Activating Recording

Once you have the desired Tracks created, setup, and record-enabled, the next step is to record. The following illustrates several ways to activate recording, each associated with a different purpose.

Manually

Manually activating recording is the most basic way to record. Recording starts at the current playback-cursor position and continues until you manually stop recording. To manually activate recording, click on the Record button in the Transport or press [NumPad *] on the keyboard.

The Record button in the Transport turns red, the playback cursor starts to scroll from left to right, and new Events are recorded to any record-enabled Tracks. Recording continues until you manually stop it.

Precount and Preroll

When recording audio or Instrument Parts, it is often useful to give the performer a count-in before recording begins, to alert them that recording is starting, and present the tempo of the Song so that they can play on-beat from the start. Studio One Pro offers two ways to do this: Precount and Preroll.

Engaging Precount lets you specify a number of bars of metronome clicks to be played before recording begins. Preroll lets you specify a number of bars in the Song to play before recording begins. Choose the mode that best meets your needs as you record. You'll find the preroll button (highlighted red when engaged) next to the Metronome options in the Transport:

Follow these steps to use Precount or Preroll:

  1. Click on the Metronome Setup button to open the Metronome Setup menu.
  2. Select Precount or Preroll in the Metronome Setup menu, and enter a number in the Bars field for the number of bars you wish to play before recording begins.
    • You can also enable the selected mode by clicking on the Precount or Preroll button in the Transport, or by pressing [Shift] + [C] on the keyboard to engage Precount, or [O] to engage Pre-Roll.
  3. Set the playback cursor to the timeline position at which you wish to begin recording.
  4. Click on the Record button in the Transport or press [NumPad *] to begin recording.
    • In Precount mode, the Metronome clicks for the specified number of bars. The number of beats remaining before recording starts is displayed in the Record button in the Transport.
    • In Preroll mode, playback begins a specified number of bars before the position you chose, with the playback cursor moving from left to right.
  5. Recording automatically activates at the position you chose. The Record button in the Transport turns red, the playback cursor scrolls from left to right, and new Events begin recording to any record-enabled Tracks.
  6. Recording continues until you manually stop it by pressing [Space Bar] on the keyboard or clicking Stop in the Transport.

Auto Punch

It is sometimes useful to automate the point at which recording begins and ends. For example, if you wish to record over a specific phrase of a vocal part, but not before or after that phrase, you can automatically begin and end recording at specified points. This process is commonly referred to as “punching in and out,” and the resulting new Audio Event is referred to as the “punch-in.” The Auto-punch button is located under the Preroll button:

In Studio One Pro, punching in/out is achieved with the Auto Punch feature. Follow these steps to engage Auto Punch:

  1. Set the Left Locator in the Timeline Ruler of the Arrange view at the position you wish to punch in—that is, where recording should begin.
  2. Set the Right Locator in the Timeline Ruler of the Arrange view at the position you wish to punch out, that is, where recording should stop.
  3. Click on the Auto Punch button in the Transport, or press [I] (the letter ‘i’) on the keyboard.
  4. With Tracks record-enabled, begin recording at any point before the Left Locator position.
  5. Playback begins and recording automatically activates at the Left Locator position. The Record button in the Transport turns red, the playback cursor continues to scroll from left to right, and new Events begin recording to any record-enabled Tracks.
  6. Recording automatically stops at the Right Locator position. However, playback continues beyond the Right Locator position until you manually stop it by pressing [Space Bar] on the keyboard or by clicking Stop in the Transport.

If you use the Auto-Punch feature in Studio One Pro to record your punch-ins, or if you punch in manually, the newly recorded audio is automatically crossfaded at its edges with the existing Audio Event, so the transition between the old and new audio is not audible. The crossfade time is very small and not audible; however, you can edit the crossfade manually.