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Best way to record into an iPhone?
Looking to record into my iPhone 14, using a 1/8th inch jack from synths and grooveboxes, while also monitoring the output also on a 1/8th inch jack.
Anyone got any recommendations?
Comments
Do you need stereo, or could mono work?
A three ring 1/8 inch jack carries the microphone input on the center ring. It might work to make a cable that puts a mono input signal on the mic ring and connects the two other rings to headphones. There could be impedance or gain issues though.
Or, do it the right way with a proper audio interface with inputs for your synths and a headphone monitoring jack.
Went with the Roland Go Mixer (latest version), as shown here on Jakob Haq’s channel:
Appears to be just what I was looking for: Audio into iPhone, but NOT exclusively for guitars or mics and their different jack types (1/4 inch, etc.).
This is a great device, just what I was looking for, great for anyone looking to record into an iPhone or iPad. Comes with cables for each device, draws power from the iPhone/iPad (unless you are using an XLR or TRS MIc, at which point you need batteries), and has multiple input jacks including two 1/8th inch jacks. Very very cool.
16 bit audio only. Not a problem as far as I'm concerned, but seems to be not good enough in many people's eyes. It's important to guard against clipping if recording at less than 24 bits.
Another good option, in case anyone was wondering:
Rode AI-Micro
Has two 1/8” inputs, one 1/8” output, and three cables to connect to various devices (USB-A, USB-C, and Lightning). Much smaller than the Roland one, which obviously means not all the features of the Roland, but maybe you don’t need all those.
TX-6 by far
6 stereo inputs via 1/8" jacks, like the TX-6 but much cheaper: The TC Helicon Blender. iOS class compliant and it includes a barebones on-board mixer. Needs external power or 4 AA batteries. 24bit/48kHz.
The AI-Micro looks like a great compact interface though, if 2x2 i/o is enough.
Definitely if I had the money. It looks great. Does it have midi ports also?
I'm pretty happy with that Al-Micro, that's what I use these days. I'm a bit less happy with the rode lav mic (forget which one it is I use but it wasn't cheap), noise floor is a little higher than I'd like
One option that I find quite handy for my iPhone 8 is to use the Lightning -> 3.5mm dongle in combination with the Røde Smart Lav+. Sure I can't monitor the audio but I know what I get since I know the microphone quite well by now.
Another option that also kinda 'works' but is a bit shaky is the iRig Mic Field which has good sound quality but lately I've had too many connection issus with it. (It's quite big and connects directly to the lightning port and well 'wobbles' when connected, especially when walking).
So the solution I mostly use now is to record with TwistedWave and have the Lightning headset connected when needed.
I can select which of the built-in microphones to use for the recording in TwistedWave while monitoring thru the lighting headset.
Monitoring really becomes secondary once I know what the microphone captures
I've begun to 'trust' the microphones I use and focus more on where I point the mic/phone and the distance to the the stuff I'm about to record.
This goes for 'regular' microphones as well, ~90% of making a good recording is to know where to place the microphones in reference to the thing that is being recorded.
I do have a classic MobileIn from Line audio that I use with a 30-pin > Lightning adapter when I need stereo sources...
So are you using the iPhone mic for most recording?
Are you using it with a lav mic to record narrations for your video? Always been curious what you used.
When I sample on the go, yes...
...most of the time I select either the 'back cardioid' mostly when walking and 'bottom' when I need to point at things or voice.
The top/front mic is omni so it is not as directional as the others.
Yes with a lav, I think it's the rode one Samu mentioned. But I need to put a shit ton of stuff on the channel to get it loud enough without too much background noise etc.
In some older vids, like my Aparillo one for example or others around that time, I was using a proper xlr mic (shure beta 58a which I used to use when I did a lot of singing some years ago) into am interface, and the voiceover quality was much better and more consistent. But I prefer the flexibility of the lav mic
With the Røde Smart Lav+ having an omni directional pickup pattern (most lav's are omni) the environment in which one records plays a huge role on the overall quality and the distance to the mic-capsule is very important in order to get an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio. (I'd say max 10cm from the mouth is where I draw the line as I'm not a loud speaker).
The 'noise-floor' in my currently 100% un-treated room is around ~40db(a) a bit higher when the fan is on which means I need to stick to using dynamic microphones very close to the mouth to avoid having the background leak in.
A Beta 58A does a good job here on rejecting the background (Super Cardioid Pattern) and any condenser will pick up 'everything' (I've got the Røde NTG-1 Shotgun, Lewitt LCT 441-Flex, and a Line Audio CM-4) regardless of pick-up pattern.
So in order to get 'quiet' recordings treating the room is the key here and keeping the mic as close to the source as possible.
Higher end headset microphones tend to work quite well as they can be kept very close to the source (1-3cm) but even those being omni might need a gate to chop the signal when it gets near the noise-floor of the room.
In a well treated room the iPhones microphone is actually pretty good...
For noise-floor in general headphones are not representative of the real world noise-floor when using speakers to listen to the material. Too much noise-reduction makes things feel un-natural to listen to as do extreme gating when it's total silence between words.
I use a PowerDeWise wired lavalier mic with the lightning dongle and the onboard mics on my iPhone 11 pro. I like to use the clip and/or some blue painter tape for mic positioning. I also have a Zoom H6 if I want to use better mics. Pretty similar to how Samu uses his. Apps Ive used are: Audioshare, Koala, Dawnbeat/Wavebox, e-l-s-a, and FieldScaper.
Oh cool. I didn’t know twistedwave let you choose which mic you can use. I use the free Stereo Microphone app for that (from the KQ apps dev) but I’ve heard good things about TwistedWave. I’m always in the fence about whether I want to invest in a mic for iOS to capture samples or just keep using my iPhone. The speakers on the iPhone aren’t half bad.
Right on, thanks! I have a Shure SM58 (or rather Behringers clone of it) which is what I use for anything vocal or acoustic guitars, etc. But I’ve been looking at something for maybe doing some small YouTube vids occasionally. Not demos or anything, just weird short form stuff. Also need a mic for capturing samples on the go as well. I’m thinking the new Rode SmartLav may be the way to go. It has great reviews.
Also reminds me I need to finally buy Brusfri before the sale ends.
The way to select the mic in TwistedWave is not super obvious...
...to select the input microphone long-tap on the record button and pick a microphone, recording will start after selecting a mic.
I've gotten so used to TwistedWave even though it definitely has some areas that could be improved (mainly to get more features from the Mac version which includes a superb noise-reduction among other things).
I’ve only tried the free version. I liked it, but it wasn’t enough to pull me away from the couple other apps I use. Maybe because I didn’t have the unlock though.
Mic Selection should work in the free version as well.
I'm also liking WaveBox (the IAP to unlock AUv3 effects was free for a while) too but as there's a quite big difference between the iPhone and iPad versions when it comes to features (mainly when browsing files) and some oddities when applying effects (the file can in some cases get 'shorter' after applying EQ or other effects which messes up loops so they will no longer loop properly after the effects are applied) are just a few things that made me feel a bit meh about it...
Some like Neon but I just don't gel with 4P apps for various resons...
...I've tried to like them but only one 4P utility app remains on my devices (Audio Toolbox).
I wish Hokusai could 'zoom' more to vertically fill the entire screen...
Auditor was OK but the UI hurts my eyes and the selection tools are annoying to use so It's gone too...
Once Logic Pro for iPad gets audio-editing features on par with the Logic Mac version and option to save/export an audio region as a file I'll likely be doing most audio-editing there...
On the iPhone TwistedWave will remain my go-to for the time being.
For the most part when I'm in sampling mood on the iPad it's BM3 all the way...
I really like Wavebox a lot. I haven’t noticed the loop getting shorter, I’ll have to test that out. It’s the app I’ve been using the most lately. And with AUV3 hosting, I’ll even use it to load up a full loop and mangle the hell out of it just for fun lol I really like his Dawnbeat app as well.
I do like Neon quite a bit but I mostly use if for either clip launching or for throwing in an AU effects slot to quickly record a channel that’s playing a loop I know I’ll want to save or use later down the road. It’s great for that, imo. And the Granulizer and warp features are cool additions.
Haven’t tried Hokusai beyond the free version but it also seems great. And haven’t tried Auditor at all. Logic definitely needs some improvement in audio editing though. I doubt it would ever become my go-to as I’m still in AUM 90% of the time and still use Zenbeats quite a bit (it could use some improvement there as well). It would be helpful for the samplers in Logic though.
I couldn’t choose just one sampler though, tbh. I have almost all of the samplers available on iOS and they all serve different purposes but if I could only have one I think it’d have to be Koala. BM3 is close though just because of sheer power. Sampling is my main workflow so I tend to catch them all 😂