To record into the Tracks window:
1. Make sure you have a Deck session open and that
a sound source is hooked up to the audio inputs.
2. To hear what you are recording, you should also
hook up the audio outputs to an amplifier with
speakers or a headphone amplifier. For more
information, see “Making Audio Connections” on
page 10.
3. Select the desired audio input from the pop-up
menu to the right of the track name.
4. Click the R button to record-enable the desired
track.
5. Choose Windows > Mixer. The Track VUs will
now be input level VUs and register any input
signal.
6. Begin playing from your source and monitor the
incoming signal to keep the VU meter as close to
the top without turning on the clip light (the
small square at the top of the VU meter). The clip
light indicates that audio recorded at this level will
be distorted. Turn off the clip light by clicking it,
and adjust the incoming audio and/or the input
level as follows:
• If you are using the built-in 16 bit audio hardware
of your Power Macintosh, set the Analog Input
Level (from the Options menu) to 0 and turn up
the level of your incoming audio (instrument or
mixer) at the source until it registers correctly in
the input VU meters. An Analog Input Level
setting of 0 does not turn off the input; it turns off
the low-quality on-board preamp that causes
recording anomalies.
• If you have any other audio hardware, you may
need to adjust the volume of the incoming signal
at the source to get a good level.
7. Multiple tracks can be recorded at once, but two
record tracks cannot be set to the same input. If
you wish to record in stereo, simply record-enable
two tracks, assigning one to input 1 and the other
to input 2. For true stereo separation, remember
to pan one track hard left and the other hard right
to match the stereo image of your source audio.
8. Adjust the monitor level of the track you’re
recording by sliding its track fader up or down in
the Mixer window.
When you have a track record-enabled, the track
volume fader adjusts the volume level for
monitoring the track. It does not change the
record level. When the track is not record-enabled,
the track volume fader adjusts the
output level of any audio that is already on the
track. This volume can be set to a different level
than the input monitor volume, which is useful
during punch-in recording. You should use the
track faders to adjust playback volume to your
liking, but always make sure that the analog input
level or output level of your source is set so that
the channel VU meter registers a high signal level,
with no clipping.
Due to limitations in Apple’s Sound Manager, you
cannot change the monitor volume or pan of any
track while it is being recorded with a Power
Macintosh. Moreover, tracks being recorded will
always play back through the system at full
volume while you record, and will monitor
through the channel you’ve set as their input
channel. (In other words, you cannot record into
input 1 and monitor through output 2.) It may be
useful to use an external mixer hooked up to your
Macintosh computer’s audio output jacks to
better control playback volume and panning.
9. When you are ready to record on the enabled
track(s), click the Transport’s Record button, and
then click the Play button (Spacebar).
As soon as you click the Play button, Deck begins
recording.
10. When you are finished recording, click the
Transport’s Stop button (Spacebar).
If the recording ends before you stop it, you have run
out of disk space.