This is probably one of the questions I get asked more than any other and it (thanks to the extremism of the internet) can provoke all manner of responses. As such I have put together the following set of guidelines which I use, and through explanation with my students suggest that they use. I hope that you find these guidelines useful when you are struggling with what sample rate and bit depth to use for your project.

Note // Is you don’t understand what Sample Rate and Bit Depth are, please let me know and I will write an article explaining what they are, why they are important and how they affect the sound/music you are recording.

What sample rate?

I mostly work with film, or content that will be used in film/TV, therefore I work at sample rate of 48 kHz. If I am doing a music only project then I will tend to stick to 44.1 kHz (depending on the music, see below). But that is me, here are the guidelines for making a choice, and you can choose the one most relevant to your projects needs. I have the following set of rules (for myself).

• 44.1 kHz - Music only projects with mainly electric, electronic instruments or low dynamic range output (eg rock, dance etc).

• 48 kHz - Film projects, library music, composing, some field recordings for SFX and ambiences.

• 88.2 kHz - I never use this one personally

• 96 kHz - Sound design, SFX, Ambience and Sample library recordings for pitch and time manipulation.

  Also music which is exclusively acoustic only instrumentation (eg acoustic guitar, singer songwriter) and classical recordings.

• 192 kHz - Extreme sample manipulation for sound design, SFX. Some acoustic instruement recording when recording in an exceptional space, with exceptional mics and preamps. (or when I have more HD space than sense!)

What bit depth?

Given the cost of hard drive space, and the dynamic range benefits of working with 24 bit, I tend to work with 24 bit most of the time.

• 16 Bit - If what I am working on is low dynamic range music that is going to end up on a CD

• 24 bit - Everything else!

I hope that you found that useful and it will stop you getting involved in online debates!

Peace

Neil

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