Posted By Paul Kafasis on June 9th, 2012

It’s a beautiful day, but we’re inside releasing software. Why? Because we’ve got a great update to our audio recording tool Piezo! If you haven’t yet tried out Piezo, you can learn more about it right on the Piezo page. If you’re already a Piezo fan, you’re no doubt wondering what’s new in version 1.2. Along with several small improvements and tweaks, we’ve got two big features. Read about them below.

Improved VoIP Recording From Skype and More

First up, we’ve improved recording from Skype and other VoIP applications. While our own Audio Hijack Pro has long been a favorite among podcasters and more for this task, Piezo is great at recording Skype and others as well. It’s not as powerful as Audio Hijack Pro, but it’s a snap to set up – just select your source (such as Skype) in Piezo, then click Record, and you’ll be good to go. Both your audio and the other party’s will be recorded to one file. Piezo will even helpfully split it across channels, with your audio on the left and your caller on the right.

That’s pretty great already, but before our latest version things could be a bit finicky. Previously, you needed to make sure your Sound System Preferences matched Skype’s device settings. Now, however, Piezo will track Skype (and other VoIP apps) for you, automatically. With fewer adjustments required, even for complex setups, Piezo 1.2 makes it easier than ever to get the recording you’re after.

A New Audio Play-thru Toggle

That’s not all that’s new, however. Piezo 1.2 also adds a new toggle for audio play-thru, right in the Piezo menu.

Piezo’s new play-thru toggle

Now, if you’re recording from an audio input (such as a USB turntable or other device), you can enable audio play-thru to hear the audio as it’s being recorded.¹ And if you’re recording from an application and don’t want to hear the audio as it’s recorded, there’s no need to mute your whole computer any more. Now, you can simply disable play-thru in Piezo to prevent the audio from being heard.

Get It Now

This is a free update, so if you’ve already got Piezo, you can get the latest version by heading over to the Mac App Store (if you bought it from the Mac App Store) or by choosing “Check for Update” from the Piezo menu (if you bought it directly through our store). If you haven’t purchased Piezo, you can give the free trial a spin, then purchase directly through our store or via Mac App Store.

Footnotes:

1. If you’re recording from a microphone, always be sure to avoid creating a feedback loop! To avoid loops, use headphones to monitor your audio play-thru. ↩