Hi AF Community! Does anyone have a tried and true method they recommend for recording taped auditions? Up to this point, I have only used my iPhone, which sounds okay, but I always feel like dynamics and balance are inaccurate, especially when recording chamber music. I’m looking for the minimum equipment I need for good quality audition recordings, with the option for just audio or audio and video.
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AUDITION FORUM
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I use a USB mic that i got on amazon, and i absolutely love it, but for those who dont have a laptop, you can buy a dongle that plugs into either your phone/tablet that has usb slots on it. Thats what i do with mine, and it comes out great.
I recommend investing in a nice USB microphone. You can spend more and get a pair of stereo mics and an interface and all that, if you have the resources and want to get the highest quality, but USB mics are more affordable and easier to set up. And it will be a big improvement over your phone mic, for sure. You can still video record with your phone, but just capture the audio from a USB mic and sync them together using iMovie or whatever software you want.
You’ll find options from Blue Yeti, Shure, Audio Technica, Sennheiser etc for $200 or less. I’d also be curious to hear if anyone has used the Audigo mics (that are all over social media these days) for audition tape recording.
An inexpensive Zoom field recorder for audio will make a drastic improvement over your iPhone. I've used the H4N Pro for years, but even the H1N at around $70 USD records at a high quality that you and the people who listen to your recording will notice. If video is necessary, take the video on your phone, and combine audio/video in a video editing software, or look for a field recorder with a camera built in.