Audio Speed Changes in Soundtrack Pro

[ This article was first published in the November, 2007, issue of
Larry’s Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. ]

Carl Whitney writes:

I have a problem recording analog and digital audio into Soundtrack Pro. When I do this the Timeline plays back at a different speed. I tried doing this back in February for an Indie Movie I edited. I ended up using Pro Tools.

Larry replies: First, make sure you are using the latest version of Soundtrack Pro.

Second, Soundtrack Pro allows you to set the sample rate of the timeline between a variety of settings. Without knowing more about your problem, my first guess is that you have a sample rate mismatch.

There are two places to set sample rates: in the Timeline and Preferences.

The Timeline controls what sample rate is used for playback of all Timeline clips. It is initially set based upon Preferences but can be changed at will.

The Soundtrack Pro > Preferences > Project tab controls the presets for a Timeline.

By default, STP sets everything to a 48 kHz sample rate. My guess is that your two clips used wildly divergent sample rates which caused the problem.