Recording

Preparing Your System for Recording
Before you begin recording, you must set several param-eters for the audio that you wish to record. If you followed the instructions in Chapter 2 of your User's Guide, your system’s basic recording and playback setup should already be configured properly. At this point, you will simply use the Record command to confirm these recording-specific parameters and then you can begin capturing audio to hard disk.
When you choose the Record command, the Record window appears. This window allows you to set several parameters which are explained below. (Please note thatthe settings you choose here override any previously set with the Sound Control Panel.)

Source
This pop-up menu allows you to choose an input device for recording. The choices that appear here depend on your model of Macintosh and whether or not you are using a plug-in audio expansion card.

Channels
This pop-up menu allows you to choose either mono or stereo recording format (providing that your Macintosh or plug-in audio card supports both mono and stereo recording). Stereo recordings have two tracks of audio, one for the left channel, the other for the right channel of the audio. Mono recordings have only a single channel of audio.

Resolution
This pop-up menu allows you to choose a bit resolution for your recording. The choices that appear here depend onyour model of Macintosh. 16 bit is the current Compact Disc standard for professional-quality recordings. 8 bit is commonly used for computer-based multimedia and games.

Sample Rate
This pop-up menu allows you to choose a sample rate for your recording. The choices that appear here depend on your model of Macintosh. Possible sample rates are as follows:

48000. 
This is one of two standard sample rates for digital audio tape (DAT) recorders, and is often used by sound editors working in audio post-production for video or film.

44100. 
This is the standard sample rate for Compact Discs, digital audio tape (DAT) recorders, and high-fidelity audio applications on Macintosh and PC-compatible computers with 16-bit playback capability. Most sound engineers working in music production — or anything that may be distributed on a CD — work at “forty-four one.”

22050 and 11025. 
These sample rates are used for lower-fidelity audio playback on Macintosh and PC compatible computers that have 16-bit playback capability. Many games and other multimedia productions utilize 22.050kHz 8-bit audio, since it uses half the disc space of CD-quality audio.

22255 and 11127. 
These sample rates are used for lower-fidelity audio playback on Macintosh computers that are not capable of 16-bit audio playback.

Hardware Options
The Hardware Options button allows you to access parameters specific to your input device. For example, if the device you are recording with supports special parameters such as synchronization, you can access these through the Hardware Options dialog.

Disk
This pop-up menu allows you to select a hard drive attached to your Macintosh for recording. This setting defaults to the hard disk with the greatest amount of free space currently connected to your Macintosh. The numeric indicator displays how much recording time is available on the selected drive. Approximately 10.1MB of hard disk space is required for each minute of stereo recording at 44.1kHz, 16-bit resolution. The amount of audio-recording time shown for your hard drive will change depending on the settings you have chosen in the Sample Rate, Resolution, and Channels pop-up menus.
Remember, your exact setup will differ slightly depending on the input device that you are using with Peak. You can use either your Macintosh’s built-in audio input connector, or if you own a plug-in audio expansion card such as Digidesign’s Audiomedia II card, the input connectors on this card.

Initiating Recording
To record audio to disk, do the following.

To initiate recording:
1. Turn down the volume of your instrument or audio source.
2. Connect the instrument or audio source to the audio input jack on the rear of your Macintosh. If you are using a plug-in audio card, use the connectors on this card. (Some audio cards have an external interface box which contains the input and output connectors. If this is the case, use these.)
3. Choose Record from the Actions menu. The Record window appears.
4. Make sure that the Monitor checkbox is checked so that you can listen to your audio source as it is recorded into Peak.
5. From the Disk pop-up, choose the hard disk that you wish to record to. (This setting defaults to the hard disk with the greatest amount of free space currently connected to your Macintosh.)
6. From the Source pop-up, choose the input device that you that you wish to record from.
7. From the Resolution pop-up, choose a bit resolution for the audio document. 16-bit is the CD standard.
8. From the Rate pop-up, choose the sample rate that you desire. Your choices here will depend on your model of Macintosh and your application. 44.1kHz is the CD standard.
9. Play your instrument or audio source. You should see the signal levels register on the L and R meters in the Record window.
10. Adjust the output of your audio source so that its signal registers relatively high on the meters but never hits top (indicated in red). (Remember to always leave 6dB or so of headroom on the meters so that you don’t clip.)
11. Click the Record button. You are now recording to disk.
12. To stop recording, click Done.
13. The Save dialog appears, prompting you to name the audio document. You must save the audio document to the same hard drive you selected with the Disk pop-up. Enter a name and click Save. Peak automatically saves the document in the AIFF audio file format. If you wish to later save the document in a different audio file format, use the Save As command.
14. To exit the Record window, click Cancel or click the close box in the upper left corner. Peak will return you to the audio document window where your recording will appear.

To play back the recording:
1. Press the Space bar on your computer keyboard. Playback begins.
2. To stop playback, press the Space bar again.
3. To start playback from a specific point in the recording, double-click on the waveform at the point from which you want playback to begin, or click the mouse at the desired point and press c -Space bar.