You
can use Zeta to record audio from a range of sources. SoundRecorder
uses a simple interface with the rewind, stop, play/pause, forward
and record.
To make a recording, you must have a computer with the ability
to connect a microphone or an other type of audio input. Most soundcards
today has an input port. You can then easily connect a wide range
of devices, like microphones, radios, CD and tape players.
The quality of your recordings depends highly of the signal being
passed to your computer. Therefore a recording made from a radio
is noticeable inferior to a recording from a CD player.
The recordings are done in stereo, and you can adjust the maximum
time of recording.
To save your recording, press the floppy disc icon. Your recordings
can be saved in the formats WAV, mp3 or AIFF, the same formats supported
for ripping CDs in CD Player.

The top portion of the SoundRecorder window is a sonogram
that shows the sound wave representing the left channel of your
file. As said the recordings are in stereo, but the display is in
mono. To the left of the sonogram is a level meter; the height of
the level indicators tells you whether you're getting the full dynamic
range from your sound or clipping it. You can change your sound
level in the Media preferences Audio Input panel.
Below the sonogram is a timeline that shows the lenght of a recording
or sample. Click the arrow to the right of the timeline to amke
a sound loop. If you want to save a portion of a recording, drag
the sliders at either end of the timeline in to frame to section
you want to save. You can save a portion of a file only with a drag
and drop save.

The SoundRecorder's general controls are Rewind,
Stop, Play/Pause, and Record. The Record
button is live only when you're actually recording from a sound
source; click it once to start recording, once again to stop recording
(or click the Stop button). The floppy icon is a Save
button; clicking it brings up a selection window where you can save
your file. The Volume Slider controls the volume in the
Media preferences Audio Mixer tab.
If you toggle the switch to the right of the volume control, the
bottom of the window opens, with a list of your recorded samples
on the right. You can highlight a sample to see file information
about it in the area to the left of the sample selection list.
To save a file, either use the Save button or drag a recording
clip out of the sonogram portion of the window and drop it where
you want to save it.
- Using the Save button only moves the file to the location
you choose; it doesn't copy data. Saving this way is quick and
doesn't use up a lot of click space (sound files can be very large).
- Saving by drag and drop does copy the file to a location you
specify, and also offers some more subtle features. For example,
you can save part of a sample by dragging the timeline in from
the left and right to mark it off, then dragging and dropping
the clip. If you right-click on a sample you drag, when you release
the mouse button a context menu pops up that lets you choose a
format to save the file in: AIFF, WAV and MP3 sound formats and
Microsoft or QuickTime movie sound formats.

So for what can you use the application?
Obviously for harddisk recording the output from your hifi-system,
but it can also be used to record your own produced music.
Far fewer of you would think of this application as a office application,
but this SoundRecorder is also an ideal tool for making memos!
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