# Preparing Audio

## Mastering audio

To master audio, record at 44.1 kHz and use a DAT machine with digital I/O capabilities, like the Panasonic SV 3700. Then transfer your recordings digitally to the Macintosh. Sound files and samples should be normalized to maximum amplitude to take full advantage of the 16-bit dynamic range.

## Editing Synthesized Audio

The AudioMedia system from DigiDesign is highly recommended for editing synthesized audio. It supports a variety of sample formats, has simple but powerful editing capabilities, and can record or play back digital or analog sound.

SoundEdit Pro from Macromedia works with all types of AIFF files and performs best with 8-bit, 22 Khz files.

SoundEdit uses different algorithms to resample a file and to cut and paste between different sample rate files. If you resample a file to a different bit depth/sampling rate, SoundEdit may add aliasing and degrade the sound.

Use the following method for better results:

1. Create a new empty file.
2. Double-click the bit depth/sample rate icon in the lower-left corner of the new file's window.
3. Change the file's bit depth/sample rate as desired.
4. Return to the original file.
5. Select all.
6. Copy.
7. Go to the new file.
8. Paste.

For sample rate conversion, use SoundHack or SoundDesigner. An early bug in SoundHack that caused a pop at the beginning has been fixed.