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Getting set up

What you need, the two permissions, the delay measurement, and your first take.

What you need

A Mac running macOS 14.4 or newer. A USB audio interface is the sweet spot, plug your guitar, bass, mic, or keyboard into it and Afinar can put your tone in your headphones while you play. No interface yet? The Mac’s built-in mic records real takes too; it’s a fine way to try the whole loop before buying gear.

The two permissions

The first time you set up recording, macOS asks for two things. Afinar explains both before the system does:

• ·Microphone — your instrument. This is how Afinar hears what you play, through your interface or the built-in mic.
• ·System audio — the music. macOS calls it Screen & System Audio Recording; Afinar uses it for sound only, never your screen. The song you play along to is captured straight from the source, not through a mic, so it lands in your take exactly as you heard it.

If you decline one and change your mind later, both live in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

The delay measurement

Every audio setup carries a small delay between what you play and what the Mac hears. During setup, Afinar measures yours once and corrects every take automatically, you play on the beat, the take is on the beat. If you switch interfaces later, run it again from Settings (⌘,) → Recalibrate.

Check your signal

Plug in and play something. The meter in the recorder rail moves when Afinar hears you. If it doesn’t, check the audio device and input channel in Settings (⌘,). The monitor control next to it sets how loud your instrument sits in your ears while you play; monitoring works best plugged into an interface with headphones on.

The first take

Open something to play from: search a song by title, open a tab site, or drop in a PDF. Hit record, play, hit stop. Then click the take in the rail and listen to yourself in the song. That’s the whole loop; everything else in Afinar hangs off it.