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 or application input, before input monitoring becomes available.

Record an application's audio

In the channel's Input menu, open Applications and select an application that is currently producing audio. Heron captures the selected application and its helper processes as one stereo source. This is supported by WASAPI Process Loopback on Windows and by Core Audio Process Tap on macOS 14.2 or later.

The first macOS capture starts the system permission flow. Allow Heron under System Settings → Privacy & Security → System Audio Recording, then restart Heron. If access is denied or later revoked, the channel remains routed but is silent and shows a permission message.

An application target is not rebound automatically after the application exits. Restart the target, then select it again or disable and re-enable monitoring or recording. A selected target that is temporarily unavailable remains visible in the input menu so the project does not silently switch to another application.

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. When monitoring an application, Heron also excludes its own process tree to prevent capture feedback. Use headphones or turn monitoring off if another route feeds the captured application back into itself.

Prepare an instrument track

1. Open the Mixer and add an Instrument track.
2. Open the Inspector, select the track, and choose its MIDI input port and channel, or leave All Inputs and Omni selected.
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.