iPhone recording for audio book reading

Moonbeam076

New member
Hi All,

I’m slowly trying to get a new biz going of doing reading for audio books. I want to set up using my iPhone. These are my selections so far but I need some help on how to make it all work.

Shure SM7B connected to a CL1 Cloudlifter connected to a Shure X2u XLR-to-USB Signal Adapter then to my iPhone. With this setup do I need a Moto M2 interface and if so where does it get connected in the chain?

Thanks for helping a newbie.
 
Hi All,
I want to set up using my iPhone.

With this setup do I need a Moto M2 interface and if so where does it get connected in the chain?
.

First question: isn't a Moto M2 a smartphone?
Second question: what recording software are you planning to use to record, edit and export your audio?

It appears you have researched the SM7B, and seem to realize it needs lots of clean gain (CL-1). I inferred that you also realized the CL-1 needs phantom power (X 2u).

Third question: how will you connect the USB to the iPhone? <<<<- disregard. I see they do make a USB to Lighning adapter. I have never thought/had a need for one.

All that to say- if you are serious about recording audiobooks, you may find a greater need for a dedicated interface and recording/editing computer. When I am editing a 30-minute chapter of a book, for 1-2 hours, I definitely appreciate the twin 23" video monitors, keyboard, and mouse.
Dale
 
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First question: isn't a Moto M2 a smartphone?
Second question: what recording software are you planning to use to record, edit and export your audio?

It appears you have researched the SM7B, and seem to realize it needs lots of clean gain (CL-1). I inferred that you also realized the CL-1 needs phantom power (X 2u).

Third question: how will you connect the USB to the iPhone? <<<<- disregard. I see they do make a USB to Lighning adapter. I have never thought/had a need for one.

All that to say- if you are serious about recording audiobooks, you may find a greater need for a dedicated interface and recording/editing computer. When I am editing a 30-minute chapter of a book, for 1-2 hours, I definitely appreciate the twin 23" video monitors, keyboard, and mouse.
Dale


I meant Motu M2 interface. My plan was to start with very short books to see how things go so I was looking into just using garage band since the edits shouldn’t be too bad in the beginning. But I agree that is a better long term plan for sure to have the monitors.

I was just trying to see if an interface is truly needed for a beginner small setup.
 
You caught me... I knew there is a MotU M2 interface... I got stuck on the phone idea when you mentioned trying to do this on the iPhone, and thought you were considering the new Motorola Moto M2 that is set to release.

Okay- that aside: all of the gear that you are considering; SM7B, CL, X2 ($600'ish) can produce good results. I am afraid you will realize frustration, to get good results, by recording to a phone, editing, and trying to export quality audio. The tedious part of audiobook production is the editing. For me, the editing time is about 2-3X the per-finished-hour (PFH) of the book. Audiobook recording is a marathon, not a sprint..

Although not impossible, GarageBand has limitations for editing/exporting audiobooks, to industry standards, as it is designed for music. At bare minimum, I would reccomend Audacity (free), an audio interface (which can replace the $100 Shure x2U), and PC/laptop, to get started in book recording. If you have never recorded an audiobook and want to practice your recording chops, LibriVox.org is a good place to get practice. This organization of volunteers records books that are in the public domain, for release on Archive.org.
Dale
 
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Thanks so much Dale. This post is Extremely helpful!! I didn’t know there was a resource like this out there. Thank you
 
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I have used Reaper, by Cockos, for the past 8 years. It is free to try for 60-days, then $60.00 to buy. Reaper is a full, professional-level digital audio workstation (DAW). It has a steep learning curve. If you are starting out, I would recommend Audacity (free).

If you get the hang of Audacity, it will make it easier to transition to a more powerful DAW. In fact, I started with Audacity and still use it as a third-party audio editor. It has a plug-in that I use to check for ACX specs.
Dale
 
It is my pleasure. Hopefully, the information will help save you some money and editing-heartaches.
Dale
 
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