1. Steps to Record Song with your Own Voice. First download Audacity. Then install it and open it in your PC. Now open Audacity and click on File Open. Select the desired Karaoke Tone file and let that load in Audacity. You can also directly drag a song into Audacity.
2. Select any one source to record and put it in Audacity. Set the recorder and start recording your audio. You can also listen to what you have recorded using the sound control panel on the screen, or by click using Software play-through. Recording in the same track. You can record tracks in Audacity after the end of a selected track.
3. Either way, once it's set up, you can record that audio easily in a program like Audacity. Head over to Digital Inspiration for the full guide. Head over to Digital Inspiration for the full guide.

• Using Audacity For Recording Vocals
• Recording With Audacity On Mac
• Equalize Volume In Recording Using Audacity
• Recording In Audacity From Computer

In this video tutorial, I show you how to Record and Edit audio using the Free software Audacity.Download Audacity Here - a FRE. To record on Audacity, you simply need to add a track and press the 'Record' button. With a keyboard command, you can start recording on a new track automatically, without having to add one.

On Windows, sound devices often lack a 'Stereo Mix' or similar input, or it must be specially enabled in the Windows 'Sound' Control Panel.

You can also choose Windows WASAPI host and the (loopback) input choice in Device Toolbar. This will record computer playback even if the computer sound device lacks its own input to do this.

Copyright or website restrictions may prevent you recording or distributing material. Check first. When recording computer playback, ensure the menu item Transport > Transport Options > Software Playthrough (on/off) is off. If the item has a checkmark, click it to turn off playthrough. Otherwise you will hear and record echoes or distorted sound.

Choosing the recording device in Audacity

In Device Toolbar (pictured below) or in Devices Preferences, choose 'MME' or 'Windows DirectSound' in the Audio Host box. In the Recording Device box, look if there is an input meant for recording computer playback. This input could be called 'Stereo Mix', 'Wave Out', 'Sum', 'What U Hear', 'Loopback' or other names, depending on your sound device.

If you do not see Stereo Mix or similar:

• Make sure you have the latest correct audio drivers meant for your version of Windows
• Go to the Windows Control Panel to see if stereo mix can be enabled
• Alternatively, choose the Windows WASAPI loopback recording method instead.

You must play the audio you want to record using the same sound device that has the 'Stereo Mix' or similar input. You cannot play audio through an HDMI output or through a headset, headphones or speakers that connect via USB or wirelessly then record that playback using the stereo mix input of the built-in sound device.

Choose the Windows WASAPI host (next section) if you want to record playback of a USB, wireless or external sound device.

Windows WASAPI loopback recording

This is the recommended method of recording audio playing on the computer on Windows with Audacity.

On Windows, you can choose the Windows WASAPI Audio Host and then the (loopback) input in the Recording Device box. Choose the loopback input for the computer playback device you will be listening to (for example, 'Speakers (loopback)'. The loopback input records computer playback even if your sound device lacks its own stereo mix or similar input.

You may need to stretch out the Device toolbar to see the 'loopback' - use the drag handle Resizer at the right end of the toolbar.

WASAPI loopback has a big advantage over stereo mix or similar inputs provided by the audio interface. The capture is entirely digital (rather than converting to analog for playback, then back to digital when Audacity receives it).

Windows WASAPI host only records loopback when there is an active signal present. When there is no active signal, recording pauses and will restart once an active signal resumes.

Playback and Recording sliders when using WASAPI

The behavior of the Audacity playback and recording sliders may vary according to the sound device you are recording from.

• On some devices the Mixer Toolbar recording volume slider will be grayed out when selecting the Windows WASAPI host, and even if not grayed out, the device may not support Audacity or the system input slider adjusting its volume. To control the recording level on those systems, you can try adjusting the playback level of the audio. This is best done in the application that is playing the audio, for example the video or audio player on the website you are recording from. If this does not work then Audacity will record at a fixed, safe level irrespective of the playback level of the audio.
• On many other devices, the Audacity recording volume and playback volume sliders will be 'linked' so that both sliders move when you move either slider, and either slider will affect the level of the audio that you hear. This will often happen if in Audacity you set the (loopback) recording device to the same built-in device as the one selected for playback.
• When the Audacity recording and playback sliders are linked, adjusting either slider will often not affect the level already being recorded. This means that if you do not want to hear what you are recording, you can simply turn down either Audacity volume slider. However on some devices, turning down either slider may turn down or silence the achieved recording level. If this happens then to make a recording without hearing it, you can try the following:
  • Click the speaker by the system clock, click the 'Mixer' link, then mute the 'Device' slider at far left of the 'Volume Mixer' window
  • Plug in external speakers or headphones and turn those down
  • Plug in any 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) minijack plug with no lead attached.

Tips for WASAPI loopback recording: You will normally need to start playing the stream (or to have previously played some other audio in the application you are using for playback) before pressing Record in Audacity. WASAPI loopback may not be able to record in mono on all devices. If mono recording produces an error, change Device Toolbar to '2 (Stereo) Recording Channels'. You can convert a stereo recording to mono using Tracks > Mix > Stereo Down to Mono. System sounds playing through the device selected for WASAPI loopback are still captured, so you may wish to turn those off.

If you do not see any input for recording computer playback, exit Audacity and continue reading below.

Windows Control Panel for sounds

Windows, computers almost always only have microphone inputs enabled by default. Earlier Windows systems may also need the input for recording computer playback to be made visible before Audacity can use it. To show or enable inputs, launch the sound device control panel from the Windows Control Panel or from the system tray (by the clock).

1. Right-click over the Speaker icon by the system clock then choose Sounds the click on the Recording tab.
2. Right-click anywhere inside the empty, white, space and choose 'Show disabled devices' then right-click again and choose 'Show Disconnected Devices'.
3. Right-click specifically over the input device you want to record with (in this case 'Stereo Mix' or whatever alternative you have), and if visible, choose 'Enable'.
4. Sometimes it helps to right-click over the 'stereo mix' or similar device again and choose 'Set as Default Device'.

For a more detailed walk-through of the above steps for Windows (or if that does not work for your version of Windows), see Windows: accessing the Windows Sound controls.

RealTek and other audio interface control panels

If you still have no stereo mix input in Windows, sometimes this input can be enabled in the audio interface's own control panel, especially with older RealTek devices. The audio interface's own control panel can be found in the Windows Control Panel.

Hints for RealTek control panels:

• Some panels 'select' an input by muting all but one, so in this case, mute everything except Stereo Mix
• If you do not see Stereo Mix, click the wrench or spanner icon and enable Stereo Mix in the dialog that appears
• In some panels the option to choose is 'Enabled recording multi-streaming'
• You should now see a volume control for Stereo Mix; make sure it is selected or unmuted.

Updating sound device drivers

If there is still no suitable input, try updating the sound device drivers for your audio interface. This can sometimes produce an additional input for recording computer playback, and may fix other problems such as poor quality or skipping.

Loopback cable

An alternative method of recording audio playing on the computer is to buy a cable with 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) stereo connectors at each end. Suitable cables are available from almost any audio retailer. Connect one end of the cable to the computer's audio output (green) and the other end to the line-in input (blue). Then choose the line-in as input device in Audacity.

Connecting to the microphone input (red) may produce mono sound or poor quality.

Alternative applications for recording computer playback

You can use other applications to record computer playback that do not rely on the computer sound device having this ability. These applications will make an audio file which can then be imported into Audacity for editing.

All the options below grab the audio digitally from the application producing the sound. This has advantages over stereo mix recording. Lossy digital-analog-digital conversions are avoided and also unwanted system beeps and alerts are not captured.

Using Audacity For Recording Vocals

• SoundLeech is a free application for Windows which runs from the system tray. It records to lossless WAV format only.
• VB-Audio Virtual Cable is a donation-ware application for Windows. You can set the Cable Input as default playback device then set Audacity to record from the Cable Output.
• TotalRecorder is a low cost recording package. Internet streams can optionally be captured at faster than real-time rates (monitoring is not available in that mode).

External audio interfaces

A further alternative is an external USB audio interface with a 'Stereo Mix' type of option.

Not all USB audio interfaces offer a Stereo Mix option, so read the specifications carefully before purchasing.

Links

Audacity is one of the most popular audio recorders to capture the audio files from your computer for free. If you were not familiar with the Audacity audio recorder, you can learn more about how to record computer audio with Audacity, adjust the recording level, save recording audio to desired format and the best alternative from the article.

Audacity Record Computer Audio

Part 1: How to Record Computer Audio with Audacity

Whether you need to record computer audio on Windows 10 with Audacity, or capture the desired audio files of your macOS, you can just download and install the related version and find the detailed process as below.

Record Computer Audio with Audacity on Windows 10

Step 1Right click on the Sound or Volume icon on your Windows 10, you can launch the dialog box for sound device. Choose the Playback devices option and find the default playback device.

Step 2Open the Audacity recorder and click on the Edit menu. Select the Preferences option and from the left menu to choose the Device option to unfold the settings for record computer audio.

Recording With Audacity On Mac

Step 3Select the Windows WASAPI from the drop-down list for the Host bar. Choose the Speak/HP (Realtek High Definition Audio) option for Playback bar and related device/channel for Recording.

Step 4After that, you can click on the Record button to record computer audio with Audacity recorder. You can pause or stop your recording with the specific buttons on the Transport toolbar for these commands.

Capture Audio Files via Audacity Recorder on Mac

Step 1Download Audacity on your MacBook, if you need to record audio from other applications, you should also install the Soundflower extension to get audio other than the default speakers.

Step 2Go to the Audacity menu and choose the Preferences option. You can choose the similar settings and choose the Soundflower as the Playback menu. Select the desired sample rate, sample format and more.

Step 3After that, you can click the Start button to record audio from computer via Mac. Now you can click the red Record button to get the desired audio files from the desired channel.

Step 4Click on the File menu, you can choose the Export option to save the recording audio to MP3, WAV, OGG and other formats. Of course, you can also save the recording via Audacity with the Save Project option.

Part 2: Why Cannot Use Audacity to Capture Audio

Is there a method to capture the audio file directly with Audacity for Mac? Why Audacity is not recording or cannot adjust the recording level? The extension of Soundflower is one of the most important reasons. If it’s recording a track that turns out to be blank, you should check the cabling and your recording device settings in Audacity. Go to the Edit menu option, choose the Preferences option and choose the Device option. Make sure it’s recording from the correct input.

Moreover, you can also have another check for the cassette, audio cable, computer sound card input and more others for the Audacity not working accordingly. Of course, there might also be a reason for the Audacity voice recorder itself.

Part 3: Best Alternative to Audacity to Record Audio Files

What should you do if you still cannot record with Audacity? When you want to record audio directly on your computer, Apeaksoft Screen Recorder is the Audacity alternative to record video, capture audio and take snapshots. It also enables you to customize the recording files with annotation, drawings and more others.

Recommendation

Equalize Volume In Recording Using Audacity

• Record the system audio, microphone and other connected devices.
• Capture the audio files from desktop directly within one click directly.
• Adjust the audio volume, output format, file quality and more others.
• Add screen video, webcam files and annotation to the audio recording.

Step 1Download and install the audacity recording software alternative, you can launch the program on your computer. In order to record the external devices, you should make sure to connect the device beforehand.

Recording In Audacity From Computer

Step 2Click on the Audio Recorder option, you can enable to record the audio files from system sound, microphone or both. Just have another test or go to the Settings to adjust the audio volume accordingly.

Step 3After that, you can click on the REC button to record audio files from your desktop. You can manage the recording files with hotkeys; add some annotation or drawing the recording during the process.

Conclusion

JAudacity is one of the most popular free audio recorders to capture multitrack from your computer. Just learn more about how to record audio with Audacity recorder on Windows and Mac. What should you do if Audacity cannot work? You can find the resolutions as well as the alternative from the article.