AnalogDAW can host virtual instruments — software synths, samplers, and drum instruments — that you play live and record straight to audio. You get the expressiveness of a software instrument with the simplicity of an audio track.
How it works: you perform the instrument live (from a MIDI keyboard or the on-screen keyboard), and AnalogDAW records its audio output as a normal clip — exactly like miking an amp. The result is plain audio you edit and mix like any other.
AnalogDAW is not a MIDI sequencer. There are no MIDI clips, no piano roll, no step sequencer, and no note editing — and no MIDI performance is ever stored. Performance is live only; the thing you keep is the recorded audio. If you want to change a part, you perform and record it again.
Only instruments installed and validated on your device appear in the picker. If you see "No instrument plug-ins found," you don't have a compatible instrument installed.
On the track's channel strip, open the Inserts (INS) section, open the input source picker, and choose the Instrument submenu, then pick an instrument. Instruments are grouped into submenus by manufacturer; if you'd rather type the name, choose Search Instruments… for a searchable browser that filters as you type (case- and accent-insensitive, and every word you type has to match). The track's input is now that instrument.
A stereo track is recommended, since most instruments output in stereo. (Only the instrument's primary stereo output is recorded — extra outputs some instruments expose are not split out to separate tracks.)
Once an instrument is assigned, you can perform it:
You can also open the instrument's own editor to choose patches and tweak its sound. Those settings are saved with your session.
From here it follows the same basic flow as Recording Audio:
To commit track processing with the performance, open Processing Order and move the desired processors above Record Point before recording. For example, an insert before Record Point is baked into the instrument take; one below it stays editable. Record Point is at the top by default, so the instrument's primary output is recorded dry unless you deliberately move it.
No microphone needed. Recording an instrument-only track doesn't require microphone permission and doesn't touch your audio input — so you can perform and record instrument parts quietly. If you record a mix of mic tracks and instrument tracks at the same time, AnalogDAW captures them all together.
Because the take is plain audio, you can:
A session that uses an instrument remembers which instrument and which patch it used. If you open that session on a device where the instrument isn't installed, the track shows the instrument as unavailable and stays silent — but nothing is lost: reopen it on a device that has the instrument and it works again, and your already-recorded audio clips play everywhere.
Next: Takes & Comping →