How to Record a Cover With a Backing Track: 5 FlashTrack Setups, No DAW Needed

Since the FT-15 came out, we keep getting the same question: how do I record a cover with a backing track using this? Some of you already have the new FT-15 in hand. Others, meanwhile, are still working out what a mic like this is for. So this article collects the setups people ask about most.

Using FlashTrack as an input source into a DAW is the most common way. There’s plenty of DAW-based tutorials out there already. So this article takes the no-DAW route: backing track and playing recorded together at once, with no mixing afterwards.

Step one: decide whether you’ll need to post-edit

One question decides everything that follows: does the finished piece need the lead and the backing track adjusted separately?

A clip for your friends almost never does. A channel upload or an audition submission sometimes does. Answer that, and the rest of this article narrows to one method.

• Yes: to fine-tune the balance, or apply plugins, you need multitrack recording in a DAW. Lead and backing track stay on separate tracks. For that route, see With or Without a DAW? How Do I Record With FlashTrack DSP Microphone.
• No: if it sounds balanced in the moment, and what you record is the finished thing. Any method below gets you there in one pass.

It’s also worth taking stock of what you have on hand before you start. How many phones and tablets? Where do your backing tracks live? Are you filming with a phone or a camera? Figure those out first, because they decide which setup makes sense.

How FlashTrack blends the backing track and your playing together

The DSP inside FlashTrack gives you three ways to bring a backing track in: 3.5mm AUX IN, Bluetooth, and USB loopback. Whichever one you use, that signal is combined with the microphone input. From there it goes to the headphone output and the recording device at the same time.

Put simply: whatever you hear in the headphones is what will be recorded.

Here’s the trade-off with this method:

• Upside: no DAW to open, one take and you’re done. No mixing, no lining up tracks, no worrying about audio drifting out of sync with the video.
• Downside: the lead and the backing track are already committed to one track, so there’s no separating them later. If the balance wasn’t right, or something goes wrong halfway through, you start over.

Method 1: phone camera + FlashTrack + wired backing track via AUX IN

Best when: your backing track is playing from a second phone, a tablet, or a karaoke machine etc.

1. Connect FlashTrack to the phone you’re filming with, using USB-C.
2. Run a 3.5mm stereo cable from the second device’s headphone jack or adapter output into FlashTrack’s AUX IN.
3. Plug wired headphones into FlashTrack’s headphone out.
4. Open the camera app and confirm the audio is coming from FlashTrack and not the phone’s built-in microphone (there’s a quick check below).
5. Do a test take. Check the overall balance on the mic’s display and by listening back, then record for real.

Worth mentioning: AUX IN isn’t limited to backing tracks. If a guitar has a built-in preamp, or you want to plug in a keyboard. A 6.3mm to 3.5mm cable takes it straight into AUX IN. It then gets recorded alongside whatever the microphone picks up. There’s more on that input in Get a Better Guitar Recording by Optimizing FlashTrack’s “My EQ” and Aux In Settings.

How to confirm your phone is really using FlashTrack

Camera apps handle external USB audio devices inconsistently from phone to phone. In fact, plenty of people only discover they were on the built-in mic after the take. Run this check before you start:

Record a few seconds of video and tap the side of the phone with your finger while it rolls. Can you clearly hear the tapping on playback? Then the phone is still on its built-in microphone, and you need to check the connection again. For the full steps, see Connect Your iOS Device to FlashTrack and Start Recording and Connect Your Android Device to FlashTrack and Start Recording.

Method 2: phone camera + FlashTrack + Bluetooth backing track

Best when you’d rather not run another cable just to play the backing track. FlashTrack can receive over Bluetooth, so you pair it and go.

1. Short-press the Bluetooth button on FlashTrack to enter pairing mode. The indicator starts blinking.
2. On the device playing the backing track, scan for Bluetooth devices and select FT_BT.
3. A steady indicator means you’re paired. To clear existing pairing records, hold the Bluetooth button for ten seconds.
4. Everything else is the same as Method 1: connect the filming phone, plug in wired headphones, confirm the audio source, test the balance.

Method 3: computer camera + FlashTrack + loopback backing track

Best when the backing track is already on your computer, whether that’s YouTube, a streaming service, or a local file. You’ll be filming with the built-in camera or an external webcam.

Loopback is built into FlashTrack. Switch it on and whatever your computer is playing comes back through USB audio into FlashTrack, and gets recorded together with the microphone signal. No virtual audio software to install, and it works on both Mac and Windows. This is the most immediate difference between FlashTrack and a typical USB microphone.

1. Connect FlashTrack to the computer with USB-C and turn on loopback.
2. Plug wired headphones into FlashTrack’s headphone out.
3. On a Mac, open QuickTime Player and choose New Movie Recording. In the dropdown next to the preview window, set the audio source to FT_USB.
4. Play the backing track, do a test take to check the balance, then record for real.

One extra trick: QuickTime on macOS can also use an iPhone or iPad as the camera source. That gives you iOS camera quality with the computer handling backing track playback, which is a useful extension of this method.

Before you hit record: test the balance and set your levels

Every method above combines the backing track and your playing into a single track on the hardware side, and there’s no undoing that afterwards. So before you record, make sure of these four things:

1. Put on wired headphones, start the backing track, and actually play a few phrases. Listen to the balance properly. Counting “test, one two” tells you nothing useful here.
2. Use the knob on FlashTrack to set mic sensitivity and monitoring volume. Adjust the backing track device’s volume at the same time, until the balance in your headphones is right.
3. Watch the level meter while you set mic sensitivity. Aim to keep the signal at least halfway up, around -12dB. If you’re clipping, check whether the meter is pinning, then back the sensitivity off.
4. Record one quiet passage and one loud one. Then listen back and check that both your softest and your loudest playing come through clearly.

If your playing has a wide dynamic range, setting levels alone won’t be enough, and FlashTrack’s built-in compressor is there for exactly this. How it works and how to set it is covered in What Is a Compressor? How Can I Use It on My FlashTrack?. Wind players in particular should read Why Is Saxophone So Hard to Record? first, because the dynamic range is a large part of why the balance keeps slipping.

Going further 1: camera + FlashTrack (external power required)

For better picture quality, run FlashTrack’s headphone output into your camera’s mic in with a 3.5mm TRS cable. In other words, the camera records the already-mixed backing track and performance. Audio and video land in the same file, so there’s no clapper and no syncing. The backing track still comes from one of the three sources above.

Two things to watch with this one:

• Power: FlashTrack isn’t drawing power from the camera here, so you’ll need a power bank or an adapter. One of FlashTrack’s two USB-C ports exists for exactly this kind of standalone power. The mic head indicator will show red in this state, but as long as the headphone output is live, everything keeps working.
• Level: the headphone out can be hotter than a camera mic input expects. Turn FlashTrack’s headphone volume down to suit, switch the camera’s recording level to manual, and do a test take to confirm nothing is distorting.

Once you’re feeding the camera, you’ll be monitoring from the camera’s headphone jack, so it helps if your camera has one.

Going further 2: DJI Osmo Pocket 3 + FlashTrack

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 supports USB-C digital audio input. Connect FlashTrack directly as an external audio source and you skip the analogue conversion entirely. Again, the backing track comes from one of the three sources above.

• The Pocket 3 powers FlashTrack, so keep an eye on camera battery life on longer shoots.
• If you’re using the Pocket 3 as a webcam into a computer, you’re back to Method 3 and the backing track goes through loopback.

Frequently Asked Questions

I only hear the instrument, no backing track

First check the backing track path is actually active. Is the AUX IN cable seated all the way? Is the Bluetooth indicator steady? Is loopback switched on? If you hear the backing track in the headphones but not in the recording, the recording device usually isn’t set to FlashTrack as its audio source.

I only hear the backing track and the instrument is too quiet

Mic sensitivity is too low, or the microphone is too far away. Go back to the balance test and reset it, and keep your distance from the microphone consistent while you play.

The sound is clipping or distorted

Levels are pushed too hard. Keep the signal around -12dB~-6dB and don’t let the meter sit at the top. If you’re feeding a camera, also check whether its recording level is set to automatic and being driven into clipping.

The backing track sounds doubled or echoey

Almost always loopback left on while using a DAW or a recording app, which records the backing track twice. Turn loopback off and record again.

Can I monitor with Bluetooth headphones?

FlashTrack’s Bluetooth receives only, it doesn’t transmit. We also wouldn’t suggest a 3.5mm Bluetooth transmitter to work around it. The latency tends to make the whole recording experience worse.

Where to go next

Those five setups cover most situations, from a single phone up to a proper camera. Pick whichever one matches the gear you already have, get comfortable with the balance-testing routine, and every session after that will go much faster.

Still working out what to record with in the first place? Start with Recording a Saxophone Cover at Home: What Gear Do You Actually Need?. That one is about what to buy, this one is about how to set it up. And if you want to understand why phone recordings fall short to begin with, Why Does My Phone Recording Sound So Bad? is worth reading too.