Arming Tracks & Input Monitoring
Before you can record to a track, you need to arm it. Arming tells the app which track should capture your input. Monitoring gives you the option to hear your input through your headphones or speakers in real time.
The R Button
Every audio channel strip has an R button (for Record-arm). Tap it to cycle through three states:
[SCREENSHOT: R button in all three states — grey (off), red (armed), orange (monitor)]
| State | Color | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Grey | Track is passive. No input metering. |
| Armed | Red | Input is metered (VU shows your signal) but no audio comes out of your output device. Use this to check levels silently. |
| Monitor | Orange | Input is metered AND routed to your output so you can hear yourself in real time. |
You can monitor several tracks at once. Arm and set multiple tracks to Monitor to hear, say, a guitar through an amp sim on one track and a synth on another simultaneously — each track’s input runs through its own plugin chain.
Monitoring keeps going after you finish a take. When you stop a recording, any tracks you were monitoring stay live so you can keep playing through your amp and immediately record another take — no need to re-arm between takes.
Armed State (Red)
In the Armed state, the app:
- Opens the hardware microphone or interface input
- Displays your input level on the channel strip’s VU meter
- Does not send audio to your output (no monitoring)
[SCREENSHOT: Armed track — VU meter active, R button red]
Use Armed when:
- You want to check whether you’re getting signal before committing to monitoring
- You’re recording in a room where speaker bleed would be a problem
- You’re using direct monitoring through your audio interface’s hardware (the interface feeds the signal back to your headphones without going through the app)
Monitor State (Orange)
In the Monitor state, the app:
- Meters your input on the VU
- Routes your input audio through your output device (headphones or speaker)
- If an AUv3 plugin is loaded on the track, your input passes through the plugin chain in real time — you hear your guitar through the amp sim, for example
[SCREENSHOT: Monitor state — R button orange, VU active]
Use Monitor when:
- You want to hear yourself as you play before and during recording
- You’re using an AUv3 amp simulation and want to play through it live
- You’re dialing in levels by ear
Latency warning: Monitor mode introduces a small amount of latency (the time it takes your signal to travel through the app and back out your speakers). The amount depends on your IO buffer size setting and whether you’re using a plugin. For zero-latency monitoring, use your audio interface’s built-in hardware monitoring feature and leave the track in Armed (not Monitor) mode.
Long-Press for Count-In Record
Long-press the R button on a track to arm it and immediately begin a 4-beat count-in before recording starts.
[SCREENSHOT: Count-in display showing the number "3" during countdown]
This is useful when you want to start recording right away without pressing the separate Record button — arm the track, hold the R button, and you’re recording after the count.
The count-in is displayed as a large number on-screen (4, 3, 2, 1) so you can see it even if you’re not looking directly at your device.
Input Source Selection
The Input button on the channel strip (shows the current source label: “St” for stereo, “Ch1” for channel 1, etc.) lets you pick which hardware input feeds this track.
[SCREENSHOT: Input button on channel strip]
Tap it to open the Input Picker:
[SCREENSHOT: Input Picker modal showing available inputs]
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Built-in Microphone (St) | The device’s built-in mic, recorded in stereo |
| [Interface Name] — Stereo (1+2) | Both channels of a connected audio interface |
| [Interface Name] — Ch 1 | Only channel 1 (left input) of the interface |
| [Interface Name] — Ch 2 | Only channel 2 (right input) of the interface |
| Plugin Output | Record the output of an AUv3 instrument plugin loaded on this track |
If you change the input while a track is already in Monitor mode, the app briefly re-initializes the monitoring session to apply the new input routing. Changing your output device (e.g. switching to Bluetooth headphones) while monitoring is safe — monitoring keeps running on the new output without interruption.
When a Device Disconnects (or You Swap Interfaces)
If your audio interface is unplugged — or the audio route changes — while you’re monitoring, Homecrate pauses monitoring and shows the Audio Device Changed panel so you don’t get a blast of feedback from the built-in mic. Choose:
[SCREENSHOT: Audio Device Changed recovery panel]
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Use new output device | Keeps your input; resumes monitoring on whatever device is active now |
| Reconnect previous device | Re-arms with the interface you were using, if it’s plugged back in |
| Leave disarmed | Does nothing — you re-arm manually when ready |
Monitoring is disarmed by default here on purpose: it prevents the built-in mic from feeding your amp chain back into the speaker.
Reinitialize Audio
If audio ever gets stuck — garbled/crackly sound, or monitoring that won’t start — after switching devices, open ⋯ menu → Settings → Audio and tap Reinitialize Audio. It rebuilds the audio engine and session in place (your project and plugins are kept) and clears the glitch without needing to force-quit the app.
Plugin Output Recording
When you select Plugin Output as the input source, the track records the audio rendered by the instrument plugin on its own plugin slots — instead of any microphone or interface input. This lets you:
- Capture a synthesizer performance to audio
- Freeze a plugin to save CPU
- Archive the rendered output before changing the plugin settings
See Instrument Plugins & MIDI Routing for how to set up plugin output recording.
Monitoring Volume
The track’s volume fader in the mixer also controls the monitoring level when in Monitor mode. If your headphone mix is too loud or too quiet, adjust the fader while monitoring.
MIDI Track Arm
MIDI tracks have their own R button in the MIDI channel strip. It works the same way:
- Armed (red): records incoming MIDI but no passthrough to hardware or plugin
- Monitor (orange): passes incoming MIDI through to the assigned output device or plugin in real time
Long-pressing a MIDI track’s R button triggers a count-in and starts MIDI recording immediately. See Recording MIDI Input.