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Digital Audio Basics: Aliasing Explained

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1, 2020 AUDIO-BASICS-ALIASING-EXPLAINED/#RESPOND)

If you record audio using too low a sample rate, a kind of

sampling error called aliasing can occur. With regards to
audio, aliasing is defined as the misidentification of a signal
frequency, which can introduce distortion or other artifacts
into the recording. Aliasing is easy enough to avoid, but it
takes a little briefing on the basics of digital audio.

Understanding Aliasing
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When a signal is sampled by a digital recording system, it
winds up being band-limited. There are a finite number of
points in the digital realm capable of sampling the
frequency, so it cannot represent an infinite range of
frequencies.
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A digital-to-analogue converter only creates signals within

the specific frequency range determined by your sample
rate. Any recorded frequencies beyond this range are
mapped to frequencies within this range. When one
frequency gets coded as another, you end with aliasing (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/slat
digital-metatune/)
errors.
The Best Automatic Tuner? Slate
A/D & D/A conversion Digital Metatune
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An A/D (analogue-to-digital) converter will allow you to
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convert analogue signal into digital for recording in your (HTTPS://PRODUCELIKEAPRO.COM/BLOG/AUTH
DAW. On the other hand, a D/A (digital-to-analogue)
converter lets you convert stored digital information into an
analogue format.

All of this is done automatically by your audio interface. In

the past, there was some debate as to which interfaces had
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/ua-
the best converters. However, today’s standards are volt-276/)
exceptionally high — even in budget interfaces Universal Audio’s Feature-Packed
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/best-usb-audio- Audio Interface: Volt 276
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Sample rate and the Nyquist Theorem NATALIE WEGIEL

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What Is a Preamp & Why Is It So

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TAGS

The highest frequency your system can record is 5 Quick Mixing Tips

determined by the sample rate. Standard sample rates are (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/5-

quick-mixing-tips/)
44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz.
Cheat sheet
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/cheat-
The Nyquist theorem states that the highest recordable
sheet/)
frequency is equal to half of the sample rate. So at 48 kHz, Compression

you can record all the way up to 24 kHz — called the (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/compression/)

DAW
Nyquist frequency.
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Demo
This is important to know, because if a signal has any
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frequencies higher than the Nyquist frequency, they are drums
interpreted by the converter and mapped to frequencies (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/drums/)

FAQ Friday
lower than the Nyquist frequency. From here, you end up
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/faq-
with aliasing. friday/)

Free Multitracks
In reality, it would be pretty unlikely to have a signal with (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/free-
frequencies extending well beyond 20 kHz, but it’s a good multitracks/)

idea to understand how sample rate effects the frequencies Gear Review
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/gear-
you can safely record. review/)

Giveaway
Bit Depth (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/giveaway/)

Giveaways
While sample rate determines frequency, bit depth (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/giveaways/)

corresponds to the dynamic range of your recording. GUITAR

(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/guitar/)
Without getting too technical about the 1’s and 0’s
Headphones
responsible for resolution, tracking at 24-bit, for example, (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/headphones/)
provides plenty of headroom to get above the noise floor, Hip Hop
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/hip-
while still staying far away from clipping your converter.
hop/)
 Home Mixing
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/home-
mixing/)
Home Recording
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/home-
recording/)

Home Studio
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/home-
studio/)

IK Multimedia
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multimedia/)

Inside the Song

Each “bit” amounts to 6 dB of headroom. So 24-bit x 6 = (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/inside-
144 dB of dynamic range! That’s a massive amount of the-song/)

headroom; you then simply have to record a strong enough Interview

signal to get above the incredibly low noise floor.
Many songs also have a bit depth of 16 because it keeps
the file size down, and 16-bit/44.1kHz is standard CD
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Lewitt
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Mastering
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format. Now, a bit depth of 24 is commonly used when Microphone

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uploading songs to streaming services like Spotify and
Microphones
Apple Music. (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/microphones/)
Mixing
Recalling data for playback (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/mixing/)

mixing in the box

Once you have a recorded waveform stored digitally, you’re (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/mixing-
in-the-box/)
going to need to play it back through your studio monitors
mixing tips
or headphones. At this point, D/A conversion takes place; (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/mixing-
the converter uses the stored information to construct an tips/)

analogue signal which gets sent to your speakers. mixing tricks

(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/mixing-
If the audio you recorded wasn’t done at a high enough
tricks/)
sample rate and bit depth, the reconstruction of the original Mixing Vocals

analogue signal may be inaccurate after D/A conversion. (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/mixing-

vocals/)

What does aliasing sound like? Music Production

(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/music-
production/)
There are two forms of aliasing that can take place: Either
Music Production Tips
there will be silence, or the signal will be recorded as if it (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/music-
were a lower octave, completely misrepresenting the production-tips/)

original signal. NAMM

(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/namm/)

Nashville
How to avoid aliasing (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/nashville/)
To prevent aliasing, all you have to do is record with an Plugin Demo
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/plugin-
adequate sample rate. That is, you should choose the
demo/)
sample rate that best represents the Nyquist frequency you Plugins

wish to record up to. (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/plugins/)

Recording

The default sample rate is 44.1 kHz, meaning you can (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/recording/)

Recording Drums
safely record frequencies all the way up to 22,050 Hz. In
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/recording-
most cases, this is more than enough headroom to avoid drums/)

aliasing, though you can choose to record at 48 kHz for a Recording Guitar
(https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/recording-
bit more safety while also keeping file size relatively low.
guitar/)

Recording Vocals
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXzCt9VlRlY) (https://producelikeapro.com/blog/tag/recording-
vocals/)

Reverb
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Review
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Songwriting
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▶ Synthesizers
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Tips & Tricks

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tricks/)

vocals
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Baby Audio: Parallel Aggressor Plugin |

Demo & Giveaway
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