Gnarly MP3 compression artifacts

[Len911]

Also, figuring out how to make mp3s sound reasonable is a necessary part of being in this business as you have to upload mp3s to sites like Taxi for submissions and many libraries ask for them for initial review.

To balance speed and quality, make multiple mp3's starting from the lowest bit depth and sampling size, up to the highest, and choose the one that is fastest with acceptable sound. Once you auditioned enough, you will have a good idea of the range of bit and sample frequencies that are closer to the ideal.

You don't have control over how the codecs are programmed however.

[Casey H]

I'm not a production engineer but I've always heard that it's better to use an mp3 converter outside of your DAW than to export mp3 directly from DAW. Many people export wav or aif from DAW and then use iTunes or other program (I use "Switch" from NCH Audio) to make the mp3s.

You may want to give that a try.

[mojobone]

I'm an audio engineer, and it does make a difference which program you use to encode MP3s, but it doesn't matter whether it's integrated in your DAW. Fraunhofer's codec is as good as any and it's what most DAWs use; they all sound a little different, so I'd say just pick one and stick with it for the sake of consistency. Most of them 'like' about a decibel of headroom, which is different than burning a CD; CDs have error correction built into the spec, tolerances are better. If you're flush, you can buy a software plugin from Sony to audition your material through all the available codecs before converting. iZotope's Ozone has a similar function in its most deluxe version.

[Casey H]

I'm an audio engineer, and it does make a difference which program you use to encode MP3s, but it doesn't matter whether it's integrated in your DAW. Fraunhofer's codec is as good as any and it's what most DAWs use; they all sound a little different, so I'd say just pick one and stick with it for the sake of consistency. Most of them 'like' about a decibel of headroom, which is different than burning a CD; CDs have error correction built into the spec, tolerances are better. If you're flush, you can buy a software plugin from Sony to audition your material through all the available codecs before converting. iZotope's Ozone has a similar function in its most deluxe version.

Thanks mojo... You know way more than me about this stuff.

I will say that if your DAW does not come with the functionality to export mp3 or you don't like what's included, before you spend money, consider that there is free software out there that will convert outside your DAW... iTunes is one though I find it slow, cumbersome and confusing to use simply for conversion. I've been using "Switch" from NCH Audio for many years and it is very fast and easy to use with easy drop downs for choosing format, bit rate, bit depth, etc. http://www.nch.com.au/switch/mp3.html
Other similar programs are out there as well.

Of course, this doesn't eliminate the need to allow some headroom in your mixdowns as others have said.

Happy mp3-ing.
Casey