Mixer Toolbar

ToDo Needs explaining that input selector is unavailable on Vista and usually on OS X

Bill: This is so complex and so system-dependent that I'm not sure we want to touch this at all. For example on my G5 system:

• In System Preferences > Sound my only choice is "Line In: Built-in audio"
• In Audacity Preferences > Devices > Recording my only choice is "Built-in Audio"
• But in Audacity's Input Device Selector I can choose "Line In" or "Digital In".
• to find the "Digital In" option for Built-in Audio I have to open Apple's Audio Midi Setup application.

Maybe a link to the wiki for those that are having difficulty?

JC:

• +1 that we need a link to the wiki. We are likely to miss some critical case and they could be reading a snapshot of help.
• However, we need to mention at least something about how to solve it here too... possibly an alert box for (a) Vista and (b) OSX giving the most common resolution and a link to the wiki 'for more details' . We need Gale to suggest wording. Alert boxes are supposed to be short so we'd be looking for 2, max 3 sentences in each box, including the 'for more details' text.

Output Volume Slider: Sets the playback volume.

Input Volume Slider: Sets the recording volume.

Input Device Selector: Depending on your system, may allow selection of different inputs such as microphone or line-in (for devices such as record players or cassette decks).

If your sound card or operating system sound control panel does not give Audacity control of its input volume control, then Audacity's input volume slider will not be visible. You will need to set up the recording levels using the card's mixer program or sound control panel.

Output Slider

This is the left hand slider that lets you control the volume at which you listen to the mix of your project. This is a "monitor" control, and does not affect level of your mix, so will not help if your mix is clipped. It does not affect the levels indicated by the playback meters.

• If your sound card or operating system sound control panel gives Audacity control of its output volume control, then this slider will control the overall system output volume of your computer.
• If your sound card or operating system sound control panel does not give Audacity control of its output volume control, then this slider will control the sound volume that Audacity sends to your sound card or OS sound control panel.

Should your output sound distorted, this is not the first place to look. Usually the distortion comes from clipping of your project's mix. You actually need to reduce the level of your tracks. It is suggested you reduce every track by the same amount using the gain sliders in the track panel.

Input Slider

As noted above, the input slider may not visible. In this case you will need to use your sound card's mixer program or your operating system's sound control panel to set your recording levels.

If visible, this is the right hand slider that lets you control the level of the input selected in the Input Selector. If the Input Selector is not visible you will need to choose your input in the Devices Preferences panel.

What you record is also determined in the mixer settings on your sound card. There you can switch certain sources on and off, such as the Line Input, the Microphone Input or the CD Audio.

After selecting the corresponding input source with the Input Selector or in Devices Preferences, you can control the level of the recording with this slider. Use the recording level meters on the Meter Toolbar to get the correct recording level. See the tips on the Meter Toolbar page for how to do this.

Should your input sound distorted, you should lower this slider until no distortion can be heard, and the clipping indicators do not light up.

Input Selector

Pick the input source you wish to record from. The items in the list are provided by the sound card driver, so the options will vary with different sound cards. The image shows an example of the options you might see, in this case with an an ESS 1969 sound card with the Line In input selected.

Details for Mac OS X

James, is this what you had in mind? - Bill

Looks OK. Text is too long for an alert box, so yes, normal text is fine. Really Gale should approve this (and add Vista text). I'm a WinXP only person so don't know what the correct guidance is. -- James Gale: It's "OS X" according to Apple (changed).

Has this been verified with Koz? Is there no mic input? (I don't know, I'm asking). If there isn't, given some people are going from Win > Mac, that should be stated. What about the built-in mic? We also want to say there is no input for recording "computer playback". We're asked that all the time.

In early Betas, it was still very hit and miss if you got a source in the Mixer Toolbar or only "Default Source". Is getting a source now reliable?

Bill:

• No current Mac has a mic input jack. Some early Minis didn't even have a line input jack.
• Let's not confuse the Device Toolbar with the Mixer Toolbar's "Input Source" menu
  • The Device Toolbar is where you will see "Core Audio: Built-in Audio" and any other capabilities you may have added to your machine.
    • On my G5 I also see my USB mic, "Soundflower" (a system extension that allows internal audio routing), and an "aggregate" input source I created using Audio Midi Setup.
    • On my Powerbook my only choice is "Core Audio: Built-in Audio"
  • The Mixer Toolbar's "Input Source" will vary according to what is selected in the Device Toolbar input menu.
    • For all choices other than "Core Audio: Built-in Audio" the Input Source menu disappears.
    • When "Core Audio: Built-in Audio" is selected in the Devices toolbar:
      • On my G5 I get "Line Input" and "Digital Input"
      • On my PowerBook I get "Line Input" and "Internal Microphone"
      • On an iMac I would speculate that one would get all three. (I can check, but not right now)
• For recording "computer playback" one solution is "Soundflower". It's free and GPL'd. The documentation is sparse but it can be made to direct computer playback to Audacity. I could document the specific steps if we want to.

The below confuses me. Are you saying there is no line-in in Mixer Toolbar if the jack is only analogue? But that if it supports optical but only has analogue attached, it just shows "Line In"?

Bill: Sorry, that could have been clearer. The Mixer Toolbar's Input Selector menu shows the input capabilities of the built-in audio of your computer. I've re-written that section. My original point was that there was no use selecting "Digital Input" if you didn't have an optical digital cable connected to the Line Input jack.

On Mac OS X, the Input Selector will be available only if you have chosen "Core Audio: Built-in Audio" in the Device Toolbar, or "Built-in Audio" in the Recording tab of Devices Preferences. These may include: Line Input, Digital Input, and/or Internal Microphone, depending on the capabilities of your computer. Macs do not have microphone input jacks.

If you have selected another input device (in the Devices Toolbar or Devices Preferences), such as a USB microphone or external USB audio interface, the Input Selector will not be visible.

Macs cannot record "computer playback" without the addition of third-party add-ons such as Soundflower.

See this page on the Audacity Wiki for more details on setting up recording sources on Mac.

Details for Linux

AWD:Note that the below is not exactly true in any released version, but will be true for 2.0... unless it changes...

If you are recording through a sound server like JACK or PulseAudio the input selector will not be available. You can use a program specific to your sound server to control input selection and audio routing.