Monitoring audio input

The input meters in the Meters tab at the bottom of the Record dialog show the level of the incoming signal. For recording purposes, the incoming audio should remain primarily in the yellow, only occasionally entering the red.

Enabling the recording meters

Recording meters are displayed in the Meters tab at the bottom of the Record dialog so you can check your input level before recording.

Click the Meters tab at the bottom of the Record dialog to display recording meters, and then select the Monitor check box to enable the recording meters. The peak meters represent the volume of the recording input. For best results, the peak level should be somewhere in the yellow range with an occasional red: you want your input to be as loud as possible without clipping.

You can display a peak meter, VU/PPM, a phase scope, and mono-compatibility meter for each channel. To toggle the display of each meter, right-click the Meters tab in the Record dialog and choose a command from the shortcut menu. A check mark is displayed to indicate which meters are currently visible.

For more information about the VU/PPM meters, see Using the VU/PPM meters on page 46.

For more information about the phase scopes, see Using phase scopes on page 48.

For more information about the mono-compatibility meters, see Using the mono-compatibility meters on page 48.

You can work with the record input meters in much the same way you do with other meters in the application. For more information, see Monitoring levels in digital audio on page 43.

Tips:

•Click the Reset button (or press Alt+T) to reset clip indicators or held peaks or valleys.

•Right-click the meters and choose a setting from the shortcut menu to change the meters’ scale.

•If you are going to decrease the bit depth of your sound file after recording, it is particularly important that you record with the loudest possible levels. High recording levels ensure that you will use the maximum possible dynamic range in the converted file.

Enabling input monitoring

Click the Advanced tab at the bottom of the Record dialog and select the Enable audio input monitoring check box if you want to route the audio received by the input device to the current output device.

Note: This check box is available only when the Monitor check box is selected.

Inserting markers while recording

Click the Insert Marker button () in the Record dialog’s mini-transport bar (or press M) to insert a marker in the data window during recording.

You can then use the Markers to Regions command to convert markers into regions. For more information, see Inserting regions based on marker positions on page 124.

Automatically labeling windows and regions

Windows and regions can be automatically named for you as you record. This automatic labeling feature is particularly useful when recording in Multiple takes creating Regions mode or Create a new window for each take mode. For more information, see Choosing a recording mode on page 141.

Right-click the Record dialog and choose Automatic Labeling from the shortcut menu to access the Automatic Labeling dialog. For more information, see Customizing region labeling on page 124.

Changing blinking status

The Recording message located to the right of the mini-transport bar in the Record dialog can display within a flashing or solid red frame.

RECORDING AND EXTRACTING AUDIO 143