Wtune

Windows puts the basic of just about any activity at your disposal, including the possibility to capture external sound with the help of a connected microphone. However, the built-in recorder is a bit shallow, and for more advanced features, you might want to look for third-party alternatives like Wtune.

Lightweight and easy to use

The application comes in a pretty lightweight package and doesn’t even need to be installed in order to properly function. However, you need to be careful where you keep it stored, because all recordings are saved in the source folder, and there’s a high chance you end up scratching your head when ending the recording session, and no prompt shows up to ask where to save the new file.
A compact main window shows up when you launch the application, but not before you select the source device. Not only can you record from a connected microphone, but the application is capable of grabbing speaker sound as well. Unfortunately, you need to restart the application to change the source, because there’s no built-in option in this regard.

Various displays and quick recording toggle

Various visual elements make sure you know when sound is intercepted, with numerical values for decibels, a slider with the same purpose, a scale to show the approximate note, as well as a graph to display the wave representation.
Putting the recording session in motion is as easy as selecting the output type, which can either be MIDI or WAV, as well as LOG, thus giving you the possibility to review notes. Pressing that button again stops the recording, with a corresponding file automatically created in the source folder. Moreover, you can take a snapshot of the graph, or freeze it to analyze frequencies.

To end with

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Wtune is a practical, lightweight recorder that lets you easily capture sound, either from your soundcard, or a connected microphone. Sadly, it’s fitted with a shallow set of features, with no possibility to schedule recordings, not to mention silence detection features for advanced management.