 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Mac Forum / General / Hardware / September 2007Ipods for live recording
Griffin makes a mic that clips on to the bottom of some Ipods. I was wondering if anyone has tried it or some other mic accessory? Being that there is no motor noise in the Ipod, and of course the tiny size, it opens up interesting possibilities for recording people and music. > Griffin makes a mic that clips on to the bottom of some Ipods. I was > wondering if anyone has tried it or some other mic accessory? Being > that there is no motor noise in the Ipod, and of course the tiny size, > it opens up interesting possibilities for recording people and music. The Micromemo works well with my 5G iPod, providing uncompressed CD quality recording. Issues to be aware of: Using the supplied microphone or external microphone with input at mic level gives good quality but slight hiss when listening back on good quality equipment. Switching to line level and using an external mic through a proper preamp or mixer avoids the hiss. The other factor for serious recording is that the input level is not controllable by the user as it is automatic. Though it ususually gets it right you could not depend on this for guaranteed professional work, in my opinion. Noise from the iPod, even though having a hard drive is not an issue with the Micromemo.  SignatureAdrian > > Griffin makes a mic that clips on to the bottom of some Ipods. I was > > wondering if anyone has tried it or some other mic accessory? Being [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > line level and using an external mic through a proper preamp or mixer > avoids the hiss. So the Ipod doesn't have enough gain, at least for low level recordings. Hadn't thought of that. It would be far preferable to have some mics built in though like the iTalk from Griffen. I wonder how the 2 products compare? > The other factor for serious recording is that the > input level is not controllable by the user as it is automatic. I guess that's the same with all the Ipods. It would be easy, you would think, for Apple to add that into the menus of future models. Let's hope they do. > Though > it ususually gets it right you could not depend on this for guaranteed > professional work, in my opinion. Noise from the iPod, even though > having a hard drive is not an issue with the Micromemo. Yes - of course not for pro work. But for catching somebody talking (giving directions for example) or recording simple acoustical musical performances, it might give surprisingly good results. In article <replytogroup-89EB66.20005428092007@news.lga.highwinds-media.com>, > > > Griffin makes a mic that clips on to the bottom of some Ipods. I was > > > wondering if anyone has tried it or some other mic accessory? Being [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > (giving directions for example) or recording simple acoustical musical > performances, it might give surprisingly good results. I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and occasionally some recordings made with the group early in the season. We use a member's equipment for recording the group. But I've used a Griffin iMic with my 4g iPod to record half a dozen altos standing around a keyboard. Quick and dirty, easy to edit with SoundStudio and give the group CDs of what they'd just rehearsed not long afterward. The sound is nothing to brag about, but it does the job. SignatureBob Ball If you want to think positive thoughts, surround yourself with positive people. If you want to email me, eliminate the negative. > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > SoundStudio and give the group CDs of what they'd just rehearsed not > long afterward. The sound is nothing to brag about, but it does the job. I'm getting confused here, the iMic is a USB audio input for Macs. Are you talking about something like the iTalkPro? Greg SignatureTicketmaster and Ticketweb suck, but everyone knows that: http://ticketmastersucks.org Dethink to survive - Mclusky > > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm getting confused here, the iMic is a USB audio input for Macs. Are you > talking about something like the iTalkPro? Yes probably. What were they thinking when they named it an iMic. Probably it was brought out before the iTalk. Now they probably wish they had called it something more relevant. Though many people buy it for its input flexibility. In article <replytogroup-2AAA80.03040829092007@news.lga.highwinds-media.com>, > > > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > > > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > they had called it something more relevant. Though many people buy it > for its input flexibility. <Wince!> Yes, it was the original iTalk. It was intended for recording speech, not music, and it's monaural. Still does the job of recording music where perfection isn't needed. I've also used iMic, but for recording from vinyl or tape. SignatureBob Ball If you want to think positive thoughts, surround yourself with positive people. If you want to email me, eliminate the negative. > > > > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > > > > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > > > long afterward. The sound is nothing to brag about, but it does the > > > > job. Is the iTalk mono only? No stereo? Only 1 mic built in? Looks like its stereo for the later generation iTalk Pro. > <Wince!> Yes, it was the original iTalk. It was intended for recording > speech, not music, and it's monaural. Still does the job of recording > music where perfection isn't needed. I've also used iMic, but for > recording from vinyl or tape. In article <replytogroup-25F6D0.09144230092007@news.lga.highwinds-media.com>, > > > > > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > > > > > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > music where perfection isn't needed. I've also used iMic, but for > > recording from vinyl or tape. The original iTalk records only in monaural .wav, and with a low bitrate. I recall that recording using Linux on the iPod is supposed to overcome the bitrate restriction. SignatureBob Ball If you want to think positive thoughts, surround yourself with positive people. If you want to email me, eliminate the negative. > In article > <replytogroup-25F6D0.09144230092007@news.lga.highwinds-media.com>, [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > bitrate. I recall that recording using Linux on the iPod is supposed to > overcome the bitrate restriction. Yes, that confirms what I read. Thanks. I wonder if there are any very small quality mics that could plug into the Belkin iPod mic adaptor. You could have the iPod hidden in a shirt pocket with the mic poking out for some clandestine recording with very high quality possibilities. > Is the iTalk mono only? No stereo? Only 1 mic built in? Looks like > its stereo for the later generation iTalk Pro. Just look up the spec on the Web. The newer iTalk Pro is stereo 16bit 44.1kHz, like the Micromemo but without built in speakers. SignatureAdrian > > > > Griffin makes a mic that clips on to the bottom of some iPods > > > > called the iTalk. I was [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > > The other factor for serious recording is that the > > > input level is not controllable by the user as it is automatic. So what is needed is an input level control built into the mic perhaps. > > > Though it ususually gets it right you could not depend on this > > > for guaranteed professional work, in my opinion. Noise from [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > SoundStudio and give the group CDs of what they'd just rehearsed not > long afterward. The sound is nothing to brag about, but it does the job. How is the sound lacking? I remember recording live music with ultra cheap mics plugged into a VHS-HiFi VCR several years ago. The dynamics of the playback sound were surprising. Actually everything about it was surprisingly good. Frequency response was lacking a bit obviously because of the mics. I can't even imagine how it would have sounded with top end mics, and played back through high quality horn speakers! Eerie I'm sure. If you're ever heard the Sheffield Drum Record played back on top end horn speakers with high end audiophile electronics and a superb moving coil cartridge mounted on a highly isolated turntable, you'll understand. > So what is needed is an input level control built into the mic perhaps. No. There would be no problem doing that but it wouldn't help the (slight) background hiss issue, and you would end up with the iPod auto gain trying to compensate for the lower signal coming in! SignatureAdrian > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > SoundStudio and give the group CDs of what they'd just rehearsed not > long afterward. The sound is nothing to brag about, but it does the job. The Griffin iMic can't connect to an iPod (4g or any other version) as far as I know. There were some memo taking audio input devices for the 4g but I wasn't aware of any which would work with an iMic interface nor provide for 44.1k sample rate recording. Maybe you could give some more specifics about the recording setup. SignatureAdrian > > I have some responsibility for preparing some rehearsal CDs for my > > choir, using commercial recordings, our own previous CDs and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Maybe you could give some more specifics about the recording setup. As I just posted, I mis-wrote: It was iTalk, not iMIc. MY Apologies for the confusion. SignatureBob Ball If you want to think positive thoughts, surround yourself with positive people. If you want to email me, eliminate the negative. > So the Ipod doesn't have enough gain, at least for low level > recordings. Hadn't thought of that. It would be far preferable to > have some mics built in though like the iTalk from Griffen. I wonder > how the 2 products compare? The mic gain issue is almost certainly determined by the Micromemo or whatever interface is being used. It is highly unlikely that you are going to get a high quality mic preamp in one of these tiny add-ons. The automatic input level issue will also influence hiss level as it may choose a conservative gain setting to give plenty of headroom but thereby raising the noise floor. The Micromemo is more than adequate for the recording examples you described. The Micromemo has a built-in mic on a flexi-stalk as well as allowing external. It has much better specs than most of the Griffin stuff but I see there is a a Griffin iTalk Pro which seems similar. It doesn't indicate whether it has switchable mic/line level though. SignatureAdrian |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.