# Recording

The first thing to do when starting to record a track is to add a track with an audio or MIDI file that will contain the recording. You can do this using the Add Track menu.

Add Audio Track window (Pro edition)

Add MIDI Track window

If the track contains an audio file (like the default .wav format), the track will record audio (using a microphone or a line input). If it contains a MIDI file (.mid), the track will record MIDI (usually from a keyboard). See the Audio files and MIDI files sections for more information on supported file types.
To record a track, you should click its Rec button (it turns red) and start the transport.

If you want recording to start after a short delay (to give you time to walk to the mic, for instance), you can use the Delay Before Recording option.

### Recording options

Four buttons at the top of the main window provide access to the most frequently used recording options:

- Input: See audio recording.
- Mon: Soft Monitoring
- Punch: Punch In/Out
- SoS: Sound on Sound recording

The Rec button pops up the Recording Options menu, which offers more options. The buttons automatically move into the menu if the main window is too small to display them all. The menu options are described in the following paragraphs.

Recording options, with Recording Level fader