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Studio

Narration Recorder

Record your chapters in the browser the way studios do: punch-and-roll to fix mistakes as you go, with live ACX meters and takes that survive a closed tab.

  • Free
  • No upload
  • No sign-up

Made a mistake? Stop, check the marker (it lands in the pause before the sentence; click the waveform to move it), then punch in: you hear the last 3 seconds and recording picks up at the marker, replacing the rest.

Live ACX meters

−60−40−20−3

Input off

  • RMS loudness (take)— dB
  • Peak (take)— dB
  • Noise floor (take)— dB

Aim for peaks around −6 dB while you read. Loudness and peaks are fixed in mastering; the noise floor mostly isn’t, so keep the room quiet.

Save the take

Nothing recorded yet.

The take is saved in this browser as you record, so closing the tab or a crash loses seconds, not the chapter. Nothing is uploaded.

Where it runs

Works in a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook computers, Android phones, iPhones and iPads. Nothing to install, no account.

Needs a microphone, and your permission to use it. Nothing it hears leaves the page.

How to use it

4 simple steps.

  1. 01

    Set up the microphone

    Pick your mic. The browser’s noise suppression, echo cancellation and auto gain are switched off, so you hear and record the real thing.

  2. 02

    Read

    Press Space to record. The live meters show your level, peaks and the take’s noise floor against ACX’s limits.

  3. 03

    Punch and roll

    Fluffed a line? Stop. The marker lands in the pause before the sentence. Press P: you hear the lead-in, and recording picks up at the marker.

  4. 04

    Save or master

    Download a WAV, or send the take straight to ACX mastering or the ACX checker.

Recording a chapter, step by step

  1. Check the room with the noise floor meter, and record ten seconds of silence at the start of the take for room tone.
  2. Read with headphones on. When a line goes wrong, stop, let the marker find the pause before it, and press P.
  3. Listen back from any point by clicking the waveform and pressing L.
  4. Master the take with ACX mastering, which sets loudness, peaks and room tone, and exports the 192 kbps MP3 ACX wants.

Keyboard: Space record and stop, P punch in at the marker, L listen from the marker. audiobook.tools is not affiliated with ACX or Audible.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What is punch-and-roll recording?

The way audiobooks are recorded professionally: when you make a mistake, you stop, go back to the start of the sentence, and hear a few seconds of what you just read. Recording starts again at that exact point, so the fluff is gone and there is nothing to edit out later.

What happens to my recording if the tab closes?

The take is saved in your browser as you record, every few seconds. Open the recorder again and it offers to recover the take. Nothing is uploaded.

What format does it record?

16-bit mono WAV at 44.1 kHz where your browser allows (otherwise your device’s rate). That is plenty for narration: send it to ACX mastering for the final 192 kbps MP3.

How loud should I record?

Peaks around −6 dB with your normal reading voice. Too low and the noise floor rises when it’s brought up; too high and loud words clip. Loudness and peaks are set in mastering, so leave headroom.

How long can a take be?

Up to two hours, ACX’s longest file. One chapter per take keeps things simple.

Which browsers work?

Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on a computer. Use headphones so the pre-roll doesn’t leak into the mic.

Read the guide

Keep going

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