You can record audio on a PC in two ways. To record your voice, plug in a microphone, pick it as the input in Windows, and press record in a free program such as Audacity. To record the sound your computer is playing, you need a loopback device such as Stereo Mix, or a program that can capture system sound.
Once you have the recording, you can clean it up. If it is a voice with hiss or room noise, the Vocal Noise Remover takes the noise out in about a minute, and new accounts get 5 free credits to try it.
People searching for this usually want one of two things. Pick yours first, because the setup is different.
- Your own voice or an instrument. A podcast, a voiceover, a song idea, a meeting note. The sound comes in through a microphone.
- The sound coming out of your computer. A stream, a game, a web call or a track you are playing. The sound never touches a microphone, so you need a way to capture it inside the computer.
The second kind has one rule. Recording other people's music for your own study or practice is fine. Putting that recording online, or using it in a video, needs permission from whoever owns the music. This page does not cover getting around copy protection.
- Plug in the microphone. A USB microphone is the simplest choice, because it works without extra settings. A headset mic also works. The mic built into a laptop works too, but it hears the fan and the keyboard.
- Choose it as the input. Open the Windows Sound settings and look for the Input section. Pick your microphone and speak. The level bar should move.
- Check the level. Aim for a bar that sits in the middle most of the time and never touches the top. If it touches the top, turn the input volume down. A clipped recording cannot be repaired.
- Open a recorder. The Windows Voice Recorder app is enough for notes. Audacity is a free, open source editor and gives you more control, such as a level meter and waveform editing.
- Record ten seconds of silence first. Stay quiet at the start. That clip of room noise is useful later when you clean the recording.
- Record, stop and save. Save the file as WAV if you plan to edit it. A WAV file is uncompressed, so nothing is lost.
For the best sound, sit about a hand-width from the mic. Record in a room with soft things in it, such as a couch, a bed or a coat closet. A bare room adds echo that is hard to remove.
Windows can capture its own sound on many PCs. The feature is called Stereo Mix, and it shows up as a recording device.
- Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and open the sound settings.
- Open the older Sound control panel and go to the Recording tab.
- Right-click an empty spot and turn on "Show Disabled Devices."
- If you see Stereo Mix, right-click it and enable it. Then select it as the input in your recording program.
Not every PC has it. It depends on the sound driver, and many newer machines hide or remove it. If you cannot find it, Audacity on Windows can record system sound through the Windows WASAPI host. Choose that host in the toolbar, then pick a loopback input for your speakers or headphones. The names differ by version, so check the Audacity manual for your copy.
A Mac does not let programs capture system sound by default. The usual fix is a virtual audio device, which is a small driver that makes the computer's output look like a microphone input. You install it, route the sound to it, and record from it in any program. Setup steps change between macOS versions, so follow the instructions that come with the driver you pick.
Most bad recordings fail for the same few reasons.
| Problem | What causes it | What to do |
|---|
| Hiss in the background | Cheap mic, input volume too high | Lower the input volume, move closer to the mic |
| Hum or buzz | Cables near power lines, a loud fan | Move cables, turn off the fan |
| Echo or a "boxy" sound | Bare walls and hard surfaces | Record near soft furniture |
| Crackling or distortion | Level touched the top bar | Re-record with the volume lower |
| Voice too quiet | Mic too far away | Move closer and raise the level a little |
Distortion is the one you cannot fix afterward. Everything else can be reduced.
A recording is rarely done when you press stop. Here is a simple order that works.
First, listen to it all the way through with headphones. Noise you miss on speakers shows up clearly in headphones.
Second, cut the quiet parts at the start and end in a free editor. Our guide to editing audio files walks through that. Our tools do not cut or join audio, so you need an editor for this step.
Third, clean the voice. Upload the file to the Vocal Noise Remover. It gives you two files: Clean vocal, and Noise only. Playing the Noise only file tells you right away what was taken out. Most tools on the site cost 1 credit per minute, the price shows on the button before you start, and the splitting runs in the cloud, so there is nothing to install. You download an MP3 at 320 kbps.
If the voice sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom, the problem is echo and not noise. Try the Reverb Remover instead. Our other guide, how to record vocals at home, covers room setup and mic position in more detail.
If you recorded a song with a vocal on it, the Acapella Extractor can pull the voice out of the mix for practice. For a deeper read on cleaning a noisy take in a free editor, see how to remove background noise in Audacity.
For recording, use WAV. It keeps every detail and you can edit it as often as you like. MP3 is smaller, but it throws away some detail each time it is saved. Save to MP3 once, at the end, when you share the file.
Our own tools take MP3, WAV, M4A or FLAC uploads up to 10 minutes. They do not accept video files. If your recording came from a screen capture, extract the sound into an audio file first.
Use Audacity, which is free and open source, or the Voice Recorder app that comes with Windows. Pick your microphone as the input, press record, and save as WAV. Both work for voice, podcasts and notes.
On Windows, turn on Stereo Mix in the Recording tab of the Sound control panel if your PC has it. If it is not there, Audacity can record system sound through the Windows WASAPI host. On a Mac you need a virtual audio device.
It depends on your sound driver. Many newer drivers do not offer it. A program that captures system sound directly, such as Audacity with the WASAPI host on Windows, is the usual way around that.
Recording for your own study or practice is generally fine. Sharing, posting or selling the recording needs permission from the owner of the music. When in doubt, use music you made or have a license for.
Yes. Upload the voice recording to the Vocal Noise Remover and download the Clean vocal file. It is meant for voices, not for every type of sound. New accounts get 5 free credits through Google sign-in.