If you’ve ever recorded your voice on your computer, you’ve probably noticed that the process is pretty simple. After all, you only have one source of audio – your voice. What happens, however, when you record multiple people using multiple microphones at once? Do they all share an equal volume level? How can you control each individual audio source?

Audio Channels Offer Control in Recording

The way to handle a situation where multiple audio sources need to be heard clearly is to record each source on its own channel. An audio channel is the separate track on which audio resides. Each channel is then blended together using a hardware mixer or software that functions as a mixer.

This process works even when recording multiple audio sources simultaneously. Each audio source is recorded to its own channel, and as long as you have the right acoustic treatments and mic placement, you should pick up little or no audio from other sound sources nearby.

The process of mixing allows you to control the volume of each channel individually and independently of all the others when putting together your final recording. Additionally, you can apply effects and shape the sound of each channel in a mixer. This means that recordings can have more clarity as all of the audio sources aren’t stepping on one another in a mix. Click here for more information on free podcasting tools available online.

Where Can You Find Multi-Channel Recording Tools?

While recording each microphone directly into a hardware audio interface is one way to go about multi-channel recording, there are plenty of free podcasting tools available on the Internet to get the job done digitally. Many digital audio workstation (DAW) software publishers provide access to free podcasting tools, and some DAW software titles themselves are available at no cost or as a free trial.

The nice thing about modern multichannel recording is that you can usually take care of everything from your personal computer. In the past, you would usually need to book time in a recording studio to record quality audio, but today’s consumer microphones and recording software are affordable on virtually any budget.

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