Can anyone recommend a very simple (preferabley free) program for recording to a single stereo wav file, that also has a recording level indicator? n-Track is a great recorder of course, but it can be a large cumbersome application, draining my system resources (occasionally crashing) - whereas I could do with a straightforward recorder. I will use n-Track for mixing and mastering though.
Thanks
JW
Cool Edit 96
Shareware version can only do two things at a time, but save can be one of 'em.
Works like a charm.
PM me if you can’t find a download.
Audacity I think can di it as well - not shure about the VU meter…
Wihan
Hi
I have both those. CoolEdit96 works fine but the interface is a little rough looking on the eyes. An odd criticism, but I like an app to look elegant as well as work elegantly. And Audacity is a big app, not a small simple one… maybe I should give another go though.
I probably have what I’m looking for - I just want something simpler and neater to use!
Cheers
JW
If you already have Nero 7, the Wave Editor is a good one. Reaper is another up and coming audio star. You can find a bunch of freeware audio editors at FreewareFiles.com.
Paul
Audacity is pretty good and is free.
Dave T2
Just had another go with Audacity - really good software! Hadn’t really looked at it properly till now. Think I’ll use it on and off then, plus n-Track for mastering etc. Cool 
Cheers
JW
Does sound recorder (sndrec.exe, iirc) still come with windows xp like it did with 3.1-98se? That was my first tool for digital recording way back when. It worked pretty well, as I remember…
'til…
TW
Yes it does (and is still fine), but you have to set the input levels with caution, as there aren’t any VU meters.
W
have ya ever checked out “goldwave”…small file,can be had at oldversion.com
oooopppssss,goldwave is notta freebee,so sorry,carry on,
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| Does sound recorder (sndrec.exe, iirc) still come with windows xp like it did with 3.1-98se? That was my first tool for digital recording way back when. It worked pretty well, as I remember… |
I have never looked for or used sound recorder in XP. In 98SE and below for sure, it only recorded 60 seconds of sound by default. The workaround was to
record 60 seconds of a Blank wav and do a SAVE AS->Blank60.wav.
Then EDIT->Insert File…choose Blank60.wav
Now you have 120 seconds of recording time.
Insert Blank60.wav for as much time as you need.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q82215/
Oh, I forgot about the 60 second limit! Shows how long since I used sound recorder… 
'til next;
tw
Thumbs up for Audacity.
I still use it as a wave editor in nTrack to this day.
I haven’t tried these two but they look promising.
Audio Recorder for Free 5.6
From the screen shot it appears to have VU meters.
Cantabile v1.1 build 1129
Write up mentions metering and it supports VST effects and instruments!
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| If you already have Nero 7, |
Sorry, but this is an anti-Nero vote.
Nero 7 tries to be all things to all men, but when you install it, it installs other things apart from the ones you chose.
Nero Scout for one thing.
Nero Scout searches and checks your HD for multimedia files, and it does this continually, whether you want it to or not, and it not only monitors your HD, but it controls access to it too.
It’s supposed to be helpful, but it’s just a pain in the A for DAW users.
If you have Nero 7 installed, it’s impossible to install Cubase SX3 and many other products into any other directory than the default one; Nero 7 Scout won’t allow it. And how do you feel about recording to disk when Nero Scout is simultaneously stealing access?
And that is true for many other things.
And uninstalling Nero 7 does not get rid of it all. I had to do a complete reformat/reinstall of XP to totally remove Nero 7.
So, avoid Nero 7 at all costs. Audioforum.ru recently voted it the nastiest piece of software of the year.
Note: This is not true of Nero 6 and earlier versions.
Nero 7 can be installed without that dreaded Scout. And I don’t agree with Audioforum.ru. Anything with Norton’s name still is king of the nastiest software. It should be classified as a trojan.