Project sample rate
One rate for the whole project; files at any other rate come in converted, with the originals kept.
Every project runs at one sample rate, and everything in it runs at that rate: the instruments, the effects, recordings and the mixdown. The readout beside the project name shows it and opens the audio settings, where you choose it: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz. A new project starts at 48 kHz, and a project opened from a file keeps the rate it was saved at. Audio files you import do not have to match: a file at another rate is converted as it comes in, and the file you dropped is kept unchanged inside the project. You can change the rate at any time, before or after the project has audio in it.
When to use it
- Stems from another session at 44.1 kHz drop straight into a 48 kHz project, and the other way round. There is nothing to prepare elsewhere.
- Samples and field recordings at 96 kHz go into an ordinary project; the detail above the project’s reach is set aside, not thrown away.
- Keep 48 kHz unless you have a reason not to. Every doubling of the rate doubles what the engine has to do per second.
Converting
The conversion is band-limited, so a converted file plays at exactly the same pitch and timing and keeps everything below the project’s reach, which at 48 kHz is up to about 21.6 kHz. The status line says which file was converted and from what rate, and the clip’s tooltip shows the original’s rate from then on. Converting a stereo stem of a few minutes takes a few seconds; the song keeps playing while it happens, the same as any import.
Files above the project rate
A 96 kHz file in a 48 kHz project keeps everything up to the project’s reach. What lies above it is not in the project’s audio, but it is still in the original, which the project keeps.
What the project keeps
The project file stores the file as it came in, never the converted copy. The converted copy is made again when it is needed and cached on your device, so reopening a project is quick. Nothing you do to a clip, trimming, fading, reversing or rendering, ever changes the original.
Changing the rate
Pick another rate in the audio settings. With audio in the project, a dialog says what will happen and asks first: playback stops, every audio file is converted again from its original, and everything on the timeline keeps its place and length to within a frame. MIDI, automation, chords and grooves are musical time and do not move at all. The change is one step in Undo, and going back needs no conversion. A frozen track’s rendered audio is converted like any other file; unfreeze and refreeze it for a render made at the new rate. Instruments and effects simply run at the new rate from the next play. Going from 96 to 48 kHz halves what the engine has to do per second, which is the usual reason to change.
Recording and mixdown
Recording captures at the project rate, so takes never need converting; the audio device can run at another rate, see audio devices. Mixdown exports at the project rate.
Tips
- The same file imported into projects at different rates is converted separately for each, from the same original.
- A clip’s tooltip names the original rate only when it differs from the project’s.
See also
Changes
- NewChoose and change the project's sample rate · 8 October 2026
The audio settings, which the rate readout beside the project name opens, now offer the project's sample rate: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz, 48 kHz for a new project. Change it whenever you like. With audio in the project a dialog says what will happen first: playback stops, every file is converted again from its kept original, and clips, fades, loops and comps keep their place to within a frame while MIDI and automation do not move. It is one step in Undo, and going back needs no conversion. A project that overloads at 96 kHz can drop to 48 kHz and halve its engine load. See Project sample rate.
- NewImport audio at any sample rate · 8 October 2026
A WAV at another sample rate now drops straight into the project. It is converted on the way in, band-limited so pitch and timing stay exact, and the file you dropped is kept unchanged inside the project: the project file stores the original, and the converted copy is made again when it is needed. The status line says what was converted and from what rate, and the clip's tooltip names the original rate. A new project starts at 48 kHz and no longer takes its rate from the first file; a project with only MIDI in it accepts audio at any rate. See Project sample rate.