Recording movie clip playing percussion instrument on IPad Pro

R

Richard Biron

New member
Hi,
I play Handpan percussion and I would like to record video of me playing, and at the same time, add some reverb and delay effects on the audio. I am using an iPad Pro with lightning connector.
What would be the best set up,I need (budget). App, microphone etc ? Thanks for your help.
Richard
 
Richard Biron said:
Hi,
I play Handpan percussion and I would like to record video of me playing, and at the same time, add some reverb and delay effects on the audio. I am using an iPad Pro with lightning connector.
What would be the best set up,I need (budget). App, microphone etc ? Thanks for your help.
Richard
Click to expand...

Hi Richard, do you own a PC or mac? If so you will be far better off to use either of those with an Audio Interface and microphone. The Tascam 2X2 and a Shure SM58* will set you back about £220 but you will need cables,mic stand, headphones (but some form of speaker monitoring for post tracking tweaks would be vastly better) .

I don't know the "iThing" /app market AT ALL but doubt there is anything for video/sound recording that is worthwhile? I think Reaper can do basic video and sound? There are 30 day free trials of MAGIX Vegas (was Sony) and Camtasia. The Tascam comes with a basic version of Cubase but I don't know if it runs any video?

*Or a Small Diaphragm Capacitor microphone e.g. AKG Perception 170. Capacitor mics give a wider, flatter response and will be "crisper" for percussion.

Dave.
 
The problem with using pads for recording is that they also need to playback at the same time, and they're poorly designed for this. The mics are not actually all that bad. First thing is to to a test. You need to connect it to something with decent audio for replay - quality hi-fi or really nice sounding headphones. Record a bit of your playing - the snag will be that the best distance for sound might be the wrong distance for the camera. If you can find the magic distance, and liver with the picture composition at this point then you can record away. You will struggle to do meaningful editing and add nice reverb in the iPad, but transfer the video to a computer, with again, a decent hifi system, for listening - and you can add reverb in an app running on the computer. Audacity is free, others available cheaply. Away you go.

If the quality of the audio is not to your liking (and it probably won't be) then do what Dave suggests - and look at a proper recording system. Adding reverb to a built in mic that might sound a bit tinny, really isn't nice!
 
Unless you are tying to dive deep into home recording, I would use the i-pad and the included GarageBand software. Get a decent set of headphones, and take a look at the Apogee MiC96. Apogee works and plays well with Mac and makes very good products. I believe their MiC96 comes with a lighting connector.

It's not a perfect system, but it will get you started. If, at some point, you want to upgrade to a full-sized system, you can transfer what you've learned in GarageBand to the desktop version. You can even upgrade to Apple's flagship recording software, Logic. If you go that route, I would also suggest Apogee's line of budget interfaces, including Element and Duet.
 
I would say well over £200 for a USB mic IS diving pretty deep! The OP can get a much more versatile and flexible AI+mic for about the same money.

The Duet is a lovely bit of kit but so it should be at £500. I see great moment is made for the mic's 96kHz capability? Do not want to start THAT cow again but certainly a beginner will be well happy with 24 bits and 44.1kHz as are the vast majority of recording folks. Maybe 48kHz as video is involved.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
I would say well over £200 for a USB mic IS diving pretty deep! The OP can get a much more versatile and flexible AI+mic for about the same money.

The Duet is a lovely bit of kit but so it should be at £500. I see great moment is made for the mic's 96kHz capability? Do not want to start THAT cow again but certainly a beginner will be well happy with 24 bits and 44.1kHz as are the vast majority of recording folks. Maybe 48kHz as video is involved.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Well, he seems intent on getting a lightning-capable mic and doing things the simple way at first. There may be cheaper lightning mics out there but the Apogee Mic is the one I'm most familiar with. It retails for just over 200USD. Apogee is well known for their quality converters, and it's a pretty basic suggestion.

Garageband should be sitting on his i-pad already. So why start looking for other applications? Keep it simple. Go with what you have. And, to me at least, sending him down the interface road sounds a little too complicated and could be impractical in terms of portability. The Apogee Mic comes with it's own small tripod. So all he has to do is plugin the mic, figure out a way to station the i-pad and go.
 
I saw a pretty good video of a guy playing an electric guitar done with an iPad and Shure MV88. What helped a lot IMO was that he got an extension cable and mounted the mic away from the iPad. I think any mic that gave you flexibility in placement independent of the iPad (placement optimized for video recording) is going to improve your chance of good results.
 
dwillis45 said:
Well, he seems intent on getting a lightning-capable mic and doing things the simple way at first. There may be cheaper lightning mics out there but the Apogee Mic is the one I'm most familiar with. It retails for just over 200USD. Apogee is well known for their quality converters, and it's a pretty basic suggestion.

Garageband should be sitting on his i-pad already. So why start looking for other applications? Keep it simple. Go with what you have. And, to me at least, sending him down the interface road sounds a little too complicated and could be impractical in terms of portability. The Apogee Mic comes with it's own small tripod. So all he has to do is plugin the mic, figure out a way to station the i-pad and go.
Click to expand...

Don't think Richard said he needed "portability"?* The Apogee gear is high quality indeed but I doubt OP will hear any difference from a $150 interface unless he has monitors and room comprable in quality and price!

Rob has mentioned the complicatons of sound and video and the limitations of phone recording. Peeps tend to try all sorts of scenarios but a good mic and a decent AI is almost always the simplest and best way to go.

*I could put my NI KA6, AKG P150s and a dynamic plus cables and laptop in a lappy bag. P92 cans round my neck, ready to go sir!

Dave.
 
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