14 DAY TRIAL // With digital cameras becoming both more powerful and more affordable, not to mention all the mobile phones with cameras built in, there is a lot of activity in this area. Not surprisingly, there are also a lot of applications out there, for dealing with digital photos, be it managing, editing, or sharing them. When it comes to sound, however, people prefer consuming content created by others, rather than making their own. While your computer is equally good at dealing with images and sounds, the software scene leans heavily towards the visual side. There's tons of programs for managing and listening to your music, but when it comes to recording and editing, there are fewer choices and the available programs tend to vary greatly when it comes to features and usability. Since recording the sound is a prerequisite to editing it, we'll look at that first and we won't have to look further than Audiocorder.
What it does Audiocorder is a general purpose sound recorder that you can use for any number of things. The great thing about this program is that it is good not only for recording sound when you plan to do it, but also for capturing audio on the fly, as the situation arises.
Working with it The first step is to set up the application so that it will be ready to record with the right settings. While this can be done on the fly, ideally you would want to leave the settings at a standard value so that you will be ready to record at the click of a button. After selecting the appropriate source from the menu, you should set the quality settings. These should be familiar to anyone that has ever had to work with an MP3 file and are standard for audio encoding. If you are unfamiliar with these settings, the rule of thumb is that higher numbers mean better quality but also imply larger files and more processing power needed to work with them. Last but not least, you need to set the format of the output files. By default, this is the Mac standard AIFF, but you can change it to WAVE if cross platform compatibility is important to you.
Once all that is done, you can start recording. Doing this manually is quite simple, being a matter of start, pause and stop. Beyond this most basic usage, things get a little more complicated and Audiocorder really begins to shine. One of the first advanced things that you can do is to cut the recording as it is progressing. This is accomplished by using the little scissors icon that only works while you are recording and will immediately end the current recording and instantly begin a new one. This can be useful when recording separate tracks from the radio or other sources, and instead of getting one hour long file you can manually cut between each track thus getting individual files. The next feature is spontaneous recording. This is the reason why apparently there are two record buttons in the main window. By default, they will both accomplish the same thing, but the 'Rec' one is for spontaneous recordings. What this will do is start recording, while also saving the content of the application's cache. Since by default the cache duration is set to 0 seconds, the first thing you need to do is let the application know how long a cache you want. Once you set an according duration for the 'Buffer Time' in the preferences, you need to tell the program to start caching, by using the 'Grab' button. This feature is amazing when you want to record something but actually switching to the application and hitting the button will cost you precious seconds. Last but not least, Audiocorder can be set up to record all by itself.
Automatic recording For whatever reason you might need to record while not actually being present at your computer, Audiocorder can accommodate. The most basic option is Timed Recording, which can be invoked by clicking the little stopwatch button. You enter a desired duration and the application will keep recording until time expires. A step up is the Schedule. Using this option you can specify fixed windows when recording will occur. You can have as many intervals as desired in any schedule and they can be saved and reused. Furthermore, you can have 'any date' intervals that only take the time into consideration and which can be used indefinitely.
The most advanced feature is the VOX recording. When activated, Audiocorder will automatically start and stop recording based on the sound input it is receiving. You can set a threshold and duration that once achieved will trigger the recording start and you can also set a threshold and duration that once achieved will stop the recording process. This basically tells the program that if it starts hearing noise that is loud enough and it goes on for a decided amount of time to start the recording and if it gets too quiet for too long, to stop. VOX recording can be further enhanced, by using the Voice button right next to it. When activated, the program will constantly analyze the input to determine whether it is voice, music or just noise; and only actually recording if it is one of the former two.
The Good Great for any kind of recording you might need, very versatile and easy to use.
The Bad The interface is a bit unwieldy, with everything being crammed in one window, but this is only a problem until you get used to what everything does.
The Truth If you want to record sound on your Mac, Audiocorder is one of the best applications for doing it. What it lacks in style it more than makes up for in functionality.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
