

It is just as good and sometimes even better than the paid-for apps.
Audacity audio editor mac software#
Do take some time to explore and understand these.įor example Sample Rate and Sample Format can be changed in the Quality section of Preferences.Audacity is an impressive open source digital audio editor and recording computer software app. There are many other settings that can be made in Preferences. The image below shows the Recording section of Preferences: If you prefer, you can make the above settings in your Audacity Preferences. You cannot pause Sound Activated recordings manually using the Pause button or corresponding menu item or shortcut. When this is enabled, recording will automatically start or resume when the recording volume rises above the chosen threshold level, and pause when the level falls below that threshold. To set a custom latency value for your system, see the Latency Test page.Īlso at Transport > Transport Options make sure that " Sound Activated Recording" is not checked. If your latency is constant, you can adjust the Latency correction value so that your recorded tracks should end up properly synchronized with the other tracks after correction. When Transport > Transport Options > Overdub (on/off) is set to "on" and you record with another track already present, Audacity will push the recorded track backwards by 130 milliseconds to compensate for the delay. On most computer systems there will be a delay known as latency between singing or hitting your note and it being laid down in the recording. If you do want to overdub by (for example) singing over a recorded instrumental track, you should be aware of the Latency correction preference. It is unlikely you will need overdub for your first recording. You can decide which tracks will play according to their mute/solo buttons on the Track Control Panel. When this option is enabled Audacity will play other existing tracks while recording a new one. Now click on Transport > Transport Options again and make sure that " Overdub (on/off)" is not checked. If hardware playthrough is required it is best to use an external USB or FireWire audio device that has a headphones jack for no-latency monitoring (such as the Behringer UCA 202 or Zoom H2). Macs have not had proper hardware playthrough support for some years. You can easily downsample to 16-bit (the standard for creating WAV files that can be burned to audio CD) when exporting later.

It is strongly recommended that you retain the default setting, however if you really need to change your sample format this can only be done in the Quality section of Preferences. This is good for editing and processing audio. It determines the dynamic range of the audio.Īudacity's default is set to 32-bit float.

The Project Sample Format (also known as Bit Depth or Word Size) is the number of computer bits present in each audio sample. This is the default setting in Audacity and is best left at that setting for your recordings. The sample rate defines the number of digital audio samples per second taken from a continuous analog signal.Ĥ4100 Hz is standard for creating files that can be burned to Audio CD or for high-quality MP3 files. The Project Sample Rate in Hz can be seen, and changed if required, in the Selection Toolbar at the bottom of the Audacity window:
Audacity audio editor mac Pc#
On a Mac you are probably best off with a USB microphone, as a typical PC microphone will need a small amplifier between it and the computer. In the Quality section of Preferences make the following settings: In the Recording section of Preferences make the following settings:
