I've edited a track using wrong sample rate, what can I do to fix it?

[Beedster]

I use Zencastr to record podcasts with experts in a range of fields. I recorded one last week which was really quite good but in which there was a repeated noise in the background at the guest's end that we could do little about. I told the guest I'd edit it out of the final mix, which I spent about 90 minutes doing (in some places I could remove it, in others I had to reduce its impact). Anyway, in removing the noise - which was easy to see on the waveform - I wasn't really listening to the conversation which I then edited at the end of a very long day. A colleague listened to it and said 'It sounds a bit odd', and when I listened back it did seem a little slow. Turns out that Zencastr changed their default sample rate from 44 to 48 and I'd downloaded and edited vocal tracks sampled at 48 with my usual Pro Tools setting of 44, hence playback of the edited track is noticeably slower. Normally if I made a schoolboy error like this I'd reload the tracks and re-edit, but I'm not sure I can face the hell of the noise removal again. I've tried making a copy of the Pro Tools tracks at the correct sample rate but that didn't work, tried bouncing to mp3 at the correct sample rate and that didn't work. Suggestions welcome! 

[Beedster]

Think I've sorted it, easier than I thought, clues were here 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Beedster

[skidder652003]

without wanting to sound sarcy (failed) I think your real problem is ProTools!

[paul_5]

Mmmm, wasn't the problem Zencastr?

[Beedster]

23 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

without wanting to sound sarcy (failed) I think your real problem is ProTools!

 

17 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

Mmmm, wasn't the problem Zencastr?

 

Well you decide folks......

 

I recorded a really nice interview with a scientist a few months back using their original 'Classic' platform - which I'd been using pretty much without problem for two years - but to my serious annoyance the guest's audio track wouldn't download. I got in touch with Zencastr support and after a few attempts to retrieve the track (apparently) their ultimate response was "Hey, why were you using our legacy product in the first place when you should have been using our really cool new version". My response was pretty much "I'm ********* ****** ***** paying you for this ****** platform and you still have it ******* live so it should ******* **** ***** work whether you consider it 'legacy' or not".

 

A not unreasonable response given I could not really ask the guest to re-record the session so had lost a morning's work plus some PR? 

 

So, given the fact that Zencastr has been clear that the 'legacy' version might be a problem, for the next session I though I'd use the new version. Now, there was nothing when I logged in or on screen to suggest that the sample rate was higher in this version, and now way to select it, so I was bloody miffed to find the above source/destination problem. OK, when I replicated the error it was clear from two of the dialogue boxes in Pro Tools that there was a mismatch between source and destination rates, but I could be forgiven for not noticing given I've imported Zencastr tracks into Pro Tools about 200 times without that problem. Again, I went back to them and in classic US style their response was 'Yeh, hey it's great isn't it, we're working at 48k now" to which mine was "well, none of my audience will notice the slightest ******* difference in sound quality but you just gave me another extra afternoon's work through simply not making this clear".

 

So yes Paul, spot on - and with due respect to skidder who's Pro Tools MMV - Zencastr was and is very much the problem here, and having had two bad experiences in four podcasts - one of which meant the irretrievable loss of the important audio track - I am looking at other options now, which is a shame as for two years I used Zencastr very happily without a problem.

[lowdown]

We use Nuendo and there is always a pop up window asking for sample rate conversions into project settings when importing (if needed).

Same for video frame rates...Surely Pro Tools has the same, or something similar?

I thought most DAW's would have the different options for importing/exporting? You don't really want sample rate miss match going on.

 

In this day and age, it's a bit naughty of 'Zencastr' not mentioning that there had been an update to the App.

Especially if you use monthly subscriptions.

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by lowdown

[Beedster]

27 minutes ago, lowdown said:

We use Nuendo and there is always a pop up window asking for sample rate conversions into project settings when importing (if needed).

Same for video frame rates...Surely Pro Tools has the same, or something similar?

I thought most DAW's would have the different options for importing/exporting? You don't really want sample rate miss match going on.

 

In this day and age, it's a bit naughty of 'Zencastr' not mentioning that there had been an update to the App.

Especially if you use monthly subscriptions.

 

 

 

 

Thanks @lowdown and agreed, I do subscribe to Zencastr and have done since April 2020. I can't see anything on their platform indicating the change, I'm guessing for most users who simply download an mp3 of the session it's not relevant, but I download the wav files into Pro Tools and often use audio tracks from more than one Zencastr recording session in a final Pro Tools mix so it's annoying if get-aroundable with some tweaks. Re Pro Tools, the information re different sample rates was/is there but I simply didn't check as I've never needed to. We live and learn 👍