collapse

* Member Info

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
Tired of bein' lonely, tired of bein' blue, I wisht I had some good man to tell my troubles to - Bessie Smith, I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl

Author Topic: recording apps?  (Read 2514 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline uncle bud

  • Member
  • Posts: 8306
  • Rank amateur
recording apps?
« on: March 22, 2014, 12:16:48 PM »
Does anyone have any favorite audio recording apps for iOS, i.e., iPad?

And if you do, what features do you like/have you found useful. Me, I was thinking I just want a record button to press and then we're done. But then I realize there are things like recording levels, basic editing features, and other things that might come in handy. Upload to the Cloud, or some other far away place? Bells and whistles I may not have thought of.

Soundcloud has a recording feature but I assume it limits things to 128 kbps.


Offline harriet

  • Member
  • Posts: 596
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2014, 05:20:17 PM »
Hi Uncle Bud,

I am a fan of the roderec app for ipad and iphone, and I use it on my iphone and ipad with an apogee mic ($199). Here's a test I did of 3 types of guitar - a small resonator, vintage 40's ladder-braced birch and a Gibson Nick Lucas, straight up no app bells and whistles or equalizer adjustments. I followed a tutorial on setting up the app from youtube - there are some gain, equalizer features if you record directly but I don't use them and the app works with and without external mics.

The roderec captured at 48000 and output to wav then I uploaded to soundcloud through the app, there's a button in the app for that. Three minutes is about 35mgs. You can also email and ftp through the app. The mic isn't very fussy about position so it real easy to use - the mic wasn't moved at all for the 3 guitar types.

I can't project my voice at all and need a two mic system for that type of practice but I imagine if you can project it would work for vocal/guitar.

Hope this helps in addition to other recommended apps which I would be interested in learning about!



« Last Edit: March 22, 2014, 06:00:17 PM by harriet »

Offline Mike Shipman

  • Member
  • Posts: 97
  • Howdy!
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2014, 06:59:39 AM »
I'd appreciate pointers with recording too so will watch this thread w ith interest. I have an Apogee mic and used Garageband to record a few things but found it a bit confusing and I'm not sure what needs to be done to get best results so i'll keep an eye out for any suggestions made here.
I especially enjoyed Freighttrain Harriet!
Cheers, Mike
Mike Shipman
New Forest - Hampshire, UK.

Offline harriet

  • Member
  • Posts: 596
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2014, 08:14:20 AM »
Thanks for your kind words Mike. I've always gotten awful results from Garageband with any acoustic and avoid it-YMMV!

Here's the roderec app tutorial and the mic options, and how to set it up for a straight recording. The only thing I've noticed with the apogee connecting is you have to check to make sure its connecting to the app and re connect it if it doesn't show up - it does that on the rare occasion. And you need the adaptor for it - an extra expense. The tutorial also mentions a couple of other apps.







« Last Edit: March 23, 2014, 08:18:22 AM by harriet »

Offline Tricone

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
  • A Six-String Odyssey
    • Guitar | Libido
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2014, 08:42:45 AM »
If you are looking for a *simple* iOS app with one-button recording and uploading features, I can suggest a couple that I use.

1. Voice Record Pro 7 (Free)

2. iTalk (Free)

Both programs have simple, easy-to-read screens.  Both are free, but have a paid version with additional features.  Depending on the app, however, the basic versions do allow you to "upload" or email your recordings.  For instance, VRP 7 allows uploading to a Dropbox or Google Drive account.  Quite convenient! The paid version allows you to play back recorded files at different speeds.   The quality of the sound is dependent on the microphone you are using, be it the iPhone/iPad's internal mic, or an aftermarket mic, but suffice to say you can adjust the file type quality of the recording within the app.

iTalk Premium:  http://store.griffintechnology.com/italk-premium

Voice Recorder Pro 7 Full:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voice-record-pro-7-full/id820659911?mt=8

Interestingly, the iPhone 5 has three internal microphones!  I find the quality quite sufficient for recording (acoustic) guitar, along with a guitar class that I am taking.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-iPhone-5-has-three-microphones-and-HD-voice-support-whats-in-it-for-you_id34486
« Last Edit: March 23, 2014, 10:36:49 AM by GuitarLibido »

Offline uncle bud

  • Member
  • Posts: 8306
  • Rank amateur
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2014, 07:50:38 PM »
Thanks for that, Harriet, much appreciated, both the Apogee demo and the tutorial, which was really very helpful and never lapsed into incomprehensible sound geek jargon. Oh, and I definitely like the sound of the ladder-braced guitar with the slide.

Some very interesting options, and having done more searching since my original post and after seeing yours, I can see a more complicated setup in my future (though thanks very much for the simpler recommendations, GuitarLibido, will look into those too). I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface - 2 mic inputs with preamps. Turns out it should work with the iPad mini using the same adapter shown in the tutorial video when he demonstrates the Behringer USB mixer. Though possibly with an extra piece of gear, as online discussion found elsewhere suggests the Scarlett 2i2 needs a powered USB hub before going into the Lightning/USB adapter that's going into the iPad.

Which all means I could then plug a mic or 2 into the Scarlett 2i2 and start recording (with the right software).

This is good news. My initial interest in recording on the iPad was really more for practicing and for getting ideas recorded so as not to forget them the next day, the near inevitable outcome for me.

But now it looks like I may even be able to do some fairly serious recording with it.

BTW, for those who might be working with a similar Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 setup, here's a rig that uses a USB external battery backup/charger as  well, so that you can record without any power source, in the field, etc. http://auriaapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11150

EDITED TO ADD:  an additional link with details about setting us the Scarlett 2i2 with powered USB hub and Lightning to USB Camera Adapter: http://forum.harmonicdog.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=994

« Last Edit: March 25, 2014, 07:11:02 PM by uncle bud »

Offline Tricone

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
  • A Six-String Odyssey
    • Guitar | Libido
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2014, 08:29:13 PM »
I plan on giving this Zoom iQ5 a try:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/iq5



Offline harriet

  • Member
  • Posts: 596
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2014, 03:33:38 AM »
Thanks for the link to the Scarlett 2i2, Uncle Bud - wasn't aware that something like that existed.!

One thing I noticed on the iQ5 is that if you have the iphone in a case - the case will most likely interfere with the connection. I think you might have to modify a case for that if you can't find a lightning to lightning extension cable that works.

Offline uncle bud

  • Member
  • Posts: 8306
  • Rank amateur
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2014, 09:47:39 AM »
An update. This week I picked up the Apple Lightning-to-USB camera adapter ($35 CAD) and a Dynex powered USB 2.0 hub ($20). Yesterday I did a test. Here's the setup:

1) I plugged in the USB hub
2) Plugged the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface into the hub to power it.
3) Plugged the USB camera adapter into the iPad mini, then plugged the USB hub's connector into said adapter
4) With everything rigged up, I then added the last external piece of the puzzle, a Cascade Fathead mic plugged into the Scarlett 2i2

I can confirm this setup works and quite brilliantly so far. I have not settled on an app yet (! ...to go back to the start of this thread), but am looking at Multitrack DAW. Anyway, testing was done with Focusrite's free Tape app. It's a basic 2-track recorder (made to look like reels of tape) with some rudimentary mastering tools. It's certainly good enough for practice and laying down ideas. Exporting looks like it might only be to Soundcloud or email, so it's limited there. An option to export to the cloud would be nice. Multitrack DAW has that, I believe, and after I do a little more poking around I will probably shell out the $10 for that to have more options across the board.

Very preliminary test results on this are better than I got running the Fathead and Scarlett 2i2 into my laptop (there was something screwy about that setup from the start, which I am pretty sure was a glitch on the laptop end). I'm pretty happy so far.

I will post some actual sounds in the future, when I get some more time (and a decent take  :P).

PS Some people report having trouble with USB 3.0 hubs in this setup, which are USB 2.0 compatible but perhaps screw something up in the conversion. For this reason, I made sure to buy a USB 2.0 powered hub.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2014, 10:12:12 AM by uncle bud »

Offline harriet

  • Member
  • Posts: 596
Re: recording apps?
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2014, 11:36:13 AM »
Thank Uncle Bud. I'll bookmark the thread. I hope you'll update with the recording app you decide on.

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal