Apple Logic Pro X - Manual (Page 206)

Chapter 8 Record your voice or a musical instrument 206
Punch in and out of audio recordings
Punch recording is a technique you can use to overwrite a portion of a previously recorded
track, during playback, without touching any of the recording before or after that portion. You
punch in to interrupt playback and make the recording, then punch out to return to playback
mode. You can choose between two punch recording modes: “Punch on the Fly” mode and
Autopunch mode.
Punch recording is only available when Show Advanced Tools is selected in the Advanced
preferences pane.
Punch on the Fly mode
A useful and common recording practice is to switch in and out of recording mode while
listening to the previously recorded material, sometimes referred to as “punching in on the
fly.” This helps you fix mistakes or create alternate takes for a particular section. To ensure the
transition between playing and recording occurs without any audible gaps, you must turn on
Punch on the Fly mode.
When Punch on the Fly mode is on, recording occurs in the background from the moment
you start playback. This means there needs to be twice the number of available channel strips
than the number enabled for recording. A dialog appears if you exceed the number of channel
strips needed.
Important: It is recommended that you leave Punch on the Fly mode turned on (which it is,
by default). You only need to turn it off if you’re recording more than the number of channel
strips available (in a new project that’s more than 128 tracks), or if your hard disk is unable to
accommodate recording a large number of tracks. To turn it off, choose Record > Allow Quick
Punch-In, or Control-click the Record button, then choose Allow Quick Punch-In from the
shortcut menu.
Autopunch mode
Autopunch describes the use of predefined punch-in and punch-out points to start and stop
recording. One advantage is that you can concentrate on your playing, rather than on controlling
the software. Another advantage is that you can set the starting and stopping of recordings far
more precisely than is possible if “punching in on the fly.”
Note: Only record-enabled tracks are affected by punch recording.
When it comes to judging punch-in and punch-out points during punch recording, you should
turn on auto input monitoring (which it is, by default). This setting allows you to hear the input
signal only during the actual recording; before and afterward you’ll hear the previously recorded
audio on the track. If auto input monitoring is turned off, you will always hear the input signal.
Turn on auto input monitoring
Do one of the following when Show Advanced Tools is selected in the Advanced preferences
pane:
m Choose Record > Auto Input Monitoring.
m Control-click the Record button in the control bar, then choose Auto Input Monitoring from
the shortcut menu.