Audio Controls
Audio sources, microphone and device selection, and audio-reactivity controls in the Audio Visualizers app.
Every visualizer in BeamTracer responds to real-time audio analysis. This page covers where the audio comes from and how to shape the reaction.
Audio Sources
Audio setup lives in Settings → Audio (Ctrl+K). The same tab is available inside Performer Settings, and your audio setup stays active when you switch modes.
| Source | How |
|---|---|
| Tab / system audio | Click CHANGE, choose TAB / SYSTEM AUDIO, then share the browser tab that is playing music. Chrome and Edge need no audio driver. |
| Demo tracks | Six bundled royalty-free tracks (Orbital Perlin Blob 1 & 2, Frequency Sweep, Laser Bass, Saw Wave, Talking) — pick one and press play |
| Your own file | Drag any audio file onto the canvas, or use the drop zone / file picker in Settings → Audio. Supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, AAC, M4A |
| Microphone / line-in | Toggle the mic in Settings → Audio and pick your input device |
A NOW PLAYING mini player at the bottom of the canvas gives you play/pause and seek without opening Settings.
Tab to its Audio position seek bar to use the keyboard: arrow keys move five seconds, Page Up / Page Down move fifty seconds, and Home / End jump to the start or end. Live inputs have no seek bar.
Enabling the microphone pauses track playback — the two sources are exclusive. Turn the mic off to return to the track.
Input Devices
With the mic enabled, the device dropdown lists every audio input the browser can see — built-in mics, external interfaces, and virtual/loopback devices. Selection applies immediately; a live level meter confirms signal is arriving.
Browsers hide device names until microphone permission is granted. If the list looks empty or generic, allow mic access first (lock icon in the address bar), then reopen the tab.
System Audio
For music playing in Chrome or Edge, open Settings → Audio, click CHANGE, choose TAB / SYSTEM AUDIO, and share the tab that is playing. Keep Also share tab audio enabled in the browser dialog. This is the fastest route for YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify Web Player, or another browser source, and it needs no additional software.
Virtual audio devices remain the advanced route for sound that does not come from a browser tab. Route a DAW or desktop mixer through BlackHole, Loopback, or RØDE Connect on macOS, or VB-CABLE on Windows, then choose that device under MICROPHONE. See Audio Input Setup for both workflows.
Global Audio Processing
Settings → Processing shapes the signal every visualizer and every modulation source receives — one place to adapt the whole app to your room, source, and material. Playback volume is never changed by these sliders.
| Control | Range | What it does | When to touch it |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAIN | 0.1×–5× (default 1×) | Boosts or trims the analysis signal only | Quiet files, hot club feeds, weak mic |
| RESPONSE | 0.25×–2× (default 1×) | How quickly band levels follow the music | Lower = smoother, slower; higher = snappier |
| DB FLOOR | −120…−60 dB (default −100) | Level that maps to “silence” in the spectrum window | Raise if noise fills the meters at idle |
| DB CEILING | −80…−10 dB (default −30) | Level that maps to full scale | Lower if bars always peg; raise if they never fill |
| NOISE GATE | 0–0.5 (default 0 = off) | Silences spectrum bins below a fraction of full scale | Hiss, room rumble, laptop fan |
| BASS ATTENUATION | 0–1 (default 0 = off) | Tilts down the low end of the spectrum | Bass-heavy rooms / PA rumble washing out mids |
| SPECTRUM CAP | 0.05–1 (default 1 = off) | Keeps only the lowest fraction of the spectrum and stretches it | Focus visuals on bass–mid when highs are empty noise |
| SPECTRUM COMPRESS | 0–1 (default 0 = off) | Auto-trims dead space above the highest active frequency | Live material that never uses the top of the spectrum |
| OPTIMIZE | button | Listens a few seconds and sets DB FLOOR / DB CEILING | First stop on a new venue or file |
| RESTORE DEFAULTS | button | Neutral chain (bit-identical to “no processing”) | Undo experiments |
| MONITOR | spectrum / VU | Live input + processed view | Confirm signal before blaming a visualizer |
| DEBUG AUDIO | button | Opens the Audio Analysis Engine | Full meters, generators, assign from meters |
Floor and ceiling keep a minimum span (the UI will not let them cross). If OPTIMIZE shows NO SIGNAL, start playback or enable a live input first — nothing is changed.
The same dB window and response also appear inside the Analysis Engine’s Analyser card (including FFT size 512–8192 for the shared analysis resolution). Prefer one place or the other; they stay in sync.
A live MONITOR at the bottom of the panel shows the incoming signal and the processed result together — toggle spectrum vs stereo VU. The same monitor appears in Settings → Audio. Settings sync to your account when signed in.
For the full-screen bench (spectrum, scope, spectrogram, history, rings, Modulation tab, sync delay, complete source catalog), open DEBUG AUDIO or press A, or go to /viz?debug=audio. See Audio Analysis Engine.
The VOL slider and mute (Ctrl+M) affect only what comes out of the speakers — the visuals always get the full signal. Turn the sound down while multitasking or streaming and the show keeps running at full effect; use GAIN when you want to change how hard the visuals react. Track SYNC delay (Analysis Engine transport) deliberately delays both hearable audio and analysis together.
Shaping the Reaction Per Visualizer
Beyond the global processing, reactivity is tuned per visualizer, which keeps each one adapted to what it does best:
Per-Visualizer Parameters
Most visualizers expose reactivity controls in their settings panel — sensitivity, intensity, and similar parameters scoped to that visual. If a visualizer feels over- or under-reactive for your material, this is the first place to look. See Customize.
Full catalog modulation (Modulate with)
Any modulatable slider can track the full live catalog: level, frequency bands, spectral shape, rhythm, stereo, timbre, free generators (LFO/noise/hold/ramp), and MIDI CC. Click the activity chip under the slider to open Modulate with, pick a named source with a live bar, then optionally open the green pill for amount and route shaping. The picker header points at the Audio Analysis Engine (A) for meters, rings, and history. See Audio Modulation.
Stereo Separation
Some visualizers can analyze left/right channels independently. Toggle STEREO SEPARATION in Settings → Display.
Tempo
Beat-reactive motion follows the one session tempo — the same number in the settings-footer chip, the Audio Analysis Engine, and Performer. Press T or click the readout to tap an override. See Tempo & Tap Tempo.