Recording

Can you really record good audio in a browser?

Yes, and here is the honest version of why. Two things usually wreck browser recordings, and we have turned both off.

First, browsers assume you are on a video call. By default they run noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain on your microphone. That is right for speech and ruinous for an instrument: it gates your quiet and breathy notes so they vanish, and it pumps your loud notes so they crackle. We record with all of that switched off, so the browser captures the instrument, not a phone call.

Second, you choose the quality. Quick mode records a light, high-bitrate file that is transparent for practice and auditions. Lossless WAV mode captures an uncompressed master right here in the browser, the same quality you would get from studio software, with the voice processing off either way.

The rest of the quality is down to your gear and your gain, not the browser. Plug a real microphone into a real interface and the interface does the hard work.

How do I get the best out of the in-browser recorder?

• Use an audio interface, not the laptop's built-in mic. Select it as the input in your computer's sound settings and in the browser's microphone permission.
• Wear headphones. The backing track should reach your ears, not your microphone.
• Set the gain on your interface so your loudest notes peak around -6 dB, with room to spare. With the processing off, the take is only as clean as the level going in.

What are the ways to record, and who are they for?

Record in the browser. Hit record, play your part over the backing, stop. Pick Quick mode for a light file that is perfect for practice and auditions, or Lossless WAV mode to capture a full uncompressed master without leaving the page. Most players start in Quick; switch to Lossless when you are tracking for a finished record.

Upload your own file. Already tracked your part in Logic, Pro Tools, Studio One or any studio software? Upload the finished file straight into your chair, in any format. Nothing is re-compressed.

The point of the upload path is the part that matters most. Serious players do not want a platform to be their recording rig. They want it to be the place that coordinates the project. You print your part in your own room, to your own standard, and hand it in. The platform keeps the section together, the charts in order, the takes organised, the splits transparent and the record moving.

What format should I upload?

Whatever your master is. An uncompressed WAV or AIFF at 24-bit is the safe, universal choice. Compressed files are accepted too, they are simply already lossy before they reach us.

When you upload a lossless file we keep your original untouched for the master mix, and quietly make a small MP3 copy for fast review and play-along. You always work from the lossless original; the MP3 just keeps the page light. Practice and backing tracks stream as MP3 for the same reason.

Why not just make everyone upload studio files?

Because most of the magic is people playing together who otherwise never could. A student in Lugano and a pro in New Orleans should both be able to take a chair the same afternoon. The browser recorder keeps the door wide open. The upload path keeps the ceiling high. You choose per take, not once for the whole platform.