How can I select and rebalance audio tracks in Final Cut Pro on iMac?

Hi,

I just shot a video with a digital video camera and am trying to edit it in FCP on my iMac. I used two mics, one to each audio track of the camera. I took the SD card and imported the clips into FCP. When I place the clips on the timeline, I only see one waveform. That's very disconcerting! I think I should see two waveforms because there are two tracks of audio.


In my video, I'm trying to compare the sound of two mics, one on each track. First only mic one, then only mic 2 then a stereo mix of both mics. When I try to set this up in the inspector, setting the tracks for each of the three clips separately, by the time I get to the last clip, the first two are greyed out and don't play audio.


Why am I not seeing two tracks after importing? Why is it so UN-intuitive to choose tracks for playback, adjust their levels and pan each to the center for each clip?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Mar 3, 2025 2:02 PM

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Mar 4, 2025 5:08 PM in response to Ty Ford1

Read through the user manual about how to work with audio files. It's pretty easy, and in the Audio section of the Inspector. There you can control the channels separately. Set them to dual mono, and you can then Expand Audio Components in the Timeline, to get what you want.

Intro to audio in Final Cut Pro for Mac - Apple Support


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Mar 5, 2025 11:39 AM in response to Ty Ford1

"Why am I not seeing two tracks of audio on the timeline after importing?

Why do the earlier clips turn grey by the time I get to the last of three?"


Read the audio section of the user manual I linked to. It explains everything very clearly.

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How can I select and rebalance audio tracks in Final Cut Pro on iMac?

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