Reference Guide

1237
Audio
Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI
Choosing Inputs
After you’ve connected your instrument or other sound source to your sound card, you need to tell
your sound card’s software, Cakewalk, and possibly the Windows Mixer which input you’re recording
through. If you’re recording through the S/PDIF input, the procedure is a little different (see To
Record Through the S/PDIF Input).
If your sound card only has one pair of inputs (one stereo Line input, usually, or Line and Mic inputs
that can’t be used simultaneously), then your sound card probably responds to the Windows Mixer.
Use the following procedure to record a track using the Windows Mixer.
To Record with Cakewalk and the Windows Mixer
1. Open the Windows Mixer—double-click the Speaker icon that’s on your Windows taskbar to
open the Play Control dialog. If you don’t see the Speaker icon on your taskbar, you can open
the Windows Mixer by using the Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Volume
Control command.
2. In the Play Control dialog, use the Options > Properties command, and select Recording
(under Adjust Volume For).
3. Under Adjust Volume For, make sure Line-In and Microphone are checked, and click OK.
The Record Control dialog appears.
4. If you’re recording through the Line input, click the Select check box that’s at the bottom of the
Line-In column, and make sure that the volume slider in that column is in the upper half of its
range (if you’re recording through the Mic input, do the same actions in the Microphone column).
Minimize the Windows Mixer window.
5. In Cakewalk’s Track view, use the In field in a track you want to record in to select the input you’re
using—select either the Left input of your sound card to record in mono or the Stereo input to
record in stereo.
6. Arm the track for recording (click its R button so that it’s red), and play your instrument. You
should see the Record Meter at the bottom of the track’s property fields light up. If the meter
doesn’t move, see the table immediately following this procedure.
7. Adjust your instrument’s volume, and/or the volume slider in the Record Control dialog so that
the level in the Record meter almost reaches the red zone when you play your loudest notes.
8. Record some sound by pressing r to start recording, and pressing the SPACEBAR when you’re
finished. You can rewind by pressing w.