Iphone 4 field recording

Question

I just ordered an Iphone 4 and was getting excited about the opportunity of having the ability to lug around a field recorder everywhere I went without too much extra baggage. I was planning on ordering Blue's Mikey as I've heard some pretty decent reviews of it. Come to find out that Mikey is not supported on Iphone 4 nor any other external mic that uses the Iphone's 30pin connector unless it has its own A/D converter.

Does anyone have any other suggestions keeping in mind that the idea here is I want something I can carry in my pocket every day without it being too bulky (so not the iRig).

Along the same vein, what app would you suggest for recording? I know that Blue offered the Blue Fire and Fire apps but wasn't sure if they were any good.

Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

My preference is Fire because, like Adam says it creates WAVs, has the best presentation, and if you do need to mess about with noise reduction etc then there are Izotope presets onboard.

It is odd how Blue were so late to market with the newer version of the Blue Mikey - seems a bit of a cockup really. I'd have thought they'd need to deal with adapting to the iPhone 4 pretty quickly as, personally, when I upgrade from 3GS I'm not going to carry my old phone around just so I can use the Mikey - I might as well carry a proper portable recorder if I'm going to do that.

I've attached a link to a recording I made on the way home with it today if you want to listen to the sound quality:

I tend to use the Blue Mikey for recording street shouts: noisy builders, scaffolders, etc. If there's plenty of level the recordings can be usable for TV if there's a richer track to bed them into. However, atmoses, etc - forget it; you can hear the artifacts in the quieter bits of the recording I've linked to.

As for alternative mics - what about the new Apogee one? Not released yet but Apogee are usually a safe bet.

Answer 2

Id also love a good solution for the iPhone. Im going to Portugal next week and i wanted to be able to recording some stuff without having to take my recorder with me.. Would be perfect if Apple incorporated the headphone jack with line in and plug in power!

Answer 3

Blue Fire rocks! Records actual .wavs.

And, they have a sick function where you can upload the files to an FTP, and even access the files on your phone from your laptop browser!

love that app

otherwise, the H2 Zoom is a great product, (though a little high in the midrange) and the MAudio Microtrack is even better

both small, both phantom powered, and you can plug in any sort of mic into both

Answer 4

Fostex just came out with a really handy piece of hardware. Stereo set of condenser mics and all. FOSTEX AR-4i Audio Interface for iPhone 4 Have a look http://ipadloops.com/field-recording-for-iphone/

Answer 5

I haven't tried the Blue Fire but I just downloaded it now. Looks like the free version is mono-only. Interface seems slick though.

The pay version $5.99 accommodates stereo, 48/16.

Here's the link for it, BTW, for those interested

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/blue-fire/id336713577?mt=8

Will report back with results.

Answer 6

I still haven't seen any reviews on the Fostex unit. I wonder if its reasonably ok or if a zoom H2n would sound a lot better.

I really would prefer the Sony D50 (sound wise) but its a bit bulky and expensive, and service handling on them hasn't been to good here in Sweden. Already have the Sony M10 but it doesn't do too well in environments with vibrations and strong LF content (Car/truck interiors etc), and it has a very narrow stereo field.

The Fire2 app is brilliant as long as I can use some decent mics with it. And the Fostex seems to be the first unit that just MIGHT do a decent enough job. Obviously as long as the A/D conversion and mic/line inputs are good enough it can be used with pretty much anything.

So has anyone tried it yet?