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AUDIO HIJACK 3 FOR YOUR MAC: REVIEW





Do you often stumble into songs you love on the net but cannot find a way to record it? Even if the website does not have a record or download button, you can hijack that audio using this incredible tool known as Audio Hijack.

With Audio Hijack from Rogue Amoeba, you can record audio from just about any source on your Mac, including apps, the microphone input, analog inputs, your favorite DVD player, or streaming audio on the web. It allows you to use audio building blocks to create complex recording sessions.
AUDIO HIJACK

Pros
·        The new interface lets you build a recording session from predefined blocks.
·        The new template chooser gets you started by setting up an appropriate session type.
·        Full-screen mode fully supported.
·        Block settings can be saved for later reuse.
·        New audio effects blocks.
Cons
·        No manual routing when connecting blocks.
·        Audio Grid limits how blocks can connect together.

Audio Hijack Interface

Audio Hijack 3 promotes the concept of a session instead of using the audio source as the center of all recordings. Sessions are reusable collections of audio processing blocks, as well as their settings. 

You arrange Audio blocks to create route audio will pass through. For example, a simple session for recording the audio from a web site would contain an Application block, set to Safari as the source of the audio, which is then routed to a recording block that is set to record audio in MP3 format.

Beyond being neat and simple, it has over 40 different types of Audio blocks, and no restrictions on the number of times an Audio block can be used, you can create very complex audio chains that can take care of most types of recordings you're ever likely to make.

Audio Grid

Audio blocks are stored in a well-organized library that sorts the blocks into six categories: Sources, Outputs, Built-in Effects, Advanced, Meters, and Audio Unit Effects. You can grab any block from the library and drag it onto the Audio Grid, where you can arrange the blocks to define the route audio will take. 

An example would be to place a source, say the mic input of your Mac, on the left-hand side of the grid, then drag out a Volume block, so you can control the microphone volume.
 Next, perhaps add a VU Meter block, so you can have a visual representation of the audio level, and then a Recorder block, to allow you to record the sound once it passes through all of the blocks you dragged onto the Audio Grid.

The Audio Grid has a left-to-right flow, with Source blocks placed on the left, and Output blocks, including recorders, placed on the right. In between are all of the Audio blocks for transforming the sound in the way you wish.

With such a wide selection of Audio blocks, the Audio Grid can fill up pretty quickly. Luckily, you can resize the Audio Grid as needed, or even jump to full-screen if you really need the room.
One example of a somewhat complex session created on the Audio Grid would involve creating a podcast with multiple inputs. Let's keep it basic and say you have two microphones and an app you use for sound effects.

 You would start by dragging two Input Device blocks and an Application Source block to the Audio Grid. Set the two Input Devices for your microphones, and the Application Source block for the app you use for sound effects.

Next, add three Volume blocks, so you can control each input device's volume. You may also want to add two 10-band EQ blocks, one for each microphone, to enhance the vocal sounds.

 Next, a recorder for each microphone channel, so you have individual recordings of each podcast participant, and lastly, a final recorder that records all of the channels, the two microphones with their EQ, and the sound effects channel. You can, of course, create even more complex sessions, perhaps adding Pan blocks to control placement in a stereo field or a low-pass filter.

Audio Hijack lets you create simple or very complex sessions to meet your needs.
Audio Hijack uses an intelligent system to automatically connect the input and output of the various blocks you add. 
As your Audio Grid increases the number of blocks, the fineness you need to nudge a block here and there to get the automatic connections made can be a bit difficult. The option to manually cut or make connections is not there.

Recordings

Recordings are made to files in AIFF, MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC, or WAV formats. AIFF and WAV support 16-bit or 24-bit recordings, while MP3 and AAC support bit rates up to 320 Kbps. Audio Hijack keeps a list of all the recordings you have made.

Scheduling

Once you create a session, you can add a schedule to automate when recording or playback occurs. With schedules, you can record your favorite Internet radio show each week, or even use Audio Hijack as an alarm clock, to wake you up each morning to your favorite streaming radio station.

Final Review

AudioHijack 3 is new, with fresh capabilities added to the app. The overhauled user interface is truly unique, and perhaps more important, effective at letting you create simple or complex recording sessions to meet your needs.

The Audio Grid needs a bit more versatility though. First, the ability to manually make the connections between blocks when needed, and second, it would be a nice touch if you could customize the block colors to make it easy to ascertain their purpose at a glance.
In all, Audio Hijack 3 is definitely worth a try by anyone who needs or wants to record audio on their Mac. Audio Hijack 3s ability to create complex recording sessions makes it a viable tool for just about any audio enthusiast.
Audio Hijack 3 is $49.00, or a $25.00 upgrade. A demo is available.



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