Ardour - audio workstation application Sep 26 2006 * First, launch JackPilot. It handles all audio in/out connections between applications and system services. * Click Jack's Start button, and let it do it's stuff off to the side. Though it doesn't refresh, there's a 'routing' button that lets you send pretty much anything to anything. The interface is funky, though, and the terminology I found confusing. For example, the computer's built in mic is listed as "built-in: out1". Well, from the point of view of other stuff, it's sending out a signal, eh? Selecting "built-in" in the first column makes the "Routing" window highlight in red (and list in the third column) what Jack is sending that signal to. You can double-click to modify it, or use the Ardour application (I think). * Next, launch Ardour. * Create or laod a 'session' (a folder on your harddisk with all the data that ardour is creating/using). * Add a track with the menu under Session > Add Track. * See what its doing by opening the Mixer window (Windows > Mixer). That should have meters that respond to any active inputs like the computer's microphone. One of the tabs there lets you set what source it's listening to. The default setup that worked on my Mac had it listing to "in 1" for the built-in mic. * Set the gain according to the strength of the incoming signal. * Click the 'record' button in the mixer or the 'r' tab in the session window to mark that track as one that should be recorded over. It turns pink. * Click the red circle in the main session window, to say that you're getting ready to record something. It should blink. * Finally, click "play" (right triangle) in the session window, and it should be recording. Note that you can send any other tracks to any other outputs (e.g. headphones) so that you can be laying down one instrument at a time and listening to what else you've recorded. Or getting input from some other sound source (iTunes, ...) or whatever; that's the whole point. "punch in" - the point where a new recording starts on a track that already has a recorded part. "punch out" - the point where the recording has to stop