Recording with the iPhone

[runningonair]

As we were going way off subject, I though starting a new thread could be useful.

........recently i've been using my iPhone .  Low quality isn't a problem if you plan to mangle the sound you're recording and I like the fact I can e-mail the recordings to myself with a note saying what they are.

a friend of mine has been recording w/his iPhone too.  and yeah, urban announcement and broadcast is one of the best textures.

Have you checked this out?
http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/fire/
Seems really good if one is using their iPhone. I convinced a friend to get it and he loves it.
Unrelated, but the same company, I'm really happy I invested in this:
http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/fidelia/

I just had a look at the fire App and my first thought was they showing the audio in stereo surely the iphone won't do that!  But apparently it can.  It seems unlikely that it has buit in stereo microphones but you can attach external microphones.

So my question is has anyone seen how you can do this? Any hardware suggestions.  This would be really useful if it was possible to do quality recording on the iphone.

[StephenVitiello]

[quote/]
I just had a look at the fire App and my first thought was they showing the audio in stereo surely the iphone won't do that!  But apparently it can.  It seems unlikely that it has buit in stereo microphones but you can attach external microphones.

So my question is has anyone seen how you can do this? Any hardware suggestions.  This would be really useful if it was possible to do quality recording on the iphone.
[/quote]

You'd need an external mic. For that app I mentioned, there's info on the Audiofile-Engineering website, including
http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/support/helpdesk/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=225

[runningonair]

I found this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Microphones-2-0-iPhone-Recorder/dp/B003Z8WHDC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

But it's not iPhone 4 compatible.  I'll check your link.

[taylordeupree]

reviving this old thread with news of the upcoming Tascam iM2 (i think that's the name?)... same mic's as found in many of their portable recorders.... plugs into the iPhone... and then grab their free iOS app, and you've got a pretty good recorder for $80 (not including cost of the iPhone!).

i wonder, though, if that mic attachment of theirs has an audio input jack.. i'll have to check. i use my dusty old tascam for recording live shows via a line in.

[jonny]

Taylor, I looked into the iM2 from Tascam and even downloaded the app to see how that works too.  Strangely, the app only lets you export to Soundcloud...that's it!  That seems weird to me.

I didn't see a line in on the tascam, looking at their spec page.

My hesitation with these things is that they become obsolete pretty quickly...for example, the Blue Mikey was a stereo microphone that came out for iPod and then iPhone but was obsolete once the iPhone 4 came out because Apple changed something with the way audio devices worked with the dock connector.

[taylordeupree]

yeah... good point about obsolescence... you're totally correct on that... hmmm... makes me rethink it now...

and, yeah, i read about the export-to-soundcloud thing... weird.....

hmmm...

[kesh]

The iProRecorder developed by BIAS seems like a good option for uncompressed wav recording at CD quality (44.1kHz/ 24bit) on the iPhone. it is really cheap at the moment too at £0.69 for the app (much cheaper than the Fire 2). it records in mono but can support the Blue Mikey for stereo recording. it has multi playback speeds and it even works as a looper! :-) so app + mic = less than £40.00.

for a durable (really important for field recording), reliable and high quality stereo recorder (but flexible settings if SD card space is an issue) I use the Edirol R-09hr. it is £250/300 euros so quite expensive but i think it's worth every penny. the mic gain boost and low cut filter are really useful for using a hydrophone/contact mics and the built in stereo mic's are superb. it looks like Roland have bought them out so maybe expect an upgrade soon= cheaper Edirol stock 

[jonny]

So, I thought it would be a good idea to post a recent discovery...I was looking to see if they updated the PCM Recorder app to add some sort of functionality so you could import audio to your computer.  It turns out that the functionality was there all along!  You can import the files you record from itunes in the apps - file sharing tab of the iphone settings.

So with that being said, it is a fantastic app and I will stop using the Blue FiRe app I was using previously.

[peter wyeth]

Reading the blurb on the Tascam site it says you can use it with other apps so maybe that's the key.

I really like Multitrack DAW which this would be great to use with. Can certainly see it working for broadcast situations.

[taylordeupree]

reviving this old post... now that i'm a happy owner of the FiRe app.. and a tascam iM2.... i'm really liking FiRe.. the waveform drawing is super helpful.. and, it looks like they've updated the soundcloud export thing to include being able to grab tracks via a web browser when the iPhone is on your network.

the iM2 seems to work nicely as well.

i wish i had this setup when i was doing my One Sound Each Day project 3 years ago. the ability to take photographs and notes right along with your recordings is very cool..and the iPhone's interface makes naming your recordings way handier than on other dedicated recording devices. just seems like a great app all around..