6 · Recording Audio

This chapter covers recording from a microphone or line input — a guitar, a vocal, a synth, a whole band through an interface.

Before you start: pick your hardware

Make sure your audio interface or microphone is connected, then open ☰ ▸ Audio Settings… and confirm:

Core Audio is Enabled (the engine is running).
Your Input Device (macOS) is selected. On iPhone/iPad the system input is used automatically.
A reasonable buffer size for low monitoring latency.

See Audio Settings for the full details. The first time AnalogDAW needs the microphone, the system asks for microphone permission (on macOS this happens when the app first launches) — allow it.

Sample rate must match. AnalogDAW records at your project sample rate (set in Session Settings) and drives your interface to it. If the interface can't run that rate, recording is disabled until you fix the mismatch — AnalogDAW warns you and offers to switch the project to the nearest rate the interface supports. This guarantees a take is never captured at the wrong rate.

Step 1 · Assign an input to a track

On the track's channel strip, open the Inserts (INS) section to reach the input source picker, and choose where the track records from:

Hardware Input — pick a specific input channel (e.g. In 1), or a stereo pair (e.g. In 1–2) if the track is stereo.
The picker lists the inputs available on your active device. If you see "No stereo pairs available" or "Select an active input device in Audio Settings," sort the device out there first.

Set the track to mono or stereo to match your source — a single mic is mono; a stereo keyboard or a pair of room mics is stereo.

Multiple tracks at once: assign different input channels to several tracks, arm them all, and AnalogDAW records each one to its own track in a single pass (a single interface, demultiplexed to many tracks).

Step 2 · Arm the track

Press the Arm (●) button on the track. Armed tracks are the ones that will record. The transport's Record button stays disabled until at least one track is armed.

Step 3 · Monitor your input (optional)

Turn on Input Monitoring on the strip to hear the live input through the channel — including its preamp color, EQ, and compression — while you set levels and perform.

The transport's tracking safety indicator shows your monitoring latency. If it's orange or red, lower the buffer size in Audio Settings for tighter timing.

Set good levels first. Aim for healthy peaks that don't hit the very top of the meter. Use the Pad for hot sources and Gain to bring up quiet ones (see Preamp & Color).

Step 4 · Set up the click and count-in (optional)

For tempo-locked recording:

Metronome — turn on the click. Use Record Only (right-click / long-press the metronome) if you only want it while recording.
Count-In — play one, two, or four empty bars before recording begins, so you can catch the groove. Right-click / long-press to choose the bar count.

Set your tempo and time signature in the transport before you start.

Press Record (R) or the transport's record button. If count-in is on, you'll hear the count first; recording then begins at the playhead. A red recording clip grows on each armed track's lane as you play.

Press Record again, or Stop (Space), to finish. Your performance becomes a normal audio clip you can edit, trim, and mix.

The playhead returns to where recording started, so you can immediately listen back or do another take.

Recording more takes

Want several passes at the same part? Two easy approaches:

Record again over the same spot. New recordings that overlap an existing clip are stacked as takes so you can pick the best later.
Loop record. Turn on the loop around the section and keep recording — each pass through the loop becomes another take.

Both are covered in detail in Takes & Comping.

Tips for clean recordings

Use a high-pass filter on vocals and acoustic sources to remove rumble.
Don't over-process while tracking unless you're committed to the sound — the gate, EQ, and compressor can always be adjusted after the fact.
Watch the latency pill. Green means you're in good shape for tight timing.
Recording quality (sample rate / bit depth) is set per-project in Session Settings.

Next: Recording Instruments →