Cell phone?

[mercy]

Is a cell phone adequate to record what youre playing?

[Howard Emerson]

I do it all the time with my antique iPhone 6s and a Shure MV88 mic plugged in.

Would I release the audio as a serious CD? Probably not, but you asked a very basic question, so here’s a sample:



Enjoy.

Howard Emerson

[Brent Hahn]

That depends on who you ask. If you're like a lot of people here who want to record ultra-pretty solo guitar in stereo, then no. Mostly because phones don't do stereo.

While I can appreciate that, it's mostly not what I do and I don't care about stereo. I've recorded using my phone a lot in both great and iffy-sounding spaces and I'm very pleased with many of the results. And with a USB mic, the quality can be even better.

[mercy]

thanks both of you, what is a usb mic and where does it plug in?

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by mercy

thanks both of you, what is a usb mic and where does it plug in?

Howard's using one in post #2. (Nice, Howard!) As for the technicalities of it, it's worth a Google.

[hubcapsc]

I don't know about Howard, his volume seems good, but I
had to learn how to post-process the audio on my cell-phone
guitar recordings... I had to "normalize" (a buzz-word common
across audio/video editors) the volume, or else listeners to my
recordings needed headphones to be able to hear well...

And if you get a USB microphone (I did) and a six (or whatever)
foot USB extender cord you have choices of where to place
the microphone.

And I got a microphone with a "sock" that works even when
it is windy... just a little breeze can wreck a cell-phone recording
with loud unwanted whoosh sounds if you're outside.

-Mike

[keith.rogers]

There are a lot of folks doing pretty good recordings with just a phone.

The problem is that in many cases the best place to put the phone for the audio recording is not the best place for the video recording. A nicely framed video often results in audio that captures a lot of ambient or room noise so the external mic on a cable can really help.

But in a good space or even outside you can get surprising results with a modern phone and maybe a little post processing in a video app. There are some nice outdoor videos in Show & Tell by a poster named “kego” that I can think of. May not be your style though. Intimate finger style is going to need a good space. Or separate mic IMO.

[FrankHudson]

Expectations and usage vary, so no simple answer. A great many songwriters use the simple voice memo app on iPhone for example to "jot down" ideas or even entire demos using only their phone and it's built in mics.

So for that or as an aid to assess personal progress, the answer is yes.

An interface or external microphone more or less take the phone out of the equation, making it just a touch screen interface and a storage device for the audio. In those cases your recording is limited by the non-phone hardware's quality and of course all the other things that go into making a good quality recording.

I posted this before, but here's a vocal and guitar recording I made on my older iPhone (iPhone 8) in a small cabin by Lake Superior using the phone's built in mics and I as I recall, the IOS version of GarageBand for software. For a piece of "location recording" I don't think it's all that bad.

Summer Silence- words by e e cummings and my music

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

Howard's using one in post #2. (Nice, Howard!) As for the technicalities of it, it's worth a Google.

Hi Brent,
Thank you.

The MV88 does not use a USB connector. It plugs in the lightning input where you'd normally plug the charging cable.

I use an extension cable so that I don't have to remove the phone cover, and I can put it where it's needed.

HE

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

I don't know about Howard, his volume seems good, but I
had to learn how to post-process the audio on my cell-phone
guitar recordings... I had to "normalize" (a buzz-word common
across audio/video editors) the volume, or else listeners to my
recordings needed headphones to be able to hear well...

And if you get a USB microphone (I did) and a six (or whatever)
foot USB extender cord you have choices of where to place
the microphone.

And I got a microphone with a "sock" that works even when
it is windy... just a little breeze can wreck a cell-phone recording
with loud unwanted whoosh sounds if you're outside.

-Mike

Hi Mike,
What you see & hear is what it was: No post processing at all.

As I mentioned earlier the Shure MV88 that I'm using is not a USB mic. It plugs directly into the charger input, which I believe is a lightning connector. I also use an extension cable for better mic placement.

The Motiv app that comes with the mic does allow for stereo spread, compression, etc, but I can't remember the last time I even paid attention to where it was set.

It does a far superior job than the built-in phone mic.

HE

[hubcapsc]

Hi Mike,
What you see & hear is what it was: No post processing at all.

Hi Howard...

Now that I look harder at your picture, I see you put your
microphone in a real good place too... I think I need something
better than this tomato stake ...



-Mike

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

Hi Mike,
What you see & hear is what it was: No post processing at all.

Hi Howard...

Now that I look harder at your picture, I see you put your
microphone in a real good place too... I think I need something
better than this tomato stake ...



-Mike

Mike,
Great picture of you and a beautiful example of a Gibson Southern Jumbo!

The mic you can see in my video was plugged into my Fishman Loudbox Performer amp. It's nothing but an AKG lectern mic. What you're HEARING is from the Shure MV88 picking up the amp & guitar.

Suffice to say the REAL recording of that composition, Loki's Lament, is much better having been through a pair of AKG 414's.....out soon enough....

HE

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by mercy

Is a cell phone adequate to record what youre playing?

Adequate for what exactly, assuming audio ? IMO for archive or just practice yes, for publishing pretty marginal really .

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Hi Brent,
Thank you.

The MV88 does not use a USB connector. It plugs in the lightning input where you'd normally plug the charging cable.

I use an extension cable so that I don't have to remove the phone cover, and I can put it where it's needed.

HE

I stand corrected. But it's the same idea -- the preamp and a/d converter are in the mic, and the phone is the storage, right? I'm pretty sure a friend of mine has that same mic and uses it with an Android phone, which doesn't have Lightning -- have to ask him where it plugs into the phone.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Adequate for what exactly, assuming audio ? IMO for archive or just practice yes, for publishing pretty marginal really .

What do you mean by "publishing?" Release by a legit record label? Inclusion in your YouTube channel?