Keep recording on one channel after stop

[johnro43]

I am a new learner using a mouse.

I am recording audio on a single mono channel.

When I press record, Audacity adds a new channel. Is there a way to stop that behavior? I want to be able to stop/pause recording and then go back to record on the same channel. And on that issue, how do append a channel onto another channel. Haven't yet found answers in the manual.

John
Audacity 2.1.2 from .mg on Mac OSX 10.9.5

[kozikowski]

I am recording audio on a single mono channel.

From where? As a general rule, the Audacity setup adjustments have to match what you have plugged in. I have a mono (single channel) USB microphone and it will record a single blue wave in Audacity. Set mono in the Device Toolbar.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/device_toolbar.html

I also have a Stereo device which doesn't show up at all if I select mono in Audacity. I have a third USB device where the settings don't make any difference at all.

how do append a channel onto another channel.

Audacity doesn't have Import-Append. What you can do is import the new work and have it arrive as a second blue wave. Then use the Time Shift Tool (two sideways black arrows) to push the second wave sideways so its beginning matches the top wave's end. Audacity will push them together into one show when you File > Export.

I want to be able to stop/pause recording and then go back to record on the same channel.

You can press P pause, go make tea and then press P pause again to resume recording. That should work assuming your machine didn't fall asleep. You can also Stop and pick it up again with Shift-R Append Record. Append Record only jams new sound on the end of the old wave. You can't pick any place you want and cover up old work. In real life, this means you have to go in and delete the stuff you didn't want anyway.

Koz