to get too sciency in this course but if you want more information on sample rates I’d recommend reading up on the nyquist-shannon theorem. But for now just know that 44.1k 16 Bit (cd quality) is absolutely fine for almost all types of professional music (one exception would be classical music designed to be played back on a really nice sound system). Think back to the principle from a couple videos ago… A Great Song = A Great Song… subtle audio quality differences will not change that fact.
Remember that the sample rate you choose is the number of samples per second (I may have accidentally said something different at one point in the video). So if you are going with 44.1k that equals 44,100 samples taken every second. Alternatively 48k would be the equivalent of 48,000 samples taken every second. That’s a lot of samples for even just a snippet of audio.