194 lines
8.7 KiB
Markdown
194 lines
8.7 KiB
Markdown
+++
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title = "Recording audio"
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description = "How to record audio with Ardour"
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chapter = false
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weight = 1
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+++
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Besides importing existing audio files, another way to create regions in your
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Ardour session is to *record* new audio.
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The source of this audio could be the line or microphone inputs of your audio
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interface, or it could even be sound originating from other applications on
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your computer which have been connected to Ardour via JACK. Please see the
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[section on routing](../understanding-routing/) for more details.
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This section will show you how to record audio from an external source (for
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example, a microphone) onto a track in Ardour.
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{{< figure alt="Editor Mixer Input" src="en/ardour7-editor-mixer-input.png" >}}
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First, you should check that the proper inputs have been routed to the
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track you wish to record to.
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1. Select the track by clicking on the empty space just below its name and
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volume slider.
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2. The track becomes highlighted.
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{{< figure alt="Highlighting a track" src="en/ardour7-audio-1-highlight.gif" >}}
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3. The vertical _Editor Mixer_ strip located on the left side of the _Editor_
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window should now show the track you just selected (*Audio 1* in the image
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above).
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4. Just below the track name in the _Editor Mixer_ you will find a button that
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allows you to edit the routing.
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5. Click on that button to investigate the routing.
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{{% notice tip %}}
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If you don't see the _Editor Mixer_ strip, use the **Shift + E** shortcut to
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make it appear.
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{{% /notice %}}
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In the next image you can see that the only input of this mono track is
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receiving signal from *system capture_1*. This normally means the first
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microphone input of your soundcard. The actual names of the connections on your
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personal computer may be different depending on a number of factors, including
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whether you are using a macOS, Windows, or Linux computer. If you don't see a
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connection named *system capture_1*, look for whichever connection name is
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likely to be your input microphone.
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{{< figure alt="Audio 1 input" src="en/ardour7-audio-1-input.png" >}}
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The tabs that you see displayed vertically on the left are available
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sources. "*Audio 1 in*" on the bottom right is the
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destination. The green dot represents a connection.
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The _Ardour_ tabs show the connections that can be made from other sources
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within Ardour. The _Other_ tab displays audio connections available from
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software other than Ardour, if any is available. The _Hardware_ tab shows
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hardware connections (for example, the built-in microphone of your computer or
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the inputs from your sound card). This will be explained in more detail in the
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[Understanding Routing](../understanding-routing/) chapter.
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For the purpose of this chapter, simply make sure that _system capture_1_ (or
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equivalent in your computer) from the _Hardware_ tab is connected to the track
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you want to use so that we can do a test recording. If you don't see a green dot
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as in the screenshot above, click on the matrix to make the connection manually.
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You can now close this window.
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{{% notice tip %}}
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The example above assumes you are recording a mono sound source onto a mono
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track. If you want to record in stereo, the instructions are pretty much the
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same, but you should create a stereo track. You should then see two green dots,
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one for _capture_1_ and another for _capture_2_.
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{{% /notice %}}
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### Arming the Track
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{{% notice warning %}}
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Please be sure to first turn down the volume of your loudspeakers before the
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next step.
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{{% /notice %}}
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"Arming the Track" is simply to get it ready for recording. Once you have
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checked that the proper capture inputs have been routed to the Track, you can
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arm the Track to record by clicking on the small red icon on the horizontal
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track strip (not the big one in the Transport controls).
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{{< figure alt="Arming Track" src="en/ardour7-arming-the-track.png" >}}
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When properly armed, the small red icon will remain highlighted, and you will be
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able to see the incoming signal by looking at the _peak meter_ on the _Editor
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Mixer_ or on the horizontal track strip.
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If you are using headphones, you should be able to hear ("monitor") the sounds
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being recorded. If you are using loudspeakers, be sure to turn their volume down
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to avoid feedback.
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{{% notice tip %}}
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Unless you have told Ardour to do otherwise, the input being recorded will be
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monitored (in other words, heard) via the _Audition_ output. If you are not
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using headphones to monitor the recording process, you may get some loud
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feedback at this point!
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{{% /notice %}}
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### Arm Ardour and Start Recording
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Now that you have armed the track to record, you must arm Ardour itself to
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record by clicking on the big red button in the _Transport_ toolbar. The button
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will blink in red, indicating that Ardour is ready to record. To start
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recording, click on the **Play** button in the _Transport_ menu, or press the
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space bar of your computer keyboard. Clicking the **Play** button again (or
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pressing the space bar) will stop recording.
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{{< figure alt="Recording" src="en/ardour7-recording.png" >}}
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While recording, the armed track will capture the sounds from the input. Any
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existing sound on other tracks will play normally during the recording. This
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allows you to play, sing or speak along with other regions and tracks you have
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already recorded or embedded in your session.
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While recording, you will be able to see the _levels_ (the amplitude in
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decibels) of the incoming sound, as well as see the _peaks_ of the _waveform_
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appearing as it is recorded.
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### Avoid Clipping
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The audio in the screenshot below was recorded too loud and produced _clipping_
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(in other words, the signal recorded was outside the bounds of what could be
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represented digitally), which results in a loss of information and audible
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distortion. The clipped peaks in the waveform are marked in red.
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{{< figure alt="Clipping" src="en/ardour7-clipping.png" >}}
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The best and easiest way to avoid clipping is have some control over the volume
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of the incoming audio signal before it gets to the sound card. For example, you
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can can move the microphone further away from the sound being recorded or use a
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mixer to reduce the volume of the incoming signal.
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When the audio signal has been recorded within proper limits, you should see no
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red peaks, and the level meter should show a negative number as maximum peak
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(for example, a maximum peak of around −3.0 decibels allows for a comfortable
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distance from the clipping point.)
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The range of decibels between the region's maximum peak and the clipping point
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is commonly referred to as _headroom_. It is common recording practice to keep
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approximately three to six decibels of headroom between the maximum of your
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signal and the clipping point, with the clipping point itself being represented
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as 0dB (zero decibels). In other words, an audio region with a comfortable
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amount of headroom would have its maximum peaks between −6dB and −3dB.
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### Region List
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Recorded audio appears as a new region in the recording track. Like all regions,
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this newly recorded one will be available in the _Regions_ list, from where you
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can drag-and-drop it into other tracks if needed.
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The region you just recorded will automatically receive the name of the track
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where it was recorded, with different takes being automatically numbered. In the
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screenshot below, "*Audio 1-1*" and "*Audio 1-2*" represent two different
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recordings made on a track named "*Audio 1*".
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{{< figure alt="Region List Rec" src="en/ardour7-region-list-recording.png" >}}
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You might want to plan ahead and organize your recording session by giving
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appropriate names to different tracks. For example, a track used only for
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recording vocals can be named "Voice". This way, recorded sound files will be
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named accordingly, and different takes will appear in the _Regions_ list
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identified as "Voice-1", "Voice-2", etc, rather than the default generic names,
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such as "Audio 1".
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To rename a track, just double-click on its name (before you arm the track to
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record) and type in the new name.
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{{< figure alt="Rename Track" src="en/ardour7-rename-track.png" >}}
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{{% notice tip %}}
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Did we mention how important it is to **save your work often**? Hit **Ctrl + S**
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right now. Get in the habit of hitting it every few minutes.
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{{% /notice %}}
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Continuing
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----------
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At this point, you may want to skip directly ahead to the [Arranging
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Tracks](../../editing-sessions/arranging-tracks/) section to learn how to
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arrange the regions into a composition. If you plan on doing more complicated
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Recording than what we have discussed here, in particular with a multichannel
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soundcard, or from other JACK-enabled audio programs on your computer, you
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should also have a look at the [Understanding
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Routing](../understanding-routing) chapter.
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Next: [ARRANGING TRACKS](../../editing-sessions/arranging-tracks/) or
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[UNDERSTANDING ROUTING](../understanding-routing)
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