Inexpensive microphone recommendation

[Holly Furlone]

I had no idea that such a microphone (one that can be plugged into your iDevice) existed! Before I scrape my dimes together for a "condenser mic" (Jb mentioned one by 'sweetwater' and it looks really nice) I'm trying to figure out if the Crate Acoustic Amp CA60 and a standardish stage mic that I do have can in anyway be outfitted to do the same. My only personal means of recording are my iPhone and iPad and I'm slowly figuring out how to use Garageband. Until I can gather up some other equipment can recordings made via Garageband be submitted? Thanks

[Caravan Ray]

I had no idea that such a microphone (one that can be plugged into your iDevice) existed! Before I scrape my dimes together for a "condenser mic" (Jb mentioned one by 'sweetwater' and it looks really nice) I'm trying to figure out if the Crate Acoustic Amp CA60 and a standardish stage mic that I do have can in anyway be outfitted to do the same. My only personal means of recording are my iPhone and iPad and I'm slowly figuring out how to use Garageband. Until I can gather up some other equipment can recordings made via Garageband be submitted? Thanks

Do you need an amp?

I don't use one.

If you are using an iPad - this thing would seem to be the go:
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigmic/

I use Garageband on an iMac, with a USB interface (about $150 - they are probably cheaper now) that I plug my mic and guitars into. I do have a decent mic (Rode M3 - worth about $150) - but you can easily get a mic for under $100 that will be fine. And I have a little 25 key usb midi keyboard I got for about $50. That is my complete studio - and really can't think of anything more that I would need (...a bit more talent may be nice).

BTW: I actually forked out the cash to upgrade to Logic about a year ago - but as yet, have still never used it. Too lazy to move from Garageband, that I know so well. It did add a lot of new drum beats and stuff to my Garageband library though - so I am sort of using it.


Oh - and I did also fork out cash a while ago for Ozone (mastering software) and Nectar (vocal software). They are good - but hardly essential.

Bottom line is - if you have Garageband and a guitar - you are 90% there. Just get a mic and some sort of interface to plug the mic and guitar into. $100 or so should be all you need to cough up.

[jb]

I had no idea that such a microphone (one that can be plugged into your iDevice) existed! Before I scrape my dimes together for a "condenser mic" (Jb mentioned one by 'sweetwater' and it looks really nice) I'm trying to figure out if the Crate Acoustic Amp CA60 and a standardish stage mic that I do have can in anyway be outfitted to do the same. My only personal means of recording are my iPhone and iPad and I'm slowly figuring out how to use Garageband. Until I can gather up some other equipment can recordings made via Garageband be submitted? Thanks

1. Any submission, as long as it is an mp3 and follows the rules of the contest (which don't mention equipment at all), can be submitted. There's nothing wrong with Garageband, and in fact there are many things worse.

2. It sounds like your missing link is a device to get sound from your microphone into your iPad. While that Apogee Mic I linked to (it's sold by Sweetwater, not made by them) would be fantastic, it sounds like you might prefer something cheaper. Here's a suggestion: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iRigPre/



That is $40 and will let you plug your regular ol' microphone into the earphone jack of your iPad (which is also a microphone input). It won't have the highest fidelity-- but it will most likely be better than the iPad built-in microphone.

[Holly Furlone]

Awesome! Thanks for the info. and resources, guys

[jb]

One thing that iRigPre will do is let you turn down the gain on the mic. That way you can indeed nestle your microphone up against your amp and record it with your iPad without worry about a lot of clipping. It'll take some experimentation to get the level correct (so that there is no clipping).

Stick it up against the amp and play as loud as you think you're going to and record that. If there is clipping, turn the iRigPre's gain down and try again.

Note that if you're going to play both soft and loud in the same recording, you don't want to turn the gain down so much that the iRigPre won't pick up the soft parts. If that happens, turn up the gain on the iRig and turn down the volume on the amp.

There will be a threshold-- no cheap setup will support both really quiet and really loud playing in the same recording. (To accomodate that you'll need a compressor in your recording chain before it goes into your iPad, but that's probably a ways in your future.) But you could record it twice-- once softly and once loudly, and then stitch the two parts together in Garageband.

That sums up 10 years of my recording education right there. Sheesh. I was thick.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I had no idea that such a microphone (one that can be plugged into your iDevice) existed! Before I scrape my dimes together for a "condenser mic" (Jb mentioned one by 'sweetwater' and it looks really nice) I'm trying to figure out if the Crate Acoustic Amp CA60 and a standardish stage mic that I do have can in anyway be outfitted to do the same. My only personal means of recording are my iPhone and iPad and I'm slowly figuring out how to use Garageband. Until I can gather up some other equipment can recordings made via Garageband be submitted? Thanks

It sounds like you are about there as mentioned.
1. idevices are fine for recording.
2. Garage band is a fine audio digital workstation (DAW). So you can multi-track your guitar and vocals as well as add beats, mix them and add FX.
3. You have a mic already which is fine.
4. You play primarily on an acoustic guitar, which is fine. I'm guessing it has a built in mic, which is how you plug into your amp. With the iRig JB mentioned, you can plug directly into it and go straight to your idevice and into garage band. But if the FX on your amp are an intregal part of your sound, then mic your amp and run the mic into the iRig. Personally I'd run the guitar direct in and/or mic the guitar and not use the amp for recording.

The nice thing about the iRig JB posted is that not only is it an XLR mic cord interface to your idevices, it is a pre-amp, has a much needed gain control for different mics and instruments you plug in, has phantom power for a condenser mic and plugs into your iDevice via mini plug.

The only bummer with the iRig is that it doesn't have a 1/4" input for an electric guitar or old dynamic mic cord. But you can get a 1/4" to XLR adapter or cord pretty cheap.

edit: I was making this before JB posted the above. So yeah, repeat of some of what he said.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I did also fork out cash a while ago for Ozone (mastering software) and Nectar (vocal software).

I love the izotope line. Nectar2 is my next addition. In that one plug-in, it'll take the place of about 6 other plug-ins I use for vocals, plus metering. I must have it. The pro version is $299 right now on the izotope site. When I see it from one of their retailers or musicians friend for around $99, I'm getting it.

[Lunkhead]

If you're going to spend some money on an audio interface for your iDevices, you might want to consider making the up-front investment in getting one that has two inputs, if possible. For example, this one is $99, though I'm not sure if it's compatible with your iDevices:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/is202/

My reasoning is that, if you're going to play guitar and sing and record both at the same time, you'll get the best sounding recordings by using two condenser mics, one for your voice, one for your guitar. That would be the setup that you might want to work toward. To make that work, you'd need something that can handle two condenser mics like that Behringer gizmo.

Here are some articles about using two mics:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul12/articles/rsg.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug08/a ... 0808_3.htm

Another thing to consider is that acoustic guitars sound best recorded by mic, not through an amp or pickup. So in the short term you might want to try to figure out how to record both your voice and your guitar with the one dynamic mic that you have. It's going to be a little more challenging than if you had a condenser but it should still work. Here's an article:

http://www.presonus.com/community/blog/ ... nd-vocals/

They're using a very nice condenser mic, but you could try the same process with your dynamic mic. Sounds like you want to line the mic up with your mouth, as far as left/right positioning goes. Then find a good distance away from you and your guitar that doesn't pick up too much room noise (although with your dynamic you may need to keep it close). Then find a vertical position that results in a blend of your guitar and voice that you like (lower will result in the guitar being relatively louder, higher will result in the voice being relatively louder).

Eventually the investment in a $100 condenser mic would probably be well worth it in terms of the boost in recording quality. You probably want to make sure you get one with a "cardioid" pattern.

Again, ideally you'd have two condenser mics, one for the guitar and one for the vocals, which would then require that you have a two-input audio interface. So if you're interested in getting to that point eventually, and the next thing you're going to buy is an interface, you might want to buy a two-input one. That way you'll be on the path toward having the best setup.

[Billy's Little Trip]

^ That's really cool that it's a docking unit for an ipad! It's more expensive than the iRig and not as portable. But certainly not huge either, plus gives multiple ins and outs for expansion.

[Holly Furlone]

My brain just exploded. I'll be back in two months after I've had time to look up all of the big words and technical terms you've all just shat at me. Haha. Seriously though, thank you. I appreciate the details and look forward to understanding and applying them

[foobar93]

I did also fork out cash a while ago for Ozone (mastering software) and Nectar (vocal software).

I love the izotope line. Nectar2 is my next addition. In that one plug-in, it'll take the place of about 6 other plug-ins I use for vocals, plus metering. I must have it. The pro version is $299 right now on the izotope site. When I see it from one of their retailers or musicians friend for around $99, I'm getting it.

Sweetwater has the "elements" version of Nectar for only $39:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NectarElem/

I've been thinking about getting it but haven't yet pulled the trigger. I assume that they'll have some kind of cheap upgrade pricing to the full version eventually, too.

And Musician's Friend has Antares Vocal Express, which seems similar for $49 - which includes an iLok (which costs $50):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... -vocalists

[Billy's Little Trip]

I did also fork out cash a while ago for Ozone (mastering software) and Nectar (vocal software).

I love the izotope line. Nectar2 is my next addition. In that one plug-in, it'll take the place of about 6 other plug-ins I use for vocals, plus metering. I must have it. The pro version is $299 right now on the izotope site. When I see it from one of their retailers or musicians friend for around $99, I'm getting it.

Sweetwater has the "elements" version of Nectar for only $39:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NectarElem/

I've been thinking about getting it but haven't yet pulled the trigger. I assume that they'll have some kind of cheap upgrade pricing to the full version eventually, too.

And Musician's Friend has Antares Vocal Express, which seems similar for $49 - which includes an iLok (which costs $50):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... -vocalists

$39 is good, but it doesn't have a lot of what I want Nectar2 for and it's still an $179 to upgrade to Nectar2. But they have Nectar2 for $219. So it's already coming down.