Audio File Formats

This section discusses the different file formats, Mixer(MIX), Wave(WAV) and MP3, that are compatible with the Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder. Additional information is given on the benefits of each of these file formats and general advice for which file format to use and when. Detailed instructions are also given for opening and saving files in different formats

Difference Between Mixer, Wave and MP3

The Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder handles three different file formats: Mixer files which have the file extension ".mix", Wave files having an extension of ".wav" and MP3 files which have a ".mp3" extension. Mixer files are the native format for the Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder. Saving your project in this format will keep all tracks separate and store all descriptions and level settings currently set for the project. When in doubt of which format to save in, make sure you use the "Mixer" format as it will preserve all possible settings.

Saving your project as a wave or MP3 file will perform a mixdown operation. This will cause all tracks to be mixed together and saved as one file. Also, both of these file formats are unable to save descriptions. The benefit of saving in the Wave or MP3 format is that nearly all audio applications and many external audio players recognize both of these format. This will enable you to easily burn your audio projects to a CD, transfer them across the web or email and also transfer them to iPod players or similar audio playing devices.

The Wave file format is one of the oldest and most widely used audio file formats, originally created by Microsoft in the early 1990's. It allows audio to be saved in a variety of qualities ranging from a very low quality similar to that of audio data transferred across phone lines to an audio quality higher than that of a typical compact disc. The advantage of this format is the ability to save in such a high quality. The disadvantage is the large size of disk space this audio format can occupy.

The MP3 file format is one of the most popular file formats available. The MP3 format is based on a compression scheme that compresses audio and eliminates audio data that the human ear cannot perceive. This keeps the file size much lower than that of uncompressed audio data. It's popularity soared in the late 1990's as file sharing became widespread and people sought ways to transfer audio data as fast as possible. Another advantage of MP3 format is that it contains an ID tag that can be used to catalog and identify audio files with greater ease than the Wave format. The main downside of the MP3 file format is that the compression often results in a lower quality of recording than Wave files and compact discs. However, many listeners find this audio quality difference to be negligible.

Opening and Importing Wave and MP3 Files

Many audio enthusiasts like to be able to open and edit Wave or MP3 files or be able to import Wave or MP3 files into their existing multitrack projects. Both of these operations can be accomplished with the Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder. To open a Wave or MP3 file for editing, start a new project by clicking the "New" button located on the top toolbar (visual aid item #1). Then select the "Open" button also located on the top toolbar. The open file dialog box will appear. From there you can select whichever Wave or MP3 file you wish to edit. If you would rather import a Wave or MP3 file into an existing multitrack project you can do so by clicking on the "Open" button located on the top toolbar. Again, select the Wave or MP3 file you wish to import into the project. The audio file will be placed into the current track you are viewing and at the current position of the "Project Time" (visual aid item #32).

Note that you can also import a Wave or MP3 file into an existing project via the "Tools" pull down menu option (visual aid item #1) by selecting "Import" from this menu. This procedure is identical to that of selecting "Open" from the top toolbar as described above. The only difference is that the file will automatically be imported into the project instead of the user having the option to open the audio file as a new project in itself.

Saving Wave and MP3 Files

You can save your Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder project as a Wave or MP3 file by selecting "File" via the pull down menu system (visual aid item #1) and then choosing "Save as Wave" or "Save as MP3" from the pull down menu. As mentioned above in the "Difference Between Mixer, Wave and MP3 Files" section it is often necessary to save a project as a Wave or MP3 file in order to burn the project to a CD as an audio track, transfer the project to someone via email or place the project on an iPod or similar personal audio device.

Note that the process of saving an Acoustic Labs Multitrack Recorder project as one file is essentially the same as mixing down all of the tracks of the project to one final track. You will find under the "Tools" pull down menu (visual aid item #1) the option to mixdown to a Wave or MP3 file. This is discussed in farther detail in Section 9: Importing Audio and Mixing Down. This operation is no different than saving the project as a Wave or MP3 file as described above.