Ask A Sound Guy

Input Modes in Logic.

 When it comes to recording in DAW’s, a little function tends to go a long way.  Input Modes, however can drive you crazy pretty quickly, especially when the guy you’re recording wants to keep playing between takes (not always a bad thing, you just don’t want to hear it when you’re playing back a take).   So here’s a quick rundown of the two common input modes that you’ll find in DAW’s (and tape machines/ large recording consoles).

What you hear with different Input Modes Selected.

Record Enable:

The more common input mode is “Record Enable,” which does different things depending on what you’re doing.  Confused yet?  Well don’t worry it’s pretty straightforward.  Activate it by pressing the “R” button on that Track (In Garageband it’s a Red Circle like a Record Button).

Once activated it will let you hear the Input of that track.  So say you’ve got a bass guitar plugged into your interface and Record Enable that Track.  You should now be able to hear the bass guitar has it is played.

When you hit play (but not record) the input of the track should be muted.  So if you’re playing back the session, the noodling of your bass guitarist should be muted inside the DAW.  

When you hit record you’ll be able to hear the input again, so that you can monitor the bass being played as it is being recorded. 

Input Only:

The less common input mode (some smaller/cheaper DAW’s don’t implement this) is called “Input Only.” This input mode allows you to hear that input All The Time.  To Activate this mode you click on the “I” button in most DAW’s.  Some call this function “input monitoring” or “monitor input” but they all tend to work the same.  Once activated you hear the input of that track.  Also even when playing back and recording, you’ll still hear the input to that track.  

That’s where this mode gets tricky.  If you have this activated and record a take onto that track.  Everything will work fine up until you want to play what you just recorded.  The recording sitting on the playlist of that track will be ignored, and you’ll still be listening to the input.  There have been times I’ve left Input Only on while trying to play back and heard silence where I should have heard an over-dub.  This is especially bad when your artist is listening on headphones, waiting to hear back the most tremendous guitar solo of his life.  Nothing ruins a mood more than making an artist think you didn’t record that take. 

Probably the more confusing part of this mode, is it doesn’t “record enable” the track be default.  So if you have just the Input Only mode on but not Record Enable, then hitting record won’t actually record anything to that track.  (If you have other tracks record enabled, they will record, but the Input Only track won’t.)

Both:

You can also work with both modes activated – clicking on bot I and R buttons.  This lets you always hear the input to the track, and record to that track.  

Basically the only difference is when you hit playback, you won’t hear the track playlist, you’ll hear the input of the track.

So When Do I Use What?

The original intention for the two modes hearkens back to the days of tape.  Back then, to do a different take, you didn’t have the option to make a new track and mute the last one.  Basically to record a new take you often had to record over an older one.  

That’s why “Input Only” mode came about.  It let your artist practice an overdub while prevent accidental recordings.  If you put a guitar track on Input Only mode and hit play, your guitarist could hear himself play along to the other tracks.  If yo accidentally hit record while this was happening – no big deal, Input Only mode wouldn’t let you record over what was already on that track.

Then when your artist was ready to record and say good bye to old take, you switched over to Record Enable and were able to record the take.  

Nowadays you don’t really need the Input Only mode in most small studio setups.  If you’re monitoring and input, then you might as well be able to record.  And if you record over something, it’s still there on your hard drive and not gone forever (unless you turn on Destructive Record mode… but WHY would you do that?)

So my main suggestion is use input only mode if you’re troubleshooting a signal and you want it always on, or you’re doing lots of practice/rehearsal runs of a song (some DAW’s “record” your audio as soon as record enable, which is a great backup feature but fills up a hard drive fast if you’re just practicing).

If you’re tracking or overdubbing and moving pretty quick from take to take, just leave things in Record Enable, and don’t bother with Input Only.  

Hope that’s helpful, and as always, happy sound hunting.