How it works

Idea to demo before the idea fades.

Five steps from an empty tab to an MP3 you can send. Most people get there in about ten minutes.

The walkthrough

Pick a template

Open Dawn and choose a starting point. Every template is a real project with tracks, instruments and effects already set up, so it makes sound within three clicks.

START A NEW PROJECT

Guitar DemoRecord a riff over a rock groove.

BeatA trap beat with an 808, ready to build on.

Voice + GuitarSing and play: two tracks with vocal and acoustic chains.

Empty ProjectTwo MIDI tracks and an audio track. Start from scratch.

Guitar Demo is the fastest way to record a riff.
Your recent projects are listed there too, one click away.

Setup guides

Get set up once, then just play.

01What you needA guitar, an audio interface or USB guitar cable, wired headphones, and Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer.
02Connect and choose the inputPlug in, then pick your interface input on the guitar track.
03Set your levelAim for peaks around −12 dBFS. If the clip light turns on, turn the gain down on your interface.
04Turn off system "enhancements"Disable any noise reduction or audio effects on the input device in your operating system settings.
05Monitor through the ampTurn on monitoring with the headphones button to hear your guitar through the NAM Amp.
06Keep latency lowUse wired headphones, close heavy tabs, plug the laptop in, and choose lighter amp captures on older machines.
07Set the recording offsetIf takes land early or late, record a few notes against the metronome and adjust the offset once.

Latency, simply

Why there’s a small delay, and how to shrink it.

Your guitar’s sound passes through your interface, the browser and the amp before it reaches your ears. Each step adds a few milliseconds. The total depends on your hardware, and Dawn shows it in the audio panel in its header.

3 ms

5 ms

2 ms

1 ms

Interface

Browser buffer

Amp + effects

Output

Example total: 11 ms

Wired headphonesBluetooth alone can add more delay than everything else combined.

Fewer tabsClose heavy tabs and apps while you record.

Plugged inLaptops on battery often slow the audio down.

Lighter capturesPick the light version of a tone on older machines.

Troubleshooting

Something not right?

Still stuck? Ask in #help on the Discord and include your browser and audio interface.

PROBLEM	TRY THIS
No input	Check the input chosen on the track, allow microphone access in the browser, and make sure the interface is connected before opening Dawn.
Crackles or dropouts	Close other tabs, plug the laptop in, and switch to a lighter amp capture. Watch the CPU meter in the header.
Feedback or howling	Use headphones instead of speakers while monitoring, and turn the monitoring level down.
Recordings out of time	Set the recording offset once. Record a few notes on the beat, then nudge the offset until they line up.

Plug in. Press record. Share.

Open Dawn and turn the idea in your head into a demo you can send tonight.

Open Dawn