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  #1  
Old 07-29-2018, 10:49 AM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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Default I got a mic, now what???

I bought a Shure MV88 for iOs yesterday, but really haven't a clue on how to get a decent recording with it.

It definitely works better than the iPhone's built in mic, & I have experimented a little with the set-up, but so far I haven't gotten it dialed in.

I first recorded some strumming/ chords (if you'd even call it that) with the phone's video camera, using the guitar setting on the mic, but with the condenser maxed out. I tried it with the condenser in the other settings (light & off), but this seemed to work the best.

Then I uploaded the chord video/ track to YouTube & played it back from my computer to my TV's soundbar in the living room. While playing the soundbar, I re-recorded over it with some single notes. I did this twice with the bass turned up a little on the soundbar the second time. It sounds fuller to me, but I lost some volume(?) of the picking part.

Based on the two videos below, what should I try next (with what I've got here)? Thanks for any advise you can give me.



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  #2  
Old 07-30-2018, 12:04 AM
frankhond frankhond is offline
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I'm not sure I understand - you recorded a guitar part, played it through your TV and recorded again, i.e. you made an "overdub" this way?

This is fine for sketching and recording ideas, but normally one would record one guitar part, then play it back through headphones while recording the second guitar part separately into multi track software.

Playing back through the TV processes the sound through the TV speakers, then through the room and then through the mic again. Unless you are after some specific effect, this is not recommended.

If you want to work on ios there are several apps that let you record multiple tracks, I believe garage band is free and can be an ok starting point.
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  #3  
Old 07-30-2018, 09:01 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Your method is problematic. I don't know how your original track sounded before you did the YouTube/TV/Soundbar thing, but listening to it now, it's very tinny and it has what sounds like a terrible reverb/delay thing going on that's likely the result of bad room acoustics and the distance of the soundbar to the mic in relation to the distance of you to the mic.

What you're attempting to do is called "overdubbing," which is the process of laying additional sounds over existing tracks. You seem to have interpreted that to mean that you rerecord the existing track and new part simultaneously a create a new track that includes both the old part and the new part. That's not how it's done. As frankhond pointed out, you should be recording a new track while listening to the old track in headphones so the old track doesn't bleed into the new track. The new track sits parallel to the old track so the two can be played back simultaneously. As you add more layers of sound, the number of tracks increases.

This screenshot below illustrates what I'm talking about. It looks like this person started by recording an acoustic guitar track (Ac GUITAR U87 1). Then, while listening to the playback of that track in his headphones, recorded another track. Let's assume it was the bass track (Bass DI.01). Once the bass was recorded, he could move on to anther track. He'd be listening to the acoustic guitar and bass in the headphones while recording the lead vocal (LeadVoxENG). And finally he'd record the backing vocals (Back ENG.01) while listening to the other tracks in his headphones.

By doing it this way, you have control over every track. You can adjust levels, add effects, fix errors, etc. Doing what you did locks everything together. If you decide that you want to use eq to bring down some of the tinniness of the strummed track, you can't isolate it. You'd have to bring the same frequencies down on everything you recorded because your method puts it all on one track.

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along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

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  #4  
Old 07-30-2018, 08:19 PM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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Thanks, guys.

Yes, you are both correct in that I overdubbed onto a single track.

I’ll play around with it some more, and try to get an app for multitracking.
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Old 07-31-2018, 08:24 AM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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OK, so now I've downloaded the GarageBand app to my iPhone.

I figured out how to record multiple tracks, but I'm still getting the overdub effect on my recordings, due to the playback of the original track through the phone.

The problem is that I cannot simultaneously monitor the first track through my headphones & record a second track because the headphone port on the phone is covered up by the mic.

Guess it's back to the drawing board until I figure this out. I'm thinking a cable to extend the mic away from the phone vs. plugging in directly might do the trick.

Come to think of it, there may have been a chord included with the Shure MV88. I'll have to look again.
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Last edited by simpl man; 07-31-2018 at 12:13 PM.
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Old 07-31-2018, 09:07 AM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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Turns out the chord that came with the mic is for the headphones. It cancels the headphone's built in mic.

However, I also discovered that by flipping the mic over, I can now access the headphone jack on the phone with the mic plugged in.

This should work for me now.
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  #7  
Old 07-31-2018, 11:43 AM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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I managed to get a short clip with 2 tracks using GarageBand on my iPhone.

I then shared/exported the file from GB (high quality, not .wav though) via e-mail to my computer. The phone wouldn't let me do anything with the .wav file.

Then I added the music to a still picture on my computer using Windows Movie Live, and uploaded that to YouTube.

Looks and sounds like there's still a lot more to learn...

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Old 07-31-2018, 12:00 PM
frankhond frankhond is offline
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In terms of the sound, it sounds way better! Now you just need the guts to record a complete song :-)

Kidding aside, you sound fine. Keep recording yourself and you will gain more confidence and start hearing what sounds good. The location and room acoustics is a major factor, as is the microphone placement. If you google ”recording acoustic guitar” there is a ton of advice. Just do it!
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  #9  
Old 07-31-2018, 12:22 PM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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Thanks, Frank!

For now, I'm just working with the basics. No EQ, effects, or custom settings. The sound quality does seem better than my original method, though.

I'll keep experimenting with it to see what can be done as far as room acoustics, mic placement, etc.
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Old 07-31-2018, 02:47 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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That's much better than the original thing you posted. You're right in that you have a long way to go but at least you're on a good road now.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

YouTube
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  #11  
Old 07-31-2018, 03:07 PM
simpl man simpl man is offline
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Thanks to you too, Jim!

Don't know if I'm on a good road or headed down another rabbit hole.

Just thought I'd try this out for kicks. But, I can see it's like everything else:

The sky's the limit, it only depends on how far one wants to take it!

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Last edited by simpl man; 07-31-2018 at 09:20 PM.
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