Good iPhone app for recording the room?

[ModuMan]

I used to use MusiciansKit which was pretty handy, had some nice features and I could use it to make half-decent room records just to have something.

Tried to launch it today and... it's not available any longer.

So, what is a good phone app for simple recordings?

 

[DWBass]

Dolby On

 

[silky smoove]

The voice memo app works just fine for this and comes with iOS.

 

[ModuMan]

I just found that I could switch the Voice Memo to lossless, so that's a big help.

I spent a while looking at various apps and between data collection, ease of transfer and complaints about... everything... I honestly didn't see a great alternative.

 

[s_wood]

This mic from Shure, though not an app, is a huge improvement over the iPhone’s internal mic. And it comes with an app.
MV88 - Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone

 

[ModuMan]

Interesting! I guess there's a ratio of "Stuff I have to also bring and think about" to "it sounds better!" that needs to be considered but if the results are there then it seems pretty manageable.

 

[DirkP]

The voice memo app or even garageband are good proposals. Garageband offers effects, too. I own the Shure MV88 and even the expensive Lewitt DGT650, but I have to admit that the mics in the more recent iPhones sound surprisingly good. I have an iPhone 11. When I bought the Lewitt, I still had an iPhone 4s and the mics had an inbuild high-pass filter that killed all bass frequencies. Made sense for phone conversations, but not for music.
Both the Shure and the Lewitt are still the better mics, but the difference - in a good room - is smaller than many might think.

 

[drwv]

I've had great results with the excellent Shure MV88+ Video Kit hardware + software, if you don't mind attaching extra hardware to your iPhone.

It's got a very high-quality mid-side capsule that lets you tweak stereo width while also mixing to mono well. Comes with a wind screen and supports variable-HPF for outdoor use. Surprisingly high quality kit with neoprene travel case, aluminum tripod, sturdy-ish iPhone clamp that lets you orient it (and the mid) for portrait or landscape video, and cables for iPhone lightening, Android microUSB, or USB3.

You can configure the mic using Shure's recording app, then use any other iPhone app for recording/streaming with it, or use Shure's audio or video recording app.

The only downside is that you can't power the iPhone when the mic is plugged in, so your recording length is limited to your iPhone battery.

(Note that the MV88+ is a totally different product than the MV88)

FYI, the MV88+ looks like it's $50 off this weekend, and is a great deal at $200!

 

[DirkP]

I've had great results with the excellent Shure MV88+ Video Kit hardware + software, if you don't mind attaching extra hardware to your iPhone.

It's got a very high-quality mid-side capsule that lets you tweak stereo width while also mixing to mono well. Comes with a wind screen and supports variable-HPF for outdoor use. Surprisingly high quality kit with neoprene travel case, aluminum tripod, sturdy-ish iPhone clamp that lets you orient it (and the mid) for portrait or landscape video, and cables for iPhone lightening, Android microUSB, or USB3.

You can configure the mic using Shure's recording app, then use any other iPhone app for recording/streaming with it, or use Shure's audio or video recording app.

The only downside is that you can't power the iPhone when the mic is plugged in, so your recording length is limited to your iPhone battery.

(Note that the MV88+ is a totally different product than the MV88)

FYI, the MV88+ looks like it's $50 off this weekend, and is a great deal at $200!

The mics as such are identical. The + version is more versatile. I guess in cases, where the battery doesn't last long enough, you could use the usb-connection of the MV88+ with the camera-connection kit from Apple (new version) and still power the phone with a powerbank or external power supply. But the battery should last for hours on a newer generation iPhone.

 

[One Way]

I’ve used the MV88 for several years and it has been very reliable. I record a WAV file in the Shure app and make final tone adjustments to the recording using DAW software.
Regarding power, I start a rehearsal session with the phone battery fully charged, click record (either audio only or sometimes 4K video) and then adjust the phone screen brightness to it’s minimum setting. No problem having the iPhone 12 pro battery last 3 hours after learning to make the screen brightness adjustment