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Field recordings: AudioShare vs Voice Memos?
I use the iPhone as a quick field recording device. Until now I’ve been using AudioShare but the lack of iCloud support and the clunky editing options makes me doubt if maybe I could just get along with Voice Memos?
But maybe you know if one is definitely better than the other in terms of sound quality?
Thanks in advance
Comments
Voice Memos outputs a low-quality m4a. AudioShare can record in higher quality m4a as well as in wav format. I usually use AudioShare for the purpose of recording my live piano performances. I use Dropbox for uploading the audio, although I imagine you can do the same with iCloud (I prefer Dropbox though lol).
(Now this has me wondering what other apps are out there with an easy "pick up and go" recording style, but with higher quality audio and can automatically sync to iCloud.)
Voice memos can record in Lossless format.
My problem with Voice Memos is that I need to export the files out of the app in order to use them. Instead I use the following shortcut, which I trigger from Control Center.
The date format I use is “yyyy-MM-dd HHmmss”. Since the folder is in iCloud, the recordings I make from my iPhone are available on my iPad as seamlessly as possible.
I do it 'the lazy way' and use drag'n'drop from Voice Memos to LogicPro for iPad or any other app that supports drag'n'drop.
Ok, so Voice Memos gives "only" 2 options: lossless or compressed whereas AudioShare gives more control as to audio quality.
Voice Memos is easy to sync with other devices via iCloud, my (lazy) fav way of doing it; AudioShare is "too old for that crap".
I have an iPhone 15 and thought I was recording in stereo but just realized it's an option you have to choose in Voice Memos. Thanks for the screenshot @klownshed. In AudioShare you can of course set this up in the settings menu.
I would go for Audioshare out of loyalty but honestly, it needs desperately to keep up with times: names say nothing, making duplicates every time you save an edit is double work, no iCloud support is at this moment a no go...
So for the time being I'll be using Voice Memos in lossless mode although it seems a little overkill - @jwmmakerofmusic I'm too app-tired to go hunting for new ones.
Thanks everyone 🙏🏼
Especially for spontaneous recordings I ended up with JustPressRecord (https://apps.apple.com/de/app/just-press-record/id1033342465). It supports iCloud, different Audio formats (AAC/WAV/AIF, up to 32-bit), external usb interfaces/mics (but only default channel), can be launched via widget from the lock screen and much more. What it does not support is to display/adjust the input level like AudioShare. Here AudioShare is much more pro level.
Koala Sampler. It was literally designed for that.
But for longer recordings…?
No, it wasn’t.
I’ll have a look at that, thanks.
Actually it was. It was designed as the ultimate pocket sampler, way before the AUv3 wave took it to new heights.
For longer recordings, just press and hold, pull it up, and it will record as long as you want:
Audioshare on top of the basic editing, an input slider, etc… it also loads IAA fx into the recording chain.
As the OP stated, Koala wasn't necessarily designed for field recording. It's more for quicker recordings.
@dwell
One thing I didn't consider mentioning is Multitrack DAW by HarmonicDog.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/multitrack-daw/id329322101
It costs a fiver for the initial two-track version, upgradeable to 32 tracks total. (Although from what I gathered, it seems 2 tracks would be more than sufficient.) Can be used in either landscape or portrait mode. Can host AUv3 plugins.
Has a master channel in case you want to apply some mastering effects like Grand Finale 2 and whatnot. It supports many audio formats. Editing audio on the timeline could be a little tricky at first until you get used to the workflow, but it doesn't have a steep learning curve either. And you can access exported recordings via Files.
That's a fine kind of advice. I love those old apps that have been there forever and still can do what they do.
I think I would go for it, not for the recording part but more for editing but these days I'm doing that kind of work in Logic for desktop, another application I've had forever, which I'd love to learn a little better.
Basically my question came because I didn't know which one of the 2 to pick up for a quick field recording: I didn't know you could choose audio quality in Voice Memos and I believed I was recording in stereo (which I didn't, you have to choose this in settings).
I wouldn't have asked if I was totally happy with AudioShare but as I said, it needs to keep up with the times and I need to become less dependent of it. I find really annoying the lack of iCloud support and the duplicating files.
I wish you told me earlier…I’ve been using it for the past 6 years as a field recorder 😂
I haven’t made a dedicated long form video of me recording 30 mins of audio because…it’s boring. No one wants to sit and watch a guy recording sounds for 30 mins. So, here’s a short video of it.
EDIT: And for the multitrack DAW, you know you can use any DAW? Garageband does the same thing…and it’s free.
Press and hold the Garageband icon, it will show a prompt to “Create New Audio Recording”
You have 32 tracks to work with, can add AUv3 like Brusfri, Grand Finale, Barkfilter, and even use Apple’s free AUv3 plugins in it.
You can have up to 32 audio lanes. And, I’ll say it. Garageband has the best audio editing tool. Period.
And if you make the BPM of the project file to the lowest, you can record 2x or 3x the amount of audio in one take.
@dwell "I find really annoying the lack of iCloud support and the duplicating files." I do think @j_liljedahl is working on a new version of AudioShare, or at least something of the nature was mentioned a while back. My memory is foggy though, so grain of salt. I'm glad Voice Memos works out well. I'll try that out sometime today. Might be better than AudioShare for recording my piano gigs.
@seonnthaproducer Koala is one of my main on-the-go tools for capturing music ideas, but for longform field recording I believe the OP has found the solution.
About Garageband, it also works as a recorder, yes, but does it have a mastering section where you can apply any AUv3 to the final signal?
I'm using Dolby On for capturing ideas. Has a few options to refine the sound and I like it very much
(.. and it's free)
Yeah, used that before JustPressRecord 😉 Unfortunately no iCloud or even local Files. It's very suitable for recording pieces of your own music since it has the built in metronome. And you have to love colors
Yes and without buying anything new! Thanks everyone for the comments.
PS: I do also play with my Koalas, mess up with samples, make a-sync loops...
Exactly.
Oftentimes the best solutions are right under one's nose, where GAS does not apply.
Oh cool.
If you have a Youtube channel showing off how you use Koala, I'd be interested to watch. Or if you wanna get into your personal process(es) using Koala, I'd be interested to read up on that. And if you have SoundCloud, be sure to share some tracks in Creations. 
(Well-known fact about me is I love using Koala when I'm stuck in a creative rut in NS2, despite NS2 being my main creation app.)
GarageBand has only Echo and Reverb on the master. You can choose the send level to those two FX only. There's no mastering FX and no ability to add plugins in the master channel.
A shame, really. Garageband is pretty great in my opinion, but definitely needs a master channel.
That doesn't bother me at all. I far prefer to keep final mastering as a separate process. That keeps me focused on getting the mix as close to perfect as possible before then. As soon as I throw in a mastering plugin, accurate mixing and EQ'ing goes out the window. That's just me though.
Ah yes, I know what you mean. Many producers prefer to mix dry as opposed into a basic limiter. For me, I prefer to mix into a basic limiter (even Gadget has a basic limiter function thankfully). It's like a magnifying glass for my ears. I tend to oversquash the overall mix during mixdown so it sounds as good as it can get while squashed to Hell, and then upon mastering the mixdown (the unmastered mixdown has the limiter removed, not to worry) has perfect punchiness to my ears when at -14 LuFS. It's definitely my not-so-secret "secret" to perfecting my mixes.
Yep, a final limiter is essential if for no other reason than to protect your ears and speakers. I try to mix until just before the limiter starts to kick in though.
Here I am talking like I know what I'm doing. I'm just as bad as ChatGPT. 😂
I'm just a hack and haven't made anything worth publishing for years.
Lol, mate, to be honest, you're not a hack. Maybe just a little "out of practice"? But not a hack. If you make music, good or not-so-good, you are a musician.
Been involving myself in Inktober this year while stuck in a music creativity block, but I've been making quick covers of a couple Sash! songs to keep my production skills sharp for when I eventually return to music creation in November. (I would like to put out an annual Halloween song though, lol.)
I don't do
anything worth publishinganywaysSo answering @jwmmakerofmusic I can't show my work. I have some sound experiments in an obscure YouTube alternative but nothing with Koala and nothing on social media, which I don't use.
These days I am learning Logic Pro on Mac and using the iPad mainly to send MIDI from sequencers and "static note generators"
That's why I asked for a Latch mode in Woodtroller.
I like the shortcut suggested by @Grandbear. When added as a widget, from a locked iphone screen you just do one right swipe and one tap on a big red "button" - already recording. No need to find or open any app.
That was precisely what I wanted: the quickest way of recording, which iOS 18 makes arguably even easier through the customizable Control Center widgets. The downsides compared to JustPressRecord or Voice Memos is that a single tap, which can be accidental, or locking the phone stops recording, and Voice Memos can even record without unlocking the phone first. I'd just use it if the files weren't locked inside the app (@Samu thanks for pointing out that I can drag and drop from it, but I would still prefer to have full access to the files).
Ah, I think this hit me last night! Trying out my widget for the first time, bummer
In a dark and quiet huge chamber with a 20 seconds (!) echo reverberation time, there was a beautiful performance by a soprano vocalist. I tried to capture a small part of it, but discreetly in order not to disturb, and to my dismay I noticed later that there was no recorded output. I did tap the start record button, but I guess the phone must have locked when I turned it around to dim the light.
I'm on iOS 17 and thought you had mixed Control center with widget page since I didn't see a way to add the shortcut to the control center. I suppose it is an iOS 18 feature.
For iPhones with the Action button—15 Pros and all the new 16’s—you can set it to record voice memo on press. Progress and stop button will display in the Dynamic Island notch.