Audigo Labs Bluetooth Mic - A Short Review (Spoiler: WOW!)

[Juiced06GTO]

I was going to try that, but I forgot to hit record on my ipad while I was playing the lead haha.

[lkingston]

I switched from Android to Apple because at the time, it was more compatible with my hearing aids.

One thing I’ve come to learn is that with the way Apple does its audio drivers, there is a fraction of the latency. Android doesn’t have a low latency audio driver built into the operating system. This is really important for any sort of real time apps, like guitar processors or virtual instruments. I remember AmpliTube used to have a version (that I bought but ended up being orphaned) that would give low latency with specific Android phones. This was because it could write its own driver specifically for those Samsung audio chips. It wouldn’t work with other Androids, and not even all Samsung phones.

Two other things about Apple vs Android: the latest Apple chips are way faster than the fastest Android chips. Not that this always matters.

The second thing is that Apple supports older iPhones for years, vs the very short span of operating systems being supported for specific phones. I could somewhat get around this by installing third party variations of the Android OS, but that involved unlocking the phones and lots of trial and error.

I’m happy to have switched, even if Apple is behind on things like periscope zoom and super fast charging.

[lkingston]

One thing that surprises me about the Audigo is that the sound quality is so good, that it is no longer the weakest link in an iPhone video. With such good audio, the video starts to look lacking, especially with that selfie camera!

[Juiced06GTO]

That is a frustrating part of this for trying to record solo. You really need to use the non selfie camera to make your recording, but then you can't see what you are doing or where you are lined up in the shot. The timer is helpful, but in my videos I was completely guessing about whether I was in the shot or not.

[lkingston]

The selfie camera is selectable from the app. I prefer the main back camera as well. The selfie camera certainly needs a lot of light to look decent.

[Rudy4]

I use a inexpensive plastic mirror in my smartphone mount so I can frame the shot and see the camera controls while using the much better front camera. You don't have to use that inferior selfie cam!



A better view:

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by lkingston

The selfie camera is selectable from the app. I prefer the main back camera as well. The selfie camera certainly needs a lot of light to look decent.

OK, this is redundant with my own thread, but the Audigo app defaults to 60fps on each take. This is such a quick shutter that the image looks pretty grainy even in a bright sunlit room. Manually switching it to 24p on each take makes the video look way crisper, even with the iPhone selfie camera.

[lkingston]

Another thing I am thinking about is using my iPhone and Sony ZV1 simultaneously, with the iPhone shooting portrait for Instagram and the ZV1 shooting landscape 16:9 for YouTube. Instagram gets a heck of a lot more attention than YouTube, and nobody ever looks at it on anything but their phone.

Syncing an extra camera in would be very easy, as would the separate renders.

[raysachs]

I'm gonna try to revive this thread. I recently bought two of these Audigo mics. Generally, they work amazingly well. BUT, when I've recorded using both mics (one for guitar, one for vocals), I've had problems with interference or something a couple of times. It doesn't happen every time, but when it does, it's really discouraging and frustrating.

I never noticed anything when recording, but on playback I've had two very odd things happen that completely ruined the tracks. The first time, I got some weird static in the middle of the song, and actually heard a voice say a word or two, like the wireless mic was picking up some nearby cell phone for a brief second. The second time was much worse, although you either get a good track or you don't so I'm not sure there are relative levels of "worse". What happened was when I got to about 4 or 4 1/2 minutes into a six minute song, the two tracks started oscillating and echoing and it got progressively worse for a few seconds before the whole track just died. None of this was apparent while recording either time, it only showed up on playback and neither time was the track salvageable.

I'm wondering if anyone else who's tried using more than one of these at a time has had any problems like this?

I've since been recording mostly with just one mic, trying to use mic placement and singing louder to balance the guitar and vocal (since I can't adjust the relative volumes in the mix). This doesn't suck - before the Audigo the only videos I recorded were just single track recordings of playing and singing using the iPhone's built in mic. I don't like the sound or adjustability using one mic as much as using separate mics for guitar and vocals, but using one mic has been absolutely trouble free, no glitches or any sorts of problems. I"m thinking of returning one of the two mics, because if I can't use them together, there's not much point in having two.

The other thing I find well short of great is when adding a second vocal track or a lead guitar track, you're limited to using Apple Pro AirPods so you don't get any latency. But when you're recording a new track, the new track doesn't actually play through the AirPods - the existing tracks do and you have to set the AirPods to "transparency" mode so you can hear what you're playing or singing in real time against the recording coming through the AirPods. It all works great from a timing and syncing standpoint, but I find I have to turn the volume of the existing tracks down really low so I can hear what I'm playing or singing well enough to record it decently. I still don't hear what I'm playing or singing that well, but just well enough to get the track done. When you play it all back after setting the mix, it sounds great, but when recording on my multi-track audio recorder, I'm used to being able to hear both the existing and new tracks through headphones and whatever volume suits me. I find it odd to play music I can't hear that well and play it along with existing tracks I can't hear that well if I want to be able to hear what I'm playing in the moment at all. Have others found ways around this or is it just a fact of life with this system?

This seems to be the only existing thread about these mics, so I figured I'd just fire this one up again instead of starting a new one. Interested in the experiences others are having with this gear...

TIA for any help,

-Ray

[lkingston]

I’ve had no problems using two Audigos at once. I haven’t tried the overdubbing feature.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by lkingston

I’ve had no problems using two Audigos at once. I haven’t tried the overdubbing feature.

Thanks. I’ll keep trying and hope that maybe those early glitches were just bad luck…

-Ray

[benjamin1884]

I just ordered mine yesterday. Looking forward to it. I did order the subscription for a couple reasons. I do like the idea of the auto level sound check. I also like the compression and delay. Biggest thing is my good friend is my upright bassist, and he is getting one as well. We do a lot of work together, and this will help with the collaboration too. I can also cancel the subscription later down the line if it's not so useful. The 100gb of storage will be helpful too.
This will be cool.
Rick

[benjamin1884]

Got the Audigo, set it in the middle of the room. Me on J45 and vocal, wife on washboard, 2 buddies on guitar and upright. It came out with amazing tone. Did a lousy job setting the iPad up for video though. lol
Hope you enjoy
Rick
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