12. Understanding Audio File Formats & Exporting Simplified
The last topic we’ll cover in this series is file types, and management. File types can be an interesting topic, management not so much. BUT, I need to mention management because this is so, so important to the operation. Trust me when I say you’ll thank me later for introducing you to proper file management.
It was literally just yesterday when a friend of mine asked me to share some of my music with him. I spent about 30 minutes looking for a song because I accidentally put it in the wrong folder, outside of my standard file management system. Not only was I starting to stress out because I couldn't find it, I was beginning to believe I accidentally deleted it which made my heart sink. If you want to avoid that, stick to a proper management system. (more on this later in the lesson)
Okay! Let's cover the cool nerdy stuff first because that's the fun stuff. LET’S DIVE IN
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12.1 File Formats & Their Purpose
- WAV: Waveform Audio File Format - Highest quality, uncompressed. Best for production workflows and mastering.
Oh the .Wav file. We Love the wav file. Pronounced Wave. This file format is a completely lossless file format. What do I mean by ‘lossless’. A lossless format means we have a perfect 1 to 1 replica. It does not get compressed into a smaller size (more about compression in the Mp3 section) a Wav file is very large when compared to other file formats because it contains 100% of the original data. It's the ‘purest’ audio format available. Though it's quite large which makes it storage space intensive and hard to send over the internet in order to share with friends and family.
When we record audio in the DAW it's recorded as a wav file. When you work with samples, you’ll want to make sure they are wav files. Otherwise you’ll be working with a lower quality sample/ recording.
If you were to save your recording in order to send it to a mastering engineer, you’d want to send them the wav file. This is the 1 to 1 perfect replication, the highest possible quality file you can work with in audio production.
Professionals use Wav files. Think of a Wav as the highest quality Master copy.
- FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec - Lossless compression, smaller size. Ideal for streaming services and archiving.
FLAC is important when you plan on sending your music to a streaming service like Spotify, Youtube, or Amazon music.
Streaming services use their own compression algorithms that don’t care about the quality of your music, they care about the storage space available on their servers!
^ Read that again ^
In order to save storage space on their servers, streaming services will compress the physical size of your audio file (not music compression but data compression) essentially taking out bits of information in order to make the file smaller. This can alter the way your music sounds due to digital artifacts. This is where FLAC comes in.
FLAC or Free Lossless Audio Codec (codec stands for code/decode), Is a lossless file format just like a wav file. The difference here is that FLAC uses mathematical lossless compression to reduce the size of the file. Even though the file has been compressed, it was done so with mathematical precision which allows a 1-to-1 mathematically perfect copy of your audio without removing data to make it smaller.
If you were to use a FLAC file to upload to a streaming service like Spotify or Youtube, this can greatly reduce the amount of their own compression used to limit storage usage. Where a wav file is massive, requiring more data compression (ripping out the bts). A FLAC file is already mathematically compressed, reducing the amount of processing the streaming service has to do to our audio. This makes FLAC a great candidate for uploading to streaming services keeping audio quality in our favor!
SWEET!
- MP3: MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 - Compressed, smallest size. Perfect for quick sharing or casual listening.
The Mp3… first off this is what it does to your audio.
On the Left we see Mp3 and everything over 15Khz is just hacked right off like it's not important.
On the right we have a Wav file which maintains its frequency content all the way through into the inaudible spectrum.
This is the definition between Lossless and Lossy file types.
Where a Wav file is Lossless and uncompressed, an Mp3 file is both Lossy and compressed. Sad day to be an Mp3. Mp3 files use a compression algorithm that literally gets rid of information or data in your audio in order to save space. It reduces the quality of your audio for the sake of space.
Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but it underlines my point. Mp3 files are good for sharing online or sending via an email. An Mp3 file is solely designed to save space by reducing the amount of storage space via the means of ripping out “unneeded data”. Even though humans start to lose the ability to hear frequencies in the 15k-20khz range, it's still a noticeable difference when it comes to how ‘open’ the top end sounds (it takes time to learn how to hear this).
We use Mp3 for a quick sharing of content, or if a streaming service requires an Mp3 (rare but it happens). Mp3 is simply a means of quick sharing when utmost quality is not important.
- AIFF: Audio Interchange File Format - Similar to WAV but Apple-focused. Rarely used outside Apple environments.
I only put this in here because you’ll see it from time to time. But really, you can ignore it for 99.99% of the work you do. AIFF is literally Apple just trying to make their own thing as it always does.
Oh Apple, why do you have to try and change things?
In summary: Use WAV for production, FLAC for streaming, and MP3 for casual use.
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12.2: Exporting Audio Basics
- Walking through the quality settings for files:
- Sample Rate: 44.1kHz (standard), higher for specific needs.
I’m not going to get too in depth here because I've already covered all these settings in (This Lesson)
What you need to know here is that 44.1KHz is standard CD quality and is the minimum required sample rate due to the Nyquist Theorem if you want to jump ahead. We’ll cover the Nyquist theorem in detail in a more advanced lesson based around Sample rate later on.
You can save your audio at 44.1KHz, 48KHz, and 96KHz. Though when saving at higher sample rates we drastically increase the file size and when uploading to a streaming service, the smaller the file type the better because we want to reduce the amount of lossy compression applied by the streaming services.
If you record at 44.1KHz and you try to save at 96KHz you’re not gaining anything at all and actually only hurting yourself because when you go to upload it, your original (and still) 44.1KHz recording is going to get ripped to pieces by the compression algorithm of the streaming service.
If you recorded at 96KHz you can ‘bounce down’ to 44.1KHz to reside the file size in a controlled environment with your own hand.
You can always get less out of more, but can never get more out of less.
I personally always recorded at 48KHz and exported my songs at 48KHz so i didn't have to alter anything, but at the end of the day, the higher the number the higher the quality but more computer power is needed and that can get expensive in many ways.
- Bit Depth: 16-bit for standard, 24-bit for high-quality, 32-bit float is extreme
Again, I’m not going to get too in depth here because i’ve already covered all these settings in (This Lesson)
What you need to know here is that 16-bit is standard CD quality. 24-bit is a ‘high quality standard’. Again the higher the number the larger the file will be. Though we’re getting a higher resolution in our audio, saving at 32-bit float can be an extremely large file and beautiful quality for your own listening enjoyment, once we start uploading to streaming services you’ll want to keep it between 16 and 24-bit.
44.1K/16-Bit is the audio you’ll get on CD’s, which are mass produced for public consumption. So don't stress too much about the biggest settings. The general public doesn't know what a 96KHz/32-Bit recording sounds like. That's the type of quality that is reserved for us professionals that can actually enjoy, understand, and appreciate the quality in an environment which can actually uphold that level of fidelity.
- Channels: Mono or Stereo depending on the output.
We’ll cover the physics of Mono vs. Stereo in a later lesson. What we need to know and understand here is that Stereo is a beautiful thing, and you should Always export in stereo unless you have a very good reason to export in mono.
At its core, Mono means 1 and Stereo means 2. If we have 2 speakers, we’ll want them to act independently. Exporting to mono will get rid of all the information that is different between the 2 speakers and only export the information that is the same between the 2 speakers.
Again, this may sound kind of vague, but we’ll learn all about the differences between Stereo and Mono in a dedicated lesson on the topic.
For now, always export in Stereo!
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12.3: Saving Projects
- The importance of saving DAW sessions regularly and creating backups.
You’ve spent the whole weekend making a song, 10+ hours of blood, sweat, and tears. You get up to go make some food. You come back to your computer only to see the BSOD.
You haven't even saved once…. All your progress is gone. That song you just spent 10+ Hours on is no longer, it doesn't exist. You question whether you even like making music, you question your existence and how this could have even happened. You feel like giving up and all hope is lost.
It's a real thing, and it SUCKS. Save, and Save often. A quick way to save without clicking through menus is Ctrl+S. This will save your session. Make it a habit to just Ctrl+S often. After important changes, or the moment you get the feeling you like the work you’re doing. Ctrl+S, just smack it every now and then just to be sure your progress is saved.
Save, and Save often. Ctrl+S, double tap it if it makes you feel better.
- Encouragement of keeping all project files in a single folder for easy access and avoiding lost media.
This filing system will single handedly save you time after time if you have the ability to maintain it. I’ve developed this system over the past 2 decades of working with my computer and its the best way to stay organized.
The ‘1_A_Master_Folder’ will always show up at the very top of your filing system if you keep it in alphanumerical order. This makes it very easy to find and hard to lose.
Inside that folder I have my DAW folder which is where I install the DAW when prompted what folder i would like to install my DAW in. This is done at the VERY beginning of installation. If you’ve already installed your DAW it’s okay just leave it as is! Still create the 1_A_Master_Folder. This comes in handy for MANY reasons (i’ve already covered this in some of the first lessons but i’ll keep coming back to it)
When working with Audio, there are 3rd party tools you can purchase called ‘Plugins’ . There are many Plugin companies like Waves, Sound Toys, Plugin alliance, Fabfilter, Voxengo, and many others which we’ll get into how to add those to your DAW in a later lesson. All of these ‘Plugins’ will be installed in the ‘Effects_&_Tools’ folder So we have all of our different tools in 1 place for easy lookup!
The ‘Session_Files’ will contain all of our Session files. These are your projects. When you open a DAW and use Ctrl+S you’ll be prompted to name your session and where you’d like it to be saved. I recommend using the following as a standard ‘Song Name_Date of Creation’. This way if someone wants to steal your music (very rare) you’ll have definitive proof that you have the oldest dated copy of the original creation for legal purposes. It’s just a fail safe and people don't really steal music like that, but if someone does, you protected yourself by using the date in the original session save.
All of your sessions should get their own folder so as to not mix them up with each other!
When you are ready to Export your song into a wav, FAC, or Mp3, you will save that to EITHER the session folder dedicated for that song, OR a ‘Mastered_Songs’ folder. When Exporting songs, it will be rare that the first time you Export will be the only time you export. That being said it is utterly crucial that you VERSION you song files.
‘Song_1_Version1_Date’
‘Song_1_Version2_Date’
‘Song_1_Version3_Date’
If you named them all Song 1, you would never know which is the latest version. Thus mixing yourself up and causing confusion. Be thorough when naming things. The more detailed the naming the more clarity you’ll have later.
There is a running joke in the audio community about the “Final Version” naming because very often you’ll have a song you’re sure about, but end up having a file named ‘Song_1_FinalVersion3_FinalFinalVersion2’
All you need to know is what the latest version of your song is. Whether it's the date & exact time you exported or just simply a number at the end to keep track of what version number you’re on is very important.
Find what works for you and maintain the system. Think about years from now when you want to try and find something, which is exactly why I started this lesson with the story I did.
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The difference between saving projects (to continue working) and exporting audio files (for final output).
Saving a Project is one thing and Exporting the song is another. A Project or ‘Session file’ is the entire project inside the DAW. If you wanted to reopen a project, you would reopen a ‘session file’. This is also what you would send someone if you wanted to collaborate. It contains all the samples and tools you used to make the song.
Exporting a song is saving the song into a specific file type which we covered at the beginning of this lesson. We export Wav files and Mp3’s. We save Session Files.
Exporting takes everything inside the session file, and produces a single audio file that we can send to friends or upload to streaming services.