Tried to record the sound of cattle (5)
I believe the answer is:
heard
'tried' is the definition.
(as in trying or hearing in a trial)
'sound of cattle' is the wordplay.
'sound of' shows a homophone (sound like).
'cattle' becomes 'herd' (I've seen this in other clues).
'herd' is a homophone of 'HEARD'.
'to record the' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for heard that I've seen before include "Perceived by the ear" , "Attended to" , "Was told of" , "Perceived sound" , "Traditional children shouldn't be" .)