The Audiobook Guy DAW

Start a project

Each project keeps its own folder: the project file (your backup) and an Audio Files folder with every take. Your audio stays on your computer and plays straight from that folder — nothing is uploaded unless you export to Google Drive.

You can also drag a project folder, a .tagdaw project file or a backup .zip onto this card.

Recent projects

How to use The Audiobook Guy DAW

A full recording and editing workspace for narration and voice over, right in your browser. Your audio stays on your computer — nothing leaves it unless you export to Google Drive.

Projects

New Project asks for a name and where to keep it. Choose a folder on your computer and the DAW creates Project Name › Project Name.tagdaw (the project file and backup) plus an Audio Files folder holding every take and import.

Everything saves automatically as you work. To come back to a project, use Recent projects, Open Project Folder, or drag the project's folder onto the start screen.

Open with a double-click — install the DAW as an app (the Install the DAW button on the start screen, or the install icon at the right of Chrome or Edge's address bar). After that, double-clicking any .tagdaw file opens that project. The first time, the DAW asks you to OK its folder — choose Allow on every visit and it opens straight away from then on.

Audio plays straight from your project folder instead of being loaded into the browser, so even long projects use very little memory. Keep the project folder where it is (and plugged in, if it's on an external drive) while you work.

Clean Project lists audio files the timeline no longer uses (old takes, deleted imports) and removes them from the folder.

Backup downloads the whole project — project file and audio — as one .zip. Open Backup restores it anywhere.

Saving to a folder needs Chrome or Edge on a computer. Other browsers keep projects inside the browser instead — fine for quick work, but download a Backup of anything that matters.

Recording

Set your microphone and headphones in Mic & Output. Arm a track with its red ● button — the meter shows your input level. Aim for peaks well below the red.

Punch & Roll — stop at a mistake, place the cursor where you want to pick up, and press R (or Ctrl/Cmd + R, or Shift + Space). The pre-roll plays the lead-in so you can match your read, then recording starts at the cursor. Everything after that point on the armed track is replaced by the new take (Undo brings it back).

Record over selected item — click an item, press R, and the new take replaces just that item. Recording keeps going until you stop it, so you can carry on past the item's end.

Record over time selection — drag across the armed track to select a stretch (it can cover several items) and press R. Only that stretch is replaced; recording keeps going until you stop it.

Press Space, Esc or R to stop. Takes are written as WAV files into your project's Audio Files folder while you record.

Every take keeps all of your audio — the pre-roll and anything after the end of the item or selection are recorded too. The new item sits exactly where you punched in, and you can Alt/Opt-drag inside it to slide the take, or drag its edges to reveal the extra audio, to blend it with the takes either side.

Editing

Select — drag across a track to make a time selection, then drag either edge of it to fine-tune. Click an item to select it; click an empty spot or press Esc to deselect.

Split (S) cuts selected items — or the selected track — at the cursor, with a tiny crossfade so the cut is seamless.

Delete (Delete, Backspace or Shift + D) removes the selection and leaves a gap; everything else stays exactly where it is.

Delete & Join (Shift + Delete, Alt/Opt + Delete or Alt/Opt + Shift + D) closes the gap so everything after slides up, and crossfades the two pieces either side. The cursor jumps to a second before the join so you can press Play and hear it.

Close Gaps (Alt/Opt + Shift + Space) slides the items on the selected tracks back to back so there's no silence between them.

Drag an item's top bar to move it, including onto another track. Drag its edges to trim, and the small squares at its top corners to fade in or out. Overlap two items on a track and they crossfade automatically. Alt/Opt-drag inside an item slides its audio while the item stays put — the audio loops round, so you can always slide it, even when the item is the full length of its take (a faint dotted line shows where the take starts over).

Ripple editing (Alt/Opt + P, or the Ripple switch) — when it's on, everything after an edit moves with it: Delete closes the gap, trimming the end of an item pulls or pushes what follows, moving an item carries the rest of the track along, and pasting or importing makes room. Turn it off to change one item without disturbing anything else.

Every edit is non-destructive — your original takes are never changed, and Undo goes all the way back.

Track effects & analysis

Open Effects (Alt/Opt + F, the FX button on a track, or right-click) to build an effects chain for a whole track. Use ＋ Add effect to add Noise Reduction, EQ, a Compressor or a Limiter — as many as you like, even two of the same — and the ✕ on an effect to remove it (Undo brings it back). Drag the ⋮⋮ handle to change the order: the sound flows from the top effect to the bottom one. Press ▾ (or click an empty part of an effect's title bar) to fold its settings away, and ↺ to reset an effect to its starting settings — a learned noise profile is kept.

Each effect has its own on/off switch, and Effects chain switches them all on or off at once (Alt/Opt + Shift + F) so you can hear before and after. Every new track comes with a ready-made chain — EQ (High-pass 80 Hz), Noise Reduction (press Learn to give it a profile), Compressor and Limiter (−3.5 dB) — with Effects chain switched off until you want it. Effects run whenever you play or export; your takes are never changed. A track with effects on shows an orange FX button — crossed out while the chain is switched off.

Noise Reduction — press Learn, then play a few seconds of just room tone (no voice) and stop. The DAW learns that noise and takes it out. Amount sets how much: 0% leaves the audio as it is, 100% is complete silence. Use the least that sounds clean — too much can make a voice sound watery.

EQ — start from a preset (High-pass 80 Hz, Male or Female voice, Harsh sibilance, Boxy space and more), then fine-tune each band. The curve shows what you're doing to the sound.

Compressor — Strength evens out loud and quiet moments and Boost raises the level afterwards. Make ACX-ready measures the track and sets the compressor, boost and limiter for you, aiming for about −20 dB RMS with peaks no higher than −3.5 dB. If there's no Limiter after the compressor, it adds one.

Limiter — stops peaks going over the ceiling without distorting. The ACX −3.5 dB preset keeps you safely inside ACX's −3 dB peak limit.

Audio Analysis shows the highest peak and the RMS as you play. Scan whole track checks the entire track (after effects and volume) and shows its peak, RMS and noise floor against the ACX requirements.

Moving around & viewing

Space plays and stops — stopping returns the cursor to where you pressed Play. Enter pauses right where you are.

[ and ] jump to the start and end of the project; Ctrl/Cmd + [ or ] hop to the nearest item edge. ← → nudge the cursor a little (hold Shift for bigger steps).

↑ ↓ (or + / −, or scroll over the timeline) zoom in and out around the mouse; Shift + scroll (or a sideways swipe) moves along the timeline; F fits the whole project.

Make a track taller — drag the bottom edge of the track (in its header or on the timeline) to see its waveform bigger. Double-click the edge to reset it. This only changes the view, never the volume.

Shift + ↑ ↓ (or the ↥ ↧ buttons) makes the waveforms taller or shorter so quiet bits are easier to see — again, display only.

Importing & exporting

Import WAV, MP3, FLAC, M4A, OGG and more with Import Audio, or drop files onto the timeline. WAV files are copied into the project as they are; other formats are converted to WAV so they can play straight from the folder.

Export mixes the whole project or the time selection to WAV, MP3 or FLAC — choose mono or stereo, sample rate, bit depth or MP3 bitrate. Download it, or upload it to Google Drive and get a shareable link straight away. Google sign-in is only asked for when you use Drive.

From the Audio Recorder, use Open in DAW to carry a quick recording over into a full project.

See every shortcut with ? or the ⌨ button.

Start a project

Recent projects

How to use The Audiobook Guy DAW

Projects

Recording

Editing

Track effects & analysis

Moving around & viewing

Importing & exporting

New Project

Project Settings

Mic & Output

Export

Clean Project

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