SAMPLED

Production and recording · updated 2026-08-16

NYQUIST FREQUENCY

Half the sample rate — the highest frequency a digital system can represent. Above it, content folds back as aliasing, so converters filter it out.

A studio control room with a DAW session open on screen, monitor speakers and a control surface — the recording and editing setup these production terms describe.
Production and recording — A studio control room with a DAW session open on screen, monitor speakers and a control surface — the recording and editing setup these production terms describe.

Photo: Gooi & Vecht Studio, Audio 1 control room with Nuendo 6.5 (opens in a new tab) by Marco Raaphorst (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)

Key takeaways

  • Half the sample rate — the highest frequency a digital system can represent.
  • Above it, content folds back as aliasing, so converters filter it out.
  • At 44.1 kHz that is 22.05 kHz, comfortably above human hearing, and anything above it must be filtered out before conversion or it folds back into the audible range.
  • A 44.1 kHz project can carry content up to 22.05 kHz; a synth generating harmonics above that will alias unless it oversamples.
  • Watch out: assuming aliasing is only a converter issue.

Quick checklist

  • Can you define nyquist frequency in one sentence without looking?
  • Can you point at nyquist frequency in a real session, mix or contract?
  • Have you tried the practical move above at least once?
  • Would you catch the common mistake before it costs you a take?
  • Have you opened one of the primary sources below rather than a forum thread?

NYQUIST FREQUENCY IN DEPTH

The Nyquist frequency is half the sample rate — the highest frequency a system can represent. At 44.1 kHz that is 22.05 kHz, comfortably above human hearing, and anything above it must be filtered out before conversion or it folds back into the audible range.

How it works in practice

A 44.1 kHz project can carry content up to 22.05 kHz; a synth generating harmonics above that will alias unless it oversamples.

The mistake people make

Assuming aliasing is only a converter issue. Distortion, saturation and hard-synced oscillators all generate content above Nyquist inside the box.

WHERE NYQUIST FREQUENCY SITS

Nyquist frequency belongs to production and recording in the Sampled music glossary. Studio words: what the gear does, what the engineer is asking for, what the session sheet means.

TEST YOURSELF

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3 quick questions on nyquist frequency. Answers are marked instantly — nothing is sent anywhere.

  1. 1. Which statement best describes nyquist frequency?

  2. 2. What is the mistake people most often make with nyquist frequency?

  3. 3. In practice, which of these applies to nyquist frequency?

Ready for the full thing? Take the 25-question terminology test and get a certificate with your name and score.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS

Free, primary references for nyquist frequency — standards bodies, manufacturers, government offices and university course material. Each one lists the line of this entry it backs up.

  • Xiph.org — digital show and tell (opens in a new tab)

    Open-source standards group · Xiph.Org Foundation

    “Half the sample rate — the highest frequency a digital system can represent.”— the claim this source supports

    Why it counts: Xiph's write-ups are free, technically rigorous and famously careful about the myths around digital audio.

  • Stanford CCRMA — mathematics of the DFT (opens in a new tab)

    University research centre · Stanford CCRMA

    “Above it, content folds back as aliasing, so converters filter it out.”— the claim this source supports

    Why it counts: The CCRMA course material derives this from first principles, so you can check the maths behind the plain-English version above.

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