Start with the recipient’s listening task
An editable recording and a ready-to-watch recording are not necessarily the same delivery. A later editor may need narration and demonstration sound separately. A reviewer opening the file in a normal player needs a coherent listening mix without knowing which tracks to select. Decide which recipients you have before assigning sources.
Draw a small track map in plain language. A useful authored plan puts a complete review mix on the first track and keeps narration and demonstration sound on separate additional tracks. Mark intentionally absent material as absent. Do not label a track isolated until its saved content has actually been inspected.
Apply the map at both routing stages
The OBS multitrack guide separates source-to-track assignments in Advanced Audio Properties from enabling the recording tracks in Output settings. It also explains that ordinary media playback selects one audio track at a time. A source meter therefore cannot establish that the desired track reached the file.
Use names that survive handover: review mix, narration, demonstration. Keep a copy of the intended assignments with the recording settings. If a source should be absent from the deliverable, make that decision at routing time and verify the saved result rather than relying on the editor to discover an unexpected sound later.
Make a sample that identifies each component
Record a short rehearsal with an identifiable spoken phrase, a separate moment of demonstration sound and a short interval containing both. The content itself becomes a simple routing check. Avoid using two nearly identical sources, because it becomes difficult to tell whether isolation succeeded.
Reopen the sample in the ordinary player and inspect its selected listening track. Then use the intended editing workflow to inspect the additional tracks one by one. Write down whether each contains its intended component and whether anything unintended appears. A readable filename and an audible first track are not a substitute for the isolated-track checks.
Deliver the map with the actual artifact
Choose a recording container and subsequent remux route that preserve the tracks the recipient requires. If producing another container for the editor, keep the original recording until the destination file has been opened successfully. Match the track map to the delivered copy, because a later export can change what remains.
A concise handover identifies the source recording, the delivered file, the purpose of every track and any unresolved limitation. It should not say that all audio is recoverable merely because several track numbers exist. No recording or editor import was performed here; the practical contribution is a sequence for proving that handover deliberately.
Questions answered
Why does a normal player hear only one component?
It may have selected an isolated track. Inspect the selected track and the intended complete mix rather than assuming the other audio was lost.
Is assigning a source to a track enough?
No. The recording output must also have the required track enabled.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.