Mixer Toolbar

From Audacity Manual

The Mixer Toolbar is where you control the playback and recording volumes in conjunction with the Meter Toolbar. Depending on the capabilities of your operating system you may also be to select the input source here.

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 recording devices such as conventional record players or cassette decks).

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 device or operating system sound control panel gives Audacity control of its output volume, this slider will control the overall output volume of your computer. Otherwise, the slider will control the sound volume that Audacity sends to the device, but the volume produced will depend on the setting of the device or system slider.

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

If the Input slider does not have direct control of your sound device's input level, it will be disabled and set to maximum. You will need to set the recording levels using the input slider in the operating system mixer or in the sound card control panel. To locate the system mixer see the help on our Wiki for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.

This right-hand slider controls 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 Devices Preferences. Inputs can also be chosen in the operating system mixer or in any control panel that the sound card may have. The Input Slider should then control that input.

After selecting the required input source, use the input slider in conjunction with the recording level meters on the Meter Toolbar to set the correct recording level before starting to record for real.

If your input sounds distorted, lower the input slider until no distortion can be heard, also making sure the clipping indicators on the red recording meter do not light up.

Precise Volume Adjustment

Double-clicking on the input or output volume slider will bring up the Input Volume or Output Volume window. Here you can make much more precise adjustments with the slider or enter a value in the text field. You can also set a keyboard shortcut to bring up either of these windows.

Input Selector

Note: Starting with Audacity 1.3.13 the input selector has moved to the Device Toolbar

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.

External recording devices which do not have a list of possible input types will not appear in the Input Selector. Examples of such devices include USB microphones, USB turntables or Firewire/USB interfaces. Some internal PCI sound cards where each input source is treated as a separately connected device will show their input sources in Devices Preferences instead.

Details for Windows XP or earlier

On Windows XP or earlier, it is normally possible to choose sources like microphone or stereo mix in the Input Selector. Use the Windows system mixer to select your required input if it is not available in the Mixer Toolbar, or if it is not recording properly.

Details for Windows 7 and Vista

On Windows 7 and Vista, the Input Selector will normally be empty, or possibly contain only a generic single entry like "Master". Until Audacity can select inputs in the Input Selector, select them in Device Toolbar, or at "Recording Device" in Devices Preferences. Each entry there consists of the input type (such as microphone), followed by the name of the audio device the input belongs to. If you have multiple audio devices, the list will be grouped so that inputs of the same type are listed together.

It is quite common on Windows 7 or Vista for only the microphone to be listed when you first open Devices Preferences, or even for there to be no devices listed. This is because Windows does not always enable all the available inputs, and may not list a physical input such as a microphone port until there is an input connected to it.

Whenever the input you require is missing from Devices Preferences, or does not record properly, exit Audacity and use the Windows system mixer to list, enable and make default your required input. Please see this page on the Wiki for detailed instructions.

Details for Mac OS X

On Mac OS X, the Input Selector will be available only if you have chosen one of the "Built-in" options in Device Toolbar, or at "Recording Device" in Devices Preferences. The options in the Input Selector may include: Line In, Digital In, and/or Internal Microphone, depending on the capabilities of your computer. External microphones must be connected to Macs through an appropriate mixer, pre-amplifier or external interface.

If you have selected a device other than a "Built-in" one in the Device Toolbar or in Devices Preferences, such as a USB microphone or USB interface or sound card (even one that has a list of selectable inputs), the Input Selector will not be visible.

Please see this page on the Wiki for more details.

If you encounter problems recording from the required device or particular input, set the device and input up in Apple Audio MIDI Setup, using these instructions on the Wiki.

Audio devices on Macs have no built-in ability to record audio playing on the computer. Third-party add-ons such as Soundflower are one solution. See this page on the Wiki for more help.

Details for Linux

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.