Hey guys, in this video we’re going to check out how to record audio in Cakewalk by BandLab.
Before we start, if you didn’t check out our previous getting started video, I recommend
doing that before starting.
This video will cover configuring an audio interface for recording, setting up your tracks,
recording audio with multiple takes, punching in and out, trimming audio tracks, and adding
fades.
First, go to the edit menu at the top and select preferences.
You can also open this menu with the P button.
Go to Devices under Audio.
This shows us all the inputs and outputs for our audio interface that we’ll be using.
You can select the ones you want to be used.
For example, if I’m never going to be using SPDIF or ADAT with my interface, so I can
disable those inputs and outputs so they don’t come up.
Next we’ll add a few tracks.
I’ve deleted everything and started a blank project first.
At the top menu bar, go to Insert, and select Audio Track.
If you want to add multiple audio tracks, we’ll do this a few more times.
You can also right click on the blank track area to add a new track.
I’ll set up this project for a drum recording with a stereo pair of microphones, a mic on
the snare, and a mic on the kick.
We don’t need to set the track as stereo or mono, Cakewalk will automatically do that
when we select our input.
The first thing I like to do with my new tracks is rename them.
To see all the track options, click and drag the bottom of the track to expand it.
On the right of the track options, there’s a few buttons to go over.
The mute button disables that track, and the solo button makes it play while excluding
all other tracks that are not soloed.
The record button arms that track for recording on the input we select for it.
The input echo is basically a track monitor button, and it allows you to hear the track
with all the effects while it’s being played.
In the bottom row we can see an R button.
This enables automation read for that track.
With this disabled, the automation settings will be ignored.
The WT button is for writing automation to that track.
The star button freezes the track.
This bounces it will all the effects to a new clip to take some of the load off the
CPU during playback.
Finally, the A button is for Archive.
This track won’t be played.
Unlike muting, you can’t just turn it back on without stopping playback, but it also
decreases the load on the CPU.
This is what you should use to disable different takes that aren’t being used.
Now we need to set the track input and output.
The left bottom dropdown is for the input.
Click this, select the audio interface, and select the input.
I’ll be using the first stereo pair for this track.
The second track will use line input 3 and the third track will use line input 4.
If you take a look at this, the names of the inputs might not appear as you expect them
from other software.
Cakewalk is considering all the inputs in stereo pairs.
That means that line input 3 left is the 3rd input on my interface, but the 4th input is
called line input 3 right.
This doesn’t create a problem for recording, it’s just a little bit confusing for how
it’s displayed.
Here we can also add a bus to group our tracks together, but we’ll go into this in the
mixing section later on.
You can also set it to your audio interface’s line outputs.
That way if you have some sort of effects processor you want to run it through, you
can record the track without it first, then add it after straight out of the software
and loop it back into the audio interface.
As this point we’re pretty much ready to record.
Press the red arm button on each track.
Before you record, I strongly recommend setting your project tempo and metronome up.
Cakewalk timing is based on measures which makes it a lot easier to edit everything later
and combine audio and MIDI in the same project.
Once you’re ready to record, press the red record button in the transport at the top,
or the R key on your keyboard.
Now let’s take a look at how to work with multiple takes in Cakewalk.
If you’re recording, sometimes you’ll play the same part multiple times and combine
them to make it sound better.
To open the takes menu, right click on the record menu in the transport like we showed
in the previous video.
With the record mode in comping, we’ll overwrite the previous recording and play the highest
take, but it won’t be deleted.
It will just mute the overlapped portion, and we can unmute it if we want from the clip
properties as we saw in the previous video.
It also creates a split in our original track at the beginning and end of the new recording,
and this allows us to adjust where the transition between takes will be fairly easily.
In overwrite mode, it will delete the section of the previous track that is being overwritten.
I only use this when I’m sure I won’t reuse a take again.
Finally, there’s sound on sound.
This doesn’t delete or overwrite anything.
It just plays everything back.
The next tool to look at is punching in and out.
We went over this briefly when we covered the layout, but let’s take a look at how
we can actually use it.
First we start by making a time selection.
Now go to the punch in out selection and press the bottom button to set punch points to selection.
The top button will light up, telling us that we are now punched in for a certain section.
If we want to get out of this mode, just click it again.
Now when we go back to the beginning and record, it will play the entire song, with the metronome,
but it will only start recording when it punches in.
This isn’t something you’d necessarily want to use for a track that spans the entire
song.
It is nice when you’re recording a short section like a guitar solo.
You can have the song playing and only record that section, that way your recordings aren’t
wasting drive space, and you don’t have to spend as much time trimming and cleaning
up the tracks after.
With that said, let’s look at the other approach, which is just to trim the track.
First, just keep your cursor tool in Smart mode.
Then click on the ends of the tracks, right near the middle and drag them towards the
center of the track to trim it.
This can be done with snapping enabled, at whatever resolution you choose, or you can
zoom in and precisely trim the track to the point where it starts or stops.
Tracks can also be trimmed to extend them outwards, but this just adds silence to the
beginning or end, unless you have looping enabled on that track.
Finally, let’s take a look at adding fades to a track.
This is useful if you have a track with a little bit of noise in it, and you don’t
want it to abruptly end.
Fading works similar to the trim tool, by clicking and dragging the end of the track.
The difference is that you are clicking and dragging near the top of the track instead
of at the center.
By default, the fades are set to linear.
When the fade indicator pops up, right click on it and you can switch between linear, slow
fade, and fast fade.
The Neewer NW-700 is a budget-friendly condenser microphone to get started with home recording,
or voice over for video production.
This XLR microphone is a good choice for those looking to get started with audio production,
and can be used with most USB audio interfaces.
It also includes a shockmount and windscreen, and has a cardioid polar pattern to reject
background noise.
Check out the link in the video description to get one to start recording.
Thanks for checking out this video on recording and editing audio in Cakewalk by Bandlab.
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You can also check out the links in the video description for products featured in this
video and social media links.