FourTrack FAQ
From Guide
Introduction
Answers to frequently asked questions. If your question is not answered here, try the search box to the left, or the ask a question in the Forums. Or contact support by using this FourTrack support form.
General
What is a FourTrack?
Stereo tape recorders record two tracks at a time on a cassette. A four-track recorder allows you to record one track at a time while listening to the other three. This allows you to record a guitar part, then add a vocal part, then add a harmony, and so on. The Beatles recorded several albums using only four tracks. Four-track cassette recorders were the first affordable multi-track recorders for home musicians. Multitrack recording software, like GarageBand and Pro Tools, allow you to record many tracks, but the principle is the same. FourTrack (the iPhone app) gives you the simplicity of the old-school cassette four-track in an affordable and convenient package. With FourTrack in your pocket, you can record music anywhere at the moment of inspiration.
What are FourTrack's Features?
- Track count: 4
- Track length: unlimited
- Recording quality: 16 bit, 44.1 kHz
- Calibrated meters: accurately monitor record and playback levels
- Recording clip lights: ensure input levels do not cause distortion
- Calibrated faders: accurately adjust playback level of each track
- Pan control: move tracks from left to right
- Timeline: seek to anywhere in your song instantly
- Shuttle wheel: accurately move within your song
- Slide-to-Record: prevents over-writing your tracks
- Latency compensation: accurate to within 1ms
- Compressor-limiter: automatically fattens sound of output mix
- Song list: unlimited song count
- WiFi sync to computer: copy recordings (.wav files) directly to a desktop computer
- New in FourTrack 1.2: WiFi Sync to RiffWorks desktop recording software - RiffWorks Standard and RiffWorks T4 v2.5 automatically detect and import tracks directly from FourTrack, including pan and gain settings, using Bonjour on Mac and Windows. Songs can be instantly posted from RiffWorks to the RiffWorld.com community for comments, online collaboration, and contests. More tracks, effects, and drums can be added to songs using RiffWorks. All tracks can be exported from RiffWorks as .wav files for use in any DAW.
What are FourTrack's Requirements?
- iPhone
- iPod Touch, 2nd Gen* (See Incompatibility Statement Below)
- Microphone (eg. Shure, Monster, Griffin & MacAlley mic/headphone adapters)
- iPhone 2.0 software update
Why isn't the first generation iPod touch supported?
The first generation iPod touch does not have a mic input. We are working on adding support in a future update for external input devices that add a microphone or line input to to the dock connector on the iPod.
How do I know if I have a 2nd Generation iPod touch?
Please look at the pictures on this Apple support page: 2nd Generation iPod. See incompatibility statement below.
Can I record more than one track at a time?
No. The iPhone and iPod touch have a mono mic input, so only one stream of audio is available to record in FourTrack.
Can I hear music recorded using FourTrack?
Yes here is music recorded with FourTrack:
- "Lokah-MiniCut" by dazzagreenwood
- "FourTrack" by Jeff Macdougal
- "We on the Couch!" by Asher
- "FourTrack is Fun in a Car" by Nick Campbell
- Also great for recording podcasts for blogs: "FourTrack PodCast" by C.K.
Also import songs from FourTrack to RiffWorks Standard or RiffWorks T4, then post them to the RiffWorld.com community website using the Genre Tag: fourtrack. Look for more songs soon!
Operation
How do I record with FourTrack?
Getting Ready
Before launching FourTrack, make sure you have a microphone plugged into your iPod headset jack. The iPhone will record via the built-in microphone, but the sound will only come out of the ear piece. Using a separate head-phone mic adapter where the microphone can be placed somewhere stable away from your body will give the best results.
Setting Levels
When you first launch FourTrack, track 1 will be armed. The meter for track one will light up when you make sound. The ideal recording level is between -18dB and 0dB. You want as much of the meter to light up as possible, but you don't want the red light at the top of the track to light up. This light means the input level has clipped. Clipping causes distortion, which sounds bad. There is no input level control on the iPhone. To get a lower level, you either have to reduce the volume of the thing you are recording, or point or move the microphone away from the sound source.
Slide to Record
When you are ready to record, slide the record control to the right. Recording begins immediately. It is best to give yourself a count-in (say 1,2,3,4, or tap your foot) so that you know when the next track will start.
Stop recording and move to the next track
There are two ways to stop recording in FourTrack. When you are recording on a fresh empty song, you can stop recording by pressing the PLAY button. This will automatically seek to the beginning of the song, and arm the next track, so that you are ready to record again. This will only arm a track that has no data on it yet. You can tell a track has data because little sound waves will appear next to the track number. If you just want to stop and record again on the same track, you can press Stop Recording. This will stop the recorder and will NOT seek to the beginning. To seek to the beginning, tap the left edge of the TimeLine.
What does the red light above the meters mean?
The ideal recording level is between -18dB and 0dB. You want as much of the meter to light up as possible, but you don't want the red light at the top of the track to light up. This light means the input level has clipped. Clipping causes distortion, which sounds bad. There is no input level control on the iPhone. To get a lower level, you either have to reduce the volume of the thing you are recording, or point or move the microphone away from the sound source.
Why can't I move the fader on the armed track?
There is no way to adjust the input level on the iPhone so we disabled the fader on the armed track.
How do I delete one track?
There is currently no way to delete a specific track. However you can simply record over it again by re-arming the track and re-recording over it. You can then either record silence or record new music over it. If your previously recorded track is longer than the new recording, simply record silence over any remaining sound you would like to be erased. This does not affect any of the other recorded tracks.
Microphones and Other Inputs
Can I record with the built-in mic on my iPhone?
Yes, but while doing so, the only way to hear the sound will be through the ear piece on the phone, or through headphones. The speaker phone speakers would cause feedback while recording.
Do I need a microphone to use my iPod touch?
Yes. The iPod touch (2nd generation) has a microphone input on the headset jack, but does not have a built-in microphone. See incompatibility statement below.*
How do I use an external microphone?
The headset jack on the iPhone and iPod touch (2nd gen.)* have three contacts inside. The normal two for stereo headphones and an additional contact for the mic input. Several companies have released "headphone-mic" adapters so that you can use your high quality headphones as a headset. These add-on microphones are a good way to record with FourTrack because you can position the microphone away from the sound source and have a longer lead for your headphones.
Which headsets and microphones work with FourTrack for iPhone/iPod touch 2G*?
We've used these and they work well:
- Monster iSoniTalk Microphone Headphone Adapter for iPhone
- Apple iPhone headset
- Belkin A/V cable for mic input to RCA connector
We have not used these yet, but they should work well:
- Griffin Tunebuds
- Griffin SmartTalk
- Sennheiser MM50 iP Stereo Headset for iPhone
- Shure Music Phone Adapter for iPhone
- Coming Soon: Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic $29
- Coming Soon: Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic $79
Offer your opinion of these and other microphones in the FourTrack forum.
The microphone distorts, what should i do?
Lower the volume of the source you are recording. Point the microphone away from the source, or move it farther away. If you are using the Apple headset microphone, it could be rubbing against your clothes while you are recording causing scratching noises.
Can I plug my guitar (or fill in the blank) into FourTrack?
Yes and No.
There are adapters available that break the headset jack out to two mini-jacks, one stereo output for headphones and one mono input for a mic. These are hard to find, but you could plug a guitar into one of these using a 1/4" to mini adapter.
There are also cables available that can be purchased for the iPod that break out the mini jack to three RCA jacks. These are designed to let you connect the video signal of an iPod to a TV. On the iPhone and iPod touch (2nd gen) the yellow jack is the microphone input, instead of a video output.
You could connect a guitar to the yellow jack using a 1/4" to RCA cable connected to an RCA-RCA female connector connected to the RCA to mic connector. You would also need to connect the Red and White RCA connectors to some speakers headphones. However, the sound being recorded is not played through the output because the latency (time for the audio to go into the phone and back out) is too high. So you would only be able to hear your guitar playing in the room, not through the headphones while recording.
We will continue working on achieving lower latency through the phone and some day we may be able to do input monitoring.
Wifi Sync
How do I get my recordings off the iPhone?
Once you have recorded a song and you want to do download the tracks to your computer, you need to use Wifi-Sync.
Make sure your iPhone is connected to a Wifi network. Press on the Song tab at the bottom of the mixer. Press on the Song List arrow at the top of the screen. Press on the Wifi-Sync button at the bottom of the Song List.
A black screen will appear with an IP address that looks something like http://192.168.0.101:24601
At this point you can either use a web browser to download your tracks, or import your tracks with RiffWorks Standard or RiffWorks T4 (see below).
You need to enter this address into a web browser on a computer that is connected to the same wifi network as your phone. It is ok if your computer is connected with an ethernet cable as long as it is the same network. Eg, a home wireless router with both ethernet jacks and wifi.
A window will appear on your iPhone saying "A computer on your local network is connecting to FourTrack" Press OK to connect.
A list of your songs will appear on your computer. Each track you recorded can be downloaded as a wav file. These wav files do not contain the Pan and Gain information that you set in FourTrack, they are the actual recordings. These files can be loaded in a DAW for further editing.
How do I Import my tracks with RiffWorks?
Start Wifi Sync in FourTrack (see above).
Launch RiffWorks and click the IMPORT button.
A window will appear asking if you want to replace the SongLayers. Click Yes.
A window will appear on your iPhone saying that a computer is trying to Connect, press Ok.
A new window will appear in RiffWorks with a popup menu of the songs in FourTrack. Select the song you wish to import and click ok.
When the import is finished, click on the Brown SongLayers brick in the Riffs view. Your tracks are ready to play, mix, or RiffCast!
Why aren't the tracks panned when I download the wav files?
These wav files do not contain the Pan and Gain information that you set in FourTrack, they are the actual recordings. These files can be loaded in a DAW for further editing. If you import them into RiffWorks Standard or RiffWorks T4 the pan and gain settings will also be loaded.
What do I do with these wav files?
You can load these files in a multi-track audio editor (DAW) like GarageBand, ProTools, Logic, etc.
Known Issues
Are there any known issues with FourTrack? Yes, as with all software, there are issues that get found after you release it.
*2nd Gen iPod Touch OS 2.2 incompatibility
There is a bug in Apple's 2.2 code that leads to an echo-like, off pitch problem with recordings. This is a problem only on iPod touches, not with iPhones. We have narrowed it down to a small chunk of Apple's code and we have filed a bug report with Apple. We will work with them on this until it is fixed. Email marketing@sonomawireworks.com to be notified when this is fixed.
Strange noise/feedback heard
There is a strange bug in Apple's audio system that seems to be caused when plugging in the microphone after launching FourTrack. Be sure to plug in your mic before launching and this problem will does not happen.
Updating FourTrack can erase your songs
This is a bug in Apple's update process. A small percentage of users will have all their songs deleted during an update. Please use WifiSync to backup your tracks before updating.
Auto-lock can cause FourTrack to glitch during playback
FourTrack disables Auto-lock during recording, but not during playback. If it is set to 1min (default) this can cause a consistent glitch or even a freeze during playback. Users are reporting success by setting Auto-Lock to Never in the Setting->General app. We are investigating disabling Auto-lock during playback to alleviate this problem.
FourTrack won't launch - Jail-broken SBSettings conflict
We have two confirmed reports that FourTrack crashes on launch on Jail-broken phones with SBSettings installed. Uninstalling SBSettings fixes the problem and FourTrack launches correctly. We do not intend to support Jail-broken apps that misbehave and cause problems that aren't there otherwise. See below...
FIXED: Wifi-sync doesn't work with Unicode song titles
Wifi-sync does not work with Unicode song names. The work around is to rename your song and only use standard US characters. This will be fixed in the first update. This is fixed in V1.1.
Jailbroken iPhone Compatibility
FourTrack is not compatible with certain jailbroken applications, including SBSettings. We can not ensure compatibility with jailbroken iPhones.
