BR Wav Import issue (resolved)

[T.C. Elliott]

For information, and maybe clarifcation, I'm posting a problem I've had this afternoon.

So I was sent a file for a collaboration and had to chop it up and re-edit it in Reaper(64 bit.) Then I rendered to a WAV file and tried to import it and the br900 said file type not supported. So I unchecked the "allow large files to use wave64" not knowing what it was but thinking maybe it would make a difference. Still the file type wasn't supported. After trying many things I eventually rendered the file to mp3 format and used foobar2000 to convert it to .WAV (which worked as usual.)

Since I record using the 900 but almost always mix in reaper this isn't an issue for me. I'll record my vocals and then use the BRWC and add them to reaper (with the original file already there) and then I'll render as mp3 and be done with it.    But I am still not sure what the issue is. Could it be reaper x64 is the problem? Or merely a setting in reaper that I'm unfamiliar with? No idea. I'm only mentioning it in case someone else has an issue or if someone knows an obvious problem I'm not seeing.

thanks much everyone
tc

[T.C. Elliott]

oh and kind of funny, back in december 2007 I was having trouble and 64guitfiddles was nice enough to help me out on the yahoo list. I did a search and I read the result. It wasn't until I clicked two more messages and came back to it that I realized it was my own posts I was reading (and their answers.) Kind of funny, but it brings home it's been nearly 4 years since I started using the 900 (owned it a tad longer) and the entire time 64guitars has been there helping me. So double thanx, 64

[64Guitars]

Glad you got it worked out, T.C.  I assume incompatible wav settings were the problem? The BR can only import 16-bit or 8-bit wav files with a sampling rate of 44.1kHz. So you'd have to make sure Reaper is set to export 16-bit wav files at 44.1kHz.

I wouldn't recommend exporting as MP3 because the quality will suffer. When you convert the MP3 to WAV, the lost quality isn't returned. It's kind of like copying a printed document on a cheap, poor quality photocopier and getting a poor copy of the original. If you then copy the bad copy using a state-of-the-art super quality photocopier, it's still going to look just as bad. To get a good copy, you need to copy the original document on the good photocopier, not the poor copy made on the cheap photocopier. In the same way, converting a 24-bit, 48kHz WAV file (the original) to MP3 (poor copy), then converting the MP3 to a 16-bit, 44.1kHz WAV file isn't going to sound any better than the MP3. Instead, you need to convert the 24-bit, 48kHz WAV file (the original) directly to a 16-bit, 44.1kHz WAV file. It won't be quite as good as the original because of the reduced bit depth and sampling rate, but it will be much better than the MP3.

[T.C. Elliott]

Thanks much 64.
Yeah I think it's set on 24 bit which could be the problem. (I couldn't find my br manual and it always worked on reaper before I upgraded to reaper 4.02) So I'm sure that's the problem.

Re: mp3 - You are entirely correct. However, when I went to mix the song I imported my vocal track from the BR to Reaper via the BRWC. I was sent the file and put it into reaper but needed a track to sing against. So while the quality is way low (wave to mp3 to wave essentially) it didn't need to be good because that final track is just for singing against. Does that make sense?

I will change to 16 bit when rendering to wav for the br and see if that helps... I'll also find my manual or download the one from the web so I can read the darn thing. That was really the most frustrating part of the whole day. The good news is that I got the track done, the bad news is the vocals are just a tad pitchy. I was hoping for better, but this track will not end up on anything important even though it's a three way collaboration. So all is well.

thanks again

[64Guitars]

Re: mp3 - You are entirely correct. However, when I went to mix the song I imported my vocal track from the BR to Reaper via the BRWC. I was sent the file and put it into reaper but needed a track to sing against. So while the quality is way low (wave to mp3 to wave essentially) it didn't need to be good because that final track is just for singing against. Does that make sense?

Yes, that makes perfect sense. Sound quality doesn't matter for tracks that will never be included in the final mix. So it's perfectly okay to use MP3s or whatever as a guide track while recording.