Record audio and MIDI

Recording requires an active audio engine. Arm one or more audio tracks, instrument tracks, or both before pressing Record.

Prepare the system

1. Open Settings → Audio → Devices.
2. Select the input and output devices.
3. Apply the configuration and confirm that the status bar says Audio active.
4. In Audio → Recording, choose the recording format and swap location.
5. For MIDI hardware, open Settings → MIDI Input & sync and confirm the expected ports are available.

Use a buffer that is small enough to monitor comfortably but large enough to avoid XRUNs. Start larger, then reduce it after the signal is stable.

Prepare an audio track

1. Open the Mixer and add an Audio track.
2. In the channel's Input section, select a mono hardware input or link an adjacent pair for stereo.
3. Turn on Record enable for the track.
4. Turn on Input monitoring if you need to hear the input through Heron.

Software monitoring must be enabled in recording settings, and the track must have a hardware input, before input monitoring becomes available.

Use Low Latency Mode to prioritize a live monitored main path while recording. See Low Latency Mode for target Output selection, the plug-in budget, and the alignment trade-offs involved.

Feedback

Do not monitor an open microphone through nearby speakers. Use headphones or turn monitoring off to prevent feedback.

Prepare an instrument track

1. Open the Mixer and add an Instrument track.
2. Choose a MIDI input port and channel in the track's MIDI input control, or leave the defaults for all inputs / omni.
3. Turn on Record enable for the track.
4. Turn on Input monitoring if you want live MIDI to reach the instrument while you play.

Recording does not require monitoring. An armed instrument still journals MIDI even when monitoring is off.

Capture

Move the playhead to the start position, then select Record or press R. Record-enabled audio tracks capture their selected inputs. Record-enabled instrument tracks capture matching MIDI into a durable journal and commit a MIDI clip when you stop.

Enable 1234 in the top bar for a one-bar count-in before capture begins. The metronome sounds during the count-in even when the arrangement starts at the recording position.

Cycle is a playback aid and never loops a recording. If Cycle is enabled while you record, capture continues past the loop end and the saved Cycle range is used again the next time you play.

Select Record again to stop. Heron closes the recording, repairs audio headers when needed, processes audio into project assets, converts MIDI journals into clips, and updates the arrangement. Keep the application open while the finalization dialog is active.

Recovery

During capture, audio and MIDI journals are written to the configured swap directory. This allows Heron to recover a take if recording or the application stops before the project archive is saved. Recovered MIDI takes close any notes that were still held when capture ended.

After a successful capture:

1. play the new clip and check it;
2. save the project archive;
3. keep an external backup for important work.

If recording drops frames

An XRUN or dropout warning means the audio callback did not receive or deliver data on time. Stop recording, increase the buffer size, close CPU-heavy applications or plug-ins, and try again. Heron reports dropped input or captured frames during finalization rather than hiding the problem.