How to Record Multiple Tracks in Adobe Audition

Before you start

Adobe Audition records and edits audio locally on your computer. The multitrack workflow does not require an online service or cloud upload. To record multiple tracks at once, you need an audio interface or another device that exposes separate input channels to Audition and a session with enough available tracks. Close other programs that may try to use the same recording device, because an input that is already claimed by another application may not appear correctly in Audition.

Step-by-step instructions

First create or open a multitrack session. In the Multitrack Editor, each track is a horizontal lane. The available inputs come from the audio hardware selected in Audio Hardware preferences, so confirm that the intended capture source is enabled there before assigning tracks.

Assign an input to each track

On a track header, open the input selector and choose the input channel you want that track to record. For separate microphones or instruments, assign a distinct hardware input to each track. The exact labels depend on the audio device driver and channel names reported by the operating system, so the list may look different on different computers.

Arm the tracks

Click the record-arm button on every track you want to capture. An armed track is ready to record when you start the transport. If you arm several tracks at once, Audition records them simultaneously from their assigned inputs.

Set monitoring and levels

Choose the monitor input option on each track if you need to hear the incoming signal while recording. Use a short test pass to set the input gain on the audio interface so the loudest expected sound stays below the clipping point on the track meter. Audition does not control the physical preamp gain of external hardware.

Start and stop the recording

Position the playhead where the recording should begin, then start the transport recording command. To stop, use the stop command rather than closing the session or disconnecting the device. The recorded clips remain on their tracks and can be trimmed, moved, or processed after the transport stops.

Check the output

Play back the recording with all armed tracks enabled and listen to each track in context. Check that every intended source produced a clip, that clips start at the expected position, and that no track is silent when it should contain audio. If you recorded a voice or instrument, confirm that the waveform is present and not clipped flat at the top or bottom.

Quality and format limitations depend on the session and hardware settings, not only on the final export. The session sample rate should match the project requirement before recording. The recording format is determined by the session file format settings, while final bitrate and encoding choices apply when you export or save the audio for delivery.

Common problems and next steps

If a track records silence, reopen the track input selector and verify that it still points to the expected hardware input. Audio device changes, driver updates, or another application using the interface can change or remove the available capture source. If the input is missing, close other audio applications, check the selected device in Audio Hardware preferences, and reassign the track.

If several tracks contain the same signal, they may all be assigned to the same stereo input pair or the same mono channel. Give each source its own input channel and avoid arming tracks that are not needed. If monitoring causes an echo or late return, mute the track or switch between input monitoring and playback monitoring according to the interface routing.

For a simple multi-microphone or instrument setup, start with one input per track and keep the session reversible by working on a copy of the project. If you plan to deliver the recording for online use, decide the target container and encoding settings after the multitrack recording is edited and mixed.