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Tips & tricks to use Sound Editor Deluxe.

Tips on Recording Audio on Computer

Introduction

Computer audio recording technology has advanced significantly in the last 10 years or so. Even a low-powered computer can now record audio professionally with the right hardware and software tools. Here are some tips to help you record audio on a computer, whether you're trying to make a professional sounding song or a simple audio greeting for friends and family.


Recording Hardware


Powerful Computer - The type of computer which contains a high speed processor and large memory capacity is necessary. The development of powerful computers has made audio recording possible with high quality.


Hard Drive - The size of the hard drive in the computer is also important for recording audio on computer. You should pay attention that the format greatly influences the file size and the storage requirements. The file sizes are typically between 5 & 8 gigabytes (GB) and high definition or Blue-ray files are between 10 to 15 megabytes (MB).


Recording Software


A great number of recording software are used to record audio on computer. No matter they are free or not, they should supply basic functions to record in various formats and convert files between different formats.


If you're trying to record a song on your computer, you'll probably want to record more than one track. If this is the case, disarm the track that you'd armed for recording and add a new track. Each new recording will need its own track, and you may need to head to the preferences menu to make sure that the old track will play while you're recording the new one.


Arming and pressing record will play the other track while recording to the new track, so you can talk over yourself, add harmonies, guitar solos, or whatever you'd like. This process is called multitracking.


A computer's ability to multitrack will be limited by its processing power, and even fast computers will have trouble recording while playing back dozens of audio tracks. Adding effects will create more of a draw on the processor of the computer and the sound card.


Home audio recording enthusiasts who are interested in multitracking should invest in a really good sound card or one of the high-end recording interfaces mentioned earlier, as this makes the process much smoother.


Setting Up A Great Recording


After downloading and installing the computer recording program, for that matter), it's important to make sure that the right input is selected, particularly when recording through a computer's line in jack.


Generally, to manage audio recording settings in Windows, go to the "Settings" area. Ihis tab gives users the option to select from any mics or line in devices that are plugged into the computer. After selecting the right mic, the level can be set with a slider so that the recorded sound doesn't overdrive, which gives it a nasty buzz. Sound will register in red if it's too loud. Try to set the slider so that the sound stays in the green and yellow for the best results.


Choosing The Right Audio Formats


After making a recording, it's important to choose the right format to save it, export it, and share it with friends and family. MP3s are great for emailing and sharing on the Internet. Their quality is measured in kilobytes per second, abbreviated as kbps. A 192kbps MP3 is roughly equivalent to CD quality.


Some computer users insist on extremely high quality audio. These users tend to prefer WAV, which is a raw format, meaning that it's the most faithful digital reproduction of a sound possible--WAV files haven't been compressed at all.


Other audio formats include WMA and AAC, which are both proprietary formats that are very similar to MP3s. In general, it's a good idea to save your recordings as an MP3 or a similar format to save space unless higher quality audio is absolutely necessary.

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