02B Recording Audio

 To record an instrument or microphone into Live, first set up an Audio Interface to route sound into your computer. Install and update any software needed to use your device. Then, connect an instrument or microphone to the interface and check the audio signal level.

Select or create an audio track for recording. In the track's mixer panel, use the Audio From section to choose the relevant input channel of your audio interface. For example, to record a guitar sending a mono signal into channel 1 of your interface, under Audio From, choose “Ext. In,” then select channel 1 in the dropdown menu below.

Connecting your instrument to your audio interface

You will find the following switches or buttons on your audio interface

• +48V switch: Use this for condenser microphones that need phantom power (e.g. AT-2020) but NOT for dynamic microphones (e.g. Shure SM-57 or SM-58)
• Hi-Z switch: Use this for connecting instruments that require high impedance (e.g. guitar) 

Your audio interface will also have 

• LEDs to show the signal level (loudness). This should be green or orange when recording, and not red (signal overload, leading to distortion).
• A 'monitor' knob or 'input/DAW' control, which will allow you to hear the direct sound of the instrument (which is instant), instead of the sound going into the software and back out again (which will be slightly delayed)

Recording

To prepare a track for recording, click the arm button at the bottom of the track mixer in Session view, or the top right corner of the track mixer in Arrangement view. Set the track’s monitor switch to Auto so the track’s input plays through Live’s output. Adjust the input gain on your audio interface so that the level is adequate (green) and does not overload the track (red).

To hear Live's metronome while you record, enable the metronome button near the top left of Live’s window. 

Tip: To help keep recorded audio files organized, rename each Audio track before recording. To rename a track, right-click on the track header and select Rename, or select the track header and press [CMD/CTRL + R] on your computer keyboard. Recorded clips and their respective audio files will then be saved using the track’s title, for example "Guitar 0001.aif." Make sure your hard drive has plenty of free space for saving recorded audio.

To record into the timeline in Arrangement view, press the Arrangement record button. Press the button again to stop recording.

Monitoring and Latency

When recording through an audio interface, you can choose either to listen to incoming audio via the interface’s software, called direct monitoring, or monitor through Live. 

The simplest option is to monitor through Live while recording. To do this, set the Monitor switch in Live’s Track Mixer to Auto. You'll hear the signal after it has been processed by Live. To avoid hearing a doubled signal, switch off monitoring at your audio interface.

In some cases, you may notice a short delay between when you create a sound and when you hear it through Live. This delay is called latency, and there are several ways to correct it.

While recording, to hear your audio signal before latency is added, use direct monitoring. To do this, 

• Switch on monitoring in your audio interface. 
• Switch Live’s track mixer's track monitor switch to Off.

After you finish recording and want to play back, remember to switch Live’s track mixer's track monitor switch back to Auto.

Recorded Audio Files

When you save a Set for the first time, Live creates a new Project folder to contain the Set and related media files. To make sure the Project folder is not "nested" inside another one, save the new Set to a location outside any existing Live Project folders. The Project folder contains the following folders:

When you have finished recording, it is highly recommended to use File - Collect All and Save, so that all your audio files are kept together with the project.