Pan while recording - is it possible?

macOS Sierra - 10.12.1
Audacity - 2.0.5

Fairly simple question, I think. Can I pan the recording input while I’m recording? I know I can do it in post, I would like to do it live. If that’s not possible with Audacity, is there any other option you can recommend without going the mixer board route (future roadmap for me, I’m just not there yet).

For example, while I’m recording, there are times when I only want to record the input on the left channel and then switch to the right channel and then balance it back out.

What I think is a fairly basic question has caused me no end of frustration finding a concise answer :slight_smile:

Thanks!!

The short answer: No, Audacity does not apply effects in real time.

Longer answer: If you really need to do this, then a mixing desk is the way to go, but the easiest solution is to record first then pan later. Note also that how the operating system handles recording into a 2 channel (stereo) track depends on the audio device driver - for example, if you have an input only into the left channel of a stereo device, some drivers will send the signal through to the left channel only, while other device drivers may send the signal to both left and right.

Thanks for the quick reply!! Just had an idea from your reply. With Loopback I can assign left/right manually based on audio input so it works perfect! (just test it) - Thanks again. Now I just need an app that quickly mutes an audio source - downloaded “Push-to-Talk” but it’s useless.

Thanks again!