# How to record your Mac’s audio into Pro Tools, Logic or Ableton Source: https://printbus.app/guides/record-mac-audio-into-your-daw · By Dan Murtagh · Updated 4 October 2026 There are two ways to get audio your Mac is playing into Pro Tools, Logic or Ableton. Record it outside the DAW as a file and drag the file into your session, or route the Mac’s output into the DAW through a virtual device and record it onto a track. Recording outside leaves your DAW’s audio setup alone; recording inside means changing its input device, and both happen in real time. It comes up all the time: a reference track to compare against, the rough mix a client sent as a streaming link, a sample you’re cleared to use, an example for a lesson. If you’ll mix or master from it, ask for the WAV. A recording of a stream is only as good as the stream. ## The two approaches | Approach | Setup | Your DAW’s audio device | Best for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Record outside the DAW, drag the file in | A system audio recorder (macOS 14.4 or later) | Unchanged | References, rough mixes and examples you want as files | | Record inside the DAW through a virtual device | BlackHole or Pro Tools Audio Bridge, plus routing | Input changed, or an aggregate device | Recording while the session plays, or older macOS versions | ## Record outside the DAW, then drag the file in On macOS 14.4 and later, an app can record what the Mac plays without a virtual device. With PrintBus: 1. Match your session. In the gear menu, set the sample rate and bit depth to your session’s (say 48 kHz, 24-bit) so nothing is converted on import. 2. Press record once. The button flashes while PrintBus waits for sound. 3. Play the source. A take starts on the first sound and saves itself when the audio stops, trimmed to a half-second of silence at each end. Songs from supported music players are named “Artist - Title”. 4. Check the level. The meter shows true peak and momentary, short-term and integrated LUFS, so you know how loud the reference is before it sits next to your mix. 5. Drag it in. Shift- or ⌘-click several takes in the takes list and drag them onto a track or into the clip list in Pro Tools, or onto the tracks area in Logic or Live. No plugin needed. PrintBus leaves DAWs out by default, so pressing play in your session never starts a take. If you do want to record a DAW’s output, say a bounce playing in another DAW, turn on Record DAWs in the gear menu. Piezo and Audio Hijack can record a single app to a file too; you start, stop, trim and name those yourself. ## Record inside the DAW with a virtual device A virtual device such as [BlackHole](https://printbus.app/guides/blackhole-audio-mac) gives the Mac an output your DAW can use as an input. The general shape: 1. Install BlackHole 2ch from Existential Audio. 2. In Audio MIDI Setup, create a Multi-Output Device with your interface or headphones and BlackHole 2ch, and choose it as the Mac’s output in System Settings → Sound. Volume keys stop working while it’s selected. 3. Make BlackHole 2ch the DAW’s input, keeping your interface as its output. 4. Create a stereo audio track with BlackHole’s inputs 1–2, record-arm it, press record in the DAW and play the source. It records in real time. Each DAW handles that third step differently. ### Pro Tools Pro Tools uses one device for input and output, chosen in Setup → Playback Engine, so you can’t simply pick BlackHole as an input. Since Pro Tools 2022.9 there’s a cleaner route on macOS 11 or later: Aux I/O, with Avid’s own virtual device, Pro Tools Audio Bridge. 1. In Setup → Playback Engine, turn on Aux I/O. Pro Tools restarts. 2. In Setup → I/O, make Pro Tools Audio Bridge 2-A available as an Aux I/O input. The exact layout varies by version; Avid’s [Aux I/O FAQ](https://kb.avid.com/pkb/articles/faq/Auxiliary-IO-Frequently-Asked-Questions) covers yours. 3. Set the Mac’s output to Pro Tools Audio Bridge 2-A in System Settings → Sound. 4. Create a stereo audio track, set its input to the Audio Bridge path, record-arm it and record. With the track armed, you hear the source through Pro Tools. Avid notes that Aux I/O inputs aren’t delay compensated, so what you record won’t be sample-aligned with your session. That’s fine for a reference you’ll line up by ear. Pro Tools Intro doesn’t include Aux I/O; there, the usual workaround is an aggregate device of your interface and BlackHole as the Playback Engine. ### Logic Pro Open Logic Pro → Settings → Audio → Devices. Leave Output Device on your interface and choose BlackHole 2ch as the Input Device. Apple advises a common clock when input and output devices differ, so for long recordings an aggregate device with drift correction is steadier. Then make a stereo audio track on inputs 1–2, record-enable it and record. ### Ableton Live Open Live → Settings (⌘-comma) and go to Audio. With CoreAudio as the Driver Type, choose BlackHole 2ch as the Audio Input Device and your interface as the Audio Output Device. On an audio track, set Audio From to Ext. In and inputs 1/2, arm it and record. ## Which approach to use - Record outside the DAW if you want the reference as a file you can reuse in any session. Your interface and I/O don’t change, there’s no aggregate device or feedback loop, and the take arrives trimmed and named. - Record inside the DAW if you want to capture while the session plays along, if you’re on macOS older than 14.4, or if you already use Audio Bridge or BlackHole for routing. Neither is faster: both record in real time, so a four-minute song takes four minutes. ## Working with references in a session - Level-match by loudness. A released master is usually louder than a mix in progress, and louder sounds better. Turn the reference down until its integrated LUFS matches your mix before you compare. - Keep references off the mix bus. Route the reference track straight to your monitor output, not through your mix-bus processing, and make sure it’s muted or inactive before you print or bounce. - Label everything. Put the version in the name (“Client - Song - rough 2”) so you never compare against the wrong mix. - Check mono. Sum the reference and your mix to mono and compare again. Width that disappears in mono will disappear on a phone speaker too. Record what you have the right to keep: your own work, mixes your clients have sent you, samples you’re cleared to use, and references for private comparison. Streaming services’ terms often don’t allow keeping copies, and you should never record people without their consent. ## Questions **Can Pro Tools record internal audio?** Yes, through a virtual device. On Pro Tools 2022.9 or later (Artist, Studio or Ultimate) turn on Aux I/O in the Playback Engine, set the Mac’s output to Pro Tools Audio Bridge and record it on an audio track. Or record it outside Pro Tools and drag the file onto a track or into the clip list. **How do I record system audio into Logic Pro?** Install BlackHole, send the Mac’s output to it (through a Multi-Output Device so you can still hear), and choose BlackHole 2ch as the Input Device in Logic Pro → Settings → Audio → Devices. Then record onto a stereo audio track. Or record outside Logic and drag the file in, which leaves your devices alone. **How do I get a client’s mix from a streaming link into my session?** Ask for the file first, since that’s the best quality you can get. If you only need it for reference, record it while it plays with a system audio recorder set to your session’s sample rate and bit depth, then drag the file onto a track. **Why do I hear an echo or feedback when recording my Mac’s audio into my DAW?** The DAW’s output is reaching its own input. That happens when the DAW plays out through the Multi-Output Device or the system device that includes BlackHole, or when you hear the source both directly and through the armed track. Set the DAW’s output to your interface only, and turn input monitoring off on the track if you’re hearing it twice. **What sample rate should a reference track be?** The same as your session, usually 44.1 or 48 kHz, at 24-bit. That way it imports without conversion. Recording at a higher rate than the source doesn’t add anything.