What are WAV Files?
WAV Files are by far the most commonly accepted file format in the music production world. Both Windows and Mac users have many DAW application that happily work with WAV files but it’s mostly PC users that favor WAV files
What’s the Sound Quality Like?
WAV files are about as good as it gets when it comes to accurate reproduction of your recordings. Most DAW apps will allow you to choose the bit rate and sampling quality of the WAV files that your computer creates when you record.
Most recordings these days are still recorded at 44.1 kHz using 16 bits which is the same as CD quality. Even though most audio interfaces are more than capable of recording at much higher resolution, the human ear struggles to hear above 22 kHz, so it makes sense to keep your file sizes as small as you can while retaining the best quality.
Can I download Some Free WAV files?
This is Platinumloops – of course you can!
Where Can I Download More WAV files?
You’re in luck. Here at Platinumloops we have THOUSANDS of WAV files in a wide variety of musical genres and instruments. Start searching for WAV Files here.
Should I record in Mono or Stereo?
If you’re recording a single instrument with one microphone it’s completely pointless to record in stereo. If you record one audio track in stereo all that’s happening is that your hard drive is wasting space because the exact same sound is simply duplicated on to both the left and right channels of your stereo track.
Even if you’re recording an instrument with multiple microphones (like a drum set), you still should record each track in mono. When played back, you can pan each mono track to a different position in the stereo spectrum and now you’ll be hearing a lovely stereo re-production of your recording.
If you wanted to export that recording you’d then export it as a stereo WAV file.
Which DAW Apps Work with WAV files?
All professional audio apps work with WAV files. If you’re making music on your phone or tablet, there’s a chance that those apps will use MP3 files to keep the file sizes as low as possible but for any kind of pro audio recording WAV is the way to go.
What other File Formats Are Popular?
Mac users tend to prefer Apple Loops which are just as high quality as WAV files. Users of Reason will find Rex2 loops very versatile.