I used audacity for a very long time on Windows. Always, I was able to use my microphone to record in stereo. Suddenly, once I switched to Mac, I swiftly learned that something was awry, as audio was only recording on the left (mono) side! I checked all my configurations; yep, they’re correct! I checked my microphone through Audio MIDI Setup; yep, it’s listed as a 2-channel 24-bit mic!
Then why can’t I record on both channels?
I’m a Windows guy, but…
Stereo microphones are rare and you’d probably know if you you had one. Otherwise stereo is normally recorded with one mic on the left and another on the right. But most computer microphone inputs are one-channel mono, so stereo usually requires an audio interface.
A single voice or instrument is mono except for pianos and drums which can be “wide”.
Assuming you have a normal mono mic, record in mono and it will play through both speakers. Or, you can Split Stereo Track and click the little “x” to the left of the waveform to kill the silent channel and make mono.
I think I’m using a stereo microphone, believe it or not! Or at least a two-channel one! It worked flawlessly on Windows, and I want it to continue to work properly here! It even says two channels inside of the Audio MIDI Setup!
(wait how do I imbed images)
For things like this, I always suspect the software driver. See if you can find and install the driver from the manufacturer. The one provided by the operating system may not have everything.
Are you using the built-in mic or an external mic?
Are you recording a stereo source? One person on the left and another person on the right, etc.?
The Mac’s The built-in mic might be stereo, or a “microphone array” with more than 2 mics, which should also be able to record stereo.
If your Mac has a TRRS combination microphone/headphone jack, the single mic connection is mono.
If it has separate mic & headphone jacks the mic input MIGHT be stereo.
Probably the most popular mic with a stereo option is the Blue Yeti USB mic. It has 3 pickup patterns.
Sometimes a stereo mic will have an oval shape because there are two mic elements inside. Or something like this.
Either way, check the specs for the Mac. And if you are using an external mic, check the specs for the mic.
Usually you can configure your operating system and Audacity separately. That makes 4 configurations and SOMETIMES one of those combinations will record the same mono signal into both channels (so you think you have stereo).
I’m Using an external usb mic, and I dUnno the technical stUffs regarding it (it’s an analogUe mic that I’m Using an analogUe to digital converter on so the specs aren’t telling me anything bUt “device is a microphone”)
all I know is that it worked fine on windows; the two channels had slight differences and it made a fUller soUnd; bUt now on Mac it’s trying to go mono/left and I haven’t a clue why!
Mac specs are as follows
| Model Name: | MacBook Air |
|---|---|
| Model Identifier: | Mac16,12 |
| Model Number: | MC6U4LL/A |
| Chip: | Apple M4 |
| Total Number of Cores: | 10 (4 performance and 6 efficiency) |
| Memory: | 16 GB |
| System Firmware Version: | 11881.140.96 |
| OS Loader Version: | 11881.140.96 |
| Serial Number (system): | JW379961C2 |
| Hardware UUID: | E55042BA-C5E1-5E5A-9B5D-358F7E7A0F87 |
| Provisioning UDID: | 00008132-0018252E3699801C |
| Activation Lock Status: | Enabled |
how woUld I do this? Mac aUdio drivers don’t seem very intUitive to look throUgh and every time I search for how to do something with them, I jUst get people who asked the same qUestion a year ago and were answered with “no don’t do that yoU probably don’t need to haha do this thing yoU’ve already tried” and never seemed to find a solUtion
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