Sometimes it's easy to forget...

So.. reality check hit me today. This guy is playing a laminate kala ka-t, directly into an iPhone.

I think Im gonna watch this guy every time I think my recording equipment isn't good enough, or I need to upgrade..... anything.... Need to browse less, and play more. Just thought I'd throw this out there. What he gets out of so little is amazing.

Spookelele, that was priceless! Confirms what I have known for some time. I could have stuck with my $70 15yr old Lanik LU 21-B and saved myself a lot of $$$. Thousands$ later and I still sound like rubbish.

spookelele said:

Need to browse less, and play more.

Click to expand...

+1
Add me to this list.
I do like practicing and noodling but I usually do that after the little one goes to sleep.
And I do a quick read through the forums because I enjoy reading what is going on in the UU community. (Added bonus: I love observing human behavior in forums)

bunnyf said:

Spookelele, that was priceless! Confirms what I have known for some time. I could have stuck with my $70 15yr old Lanik LU 21-B and saved myself a lot of $$$. Thousands$ later and I still sound like rubbish.

Click to expand...

Haha, perhaps that is why I haven't upgraded. I don't think I am "good enough" for a better instrument. (Although a Pono MGT is no slouch)

As far as the sound of a uke: there was a great thread recently about how players influence an instrument. It was a good read.
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?110094-Player-s-influence-on-instrument-s-sound

That was incredible! Winter is coming!

Very nice and creative. Sad to say I had never heard the Game Of Thrones Theme before. I've never seen the show either. It's a very interesting piece of music. Who is the composer?

You speak the truth.

The guy in the video is amazing. He's a one man symphony.

I am impressed with how he does his arrangements. I do not listen to Metallica as a band. I know some of their songs. I listened to his Metallica cover. He squeezed some amazing tones out his ukulele.

spookelele said:

So.. reality check hit me today. This guy is playing a laminate kala ka-t, directly into an iPhone.

I think Im gonna watch this guy every time I think my recording equipment isn't good enough, or I need to upgrade..... anything.... Need to browse less, and play more. Just thought I'd throw this out there. What he gets out of so little is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXjp1W6JQ-o

Click to expand...

Awesome video!

BTW the Kala KA-T is the first uke I bought and even though I now have more than a dozen ukes in the 2 1/2 yrs since, this one still gets regular play and sounds even better now than when it was new.

Also, in his video of the 'Law & Order' theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT23bwUPHpU), you can see very prominently in the video that he is using an Apogee MiC ($199). I have one and can attest to the amazing fidelity that this mic can capture (works on Mac, iOS and Linux with no drivers, not sure about Windows). Apogee products are widely regarded among some of the best available and I am just a happy customer.

Thanks for sharing

'I've been telling people with an iPhone or IPad to record directly into it for a long time.

$200-300 worth of Apogee or other junk to record is fussy and unnecessary from everything I've seen and tried.

Some argue that there's too much ambient noise with direct recording. I've not had any ambient noise whatsoever; it's all as simple as proper mic placement. If one lives in a subway station, their mileage may vary.

Thanks for posting a video that drives the point home, spook.

coolkayaker1 said:

'I've been telling people with an iPhone or IPad to record directly into it for a long time.

$200-300 worth of Apogee or other junk to record is fussy and unnecessary from everything I've seen and tried

Click to expand...

Respectfully, I have to disagree with you.

The Apogee MiC and Apogee JAM connect via a SINGLE cable either to USB or to your iOS device. There's no fussing at all with multiple mics, mic stands, multiple XLR, USB and RCA cables and preamps and such, it's ONE cable and that's IT. That's why I use it, because of how easy it is to setup.

While a 'decent' recording can be had with the pinhole electret mic in an iOS device, a superior recording can be captured with a mic that has a 25mm diaphragm such as an Apogee MiC.

The active surface area that captures sound in an iPhone's/iPad's mic is only about 2mm in diameter. (I know first hand since I've taken dozens of them apart for family members to replace batteries and cracked screens with instructions and parts from ifixit.com)

The Apogee MiC's high-quality transducer element inside the mesh grill, is at least 10x the size of that inside any iOS device.

On average a larger surface area transducer will produce a more accurate capture of natural sound vs a smaller area transducer. This is simple physics, and generally accepted scientific fact.

However, most average folks lack the hearing acuity to hear any difference, and for them, ignorance is bliss.

*I* like the Apogee products and will use them to great effect.

Please don't bash specific products you've not had meaningful hands-on experience with, or even understand how and why they work the way that they do, it's not very nice...

Not unusual that amateurs compensate for their perceived lack of skill or progress by dropping money on the "problem"! I did that when I first was into Go (the Asian board game), importing stones and boards from China, and building up a library of around a hundred books on the subject (most way beyond my level of understanding). Kind of glad I did that, though, since it's a nice collection now with many out-of-print books!

Anyway, I do the same with ukuleles, just to a less extreme degree. I only have one expensive (over $1k), and I have no strong urge to buy more right now. I don't feel it's wasted money, either. We may not utilize these more costly instruments to the fullest or tap into their real potential, but they motivate us to play and practice -- and that leads to improvement. So in a roundabout way, expensive ukuleles do make us play better.

Mivo said:

Not unusual that amateurs compensate for their perceived lack of skill or progress by dropping money on the "problem"! I did that when I first was into Go (the Asian board game), importing stones and boards from China, and building up a library of around a hundred books on the subject (most way beyond my level of understanding). Kind of glad I did that, though, since it's a nice collection now with many out-of-print books!

Anyway, I do the same with ukuleles, just to a less extreme degree. I only have one expensive (over $1k), and I have no strong urge to buy more right now. I don't feel it's wasted money, either. We may not utilize these more costly instruments to the fullest or tap into their real potential, but they motivate us to play and practice -- and that leads to improvement. So in a roundabout way, expensive ukuleles do make us play better.

Click to expand...

Mivo - In case you are referring to me with regard to amateurs throwing money and gear at a problem...

...you may not be aware of my extensive technical detail in my posts here on this forum over the past 2 1/2 years (and MANY recently, just check my previous posts), that are a direct result of knowledge gained from my hands-on experience with all forms of media production (audio/video/film/music/photography/animation) and performance over the past 25+ yrs. So you can exclude me from this list of amateurs.

If you were referring to someone else, then I apologize for occupying your attention.

Please carry on...

Booli said:

Mivo - In case you are referring to me with regard to amateurs throwing money and gear at a problem...

Click to expand...

No, I wasn't referring to anyone in particular! I was describing something I have observed in just about any field and any hobby, whether it's sports, audio and music, cycling -- just anywhere, really. It's definitely something I do myself, too. It's not even about actual skill, just perceived skill (or the lack of it), dissatisfaction with the speed of progress, or the belief that these are results of insufficient gear, so we buy better gear.

It was not in reference to any specific person, or even meant to be negative or derogatory. I apologize if it seemed differently. (I also don't use the term "amateur" negative - to me, it's just someone not making a living from what they are doing, it's not automatically synonymous with lesser skill to me.)

Mivo said:

No, I wasn't referring to anyone in particular! I was describing something I have observed in just about any field and any hobby, whether it's sports, audio and music, cycling -- just anywhere, really. It's definitely something I do myself, too. It's not even about actual skill, just perceived skill (or the lack of it), dissatisfaction with the speed of progress, or the belief that these are results of insufficient gear, so we buy better gear.

It was not in reference to any specific person, or even meant to be negative or derogatory. I apologize if it seemed differently. (I also don't use the term "amateur" negative - to me, it's just someone not making a living from what they are doing, it's not automatically synonymous with lesser skill to me.)

Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying. Your reply and what you've said above is something that I truly appreciate.

Sorry if I came across as harsh or accusative, I have not have my morning coffee yet, so please accept my apology as well.

No worries. Mahalo :shaka:

Spookelele, thanks so much for posting this video. While I don`t dismiss the value of high quality ukes or recording equipment, this is an excellent reminder that these things are not an absolute necessity . I too will be listening to this video whenever UAS strikes......and just to remind myself how special the uke really is. This really made my day!!!!

Booli said:

Also, in his video of the 'Law & Order' theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT23bwUPHpU), you can see very prominently in the video that he is using an Apogee MiC ($199).

Click to expand...

Yes, in his newer vids he uses an apogee. The ones pre-august 2014, like the one I posted, he's recording directly into his iPhone on a little stand. There's some post he's doing on his mac, to add some reverb, and to drop some of the bass lines, but that doesn't change the fact that he CAN use a entry laminate uke, his iPhone mic, and talent to produce some very enjoyable music.

The point I was trying to share isn't that you can't get better quality from a studio recording setup. Obviously you can. The jaw dropper to me was how much you can do without all that. Sometimes we just need to do it, rather than make excuses about how what we've got isn't good enough, and cripple ourselves with doubt. This humble guy, with his humble setup, kicks some serious @$$ and cranked out some incredible stuff with just an entry instrument and his phone on a table.

In the comments section of this vid, he explains his recording setup, and editing. I was looking into examples of what people used to record their stuff, and when I realized what he'd done, I was stunned that he produced so many of his videos with just the ka-t, and an iPhone propped on a table. Alot of people start on budget/beginner stuff, and then the internet decieves us to believe we need to buy more to do more, when really music comes from a human, and not tech. That's the part that's easy to forget.

Is the built-in microphone of the iPad (Air 2) substantially worse than that of the iPhone? Because I can't seem to get recordings that are even remotely close to the quality heard in the video. I never had an iPhone.

Been considering to get the Apogee MiC 96k or the newer iRig Mic Studio for a while now, mostly just for the convenience of not needing an interface and additional cables when recording sounds with the iPad (mostly kalimba). Booli, do you have first hand experience with the Apogee? Would you say it is worth the €260 it costs? I have a Rode NT1-A, a SM57, and a Blue Baby Bottle (as well as a Zoom H6), for context.

keod said:

Spookelele, thanks so much for posting this video. While I don`t dismiss the value of high quality ukes or recording equipment, this is an excellent reminder that these things are not an absolute necessity . I too will be listening to this video whenever UAS strikes......and just to remind myself how special the uke really is. This really made my day!!!!

Click to expand...

Oh.. I don't mean to imply better instruments and gear isn't better. Obviously they are.
What I'm trying to imply in this post is that they are NOT fundamental to making and sharing excellent music.
I think a lot of people build artificial barriers in their head about why we can't do things (me definitely included), when really we can if we just try.

The one lesson I find myself learning over and over especially as I get older, is that the biggest thing holding me back from doing and trying things.. is me. It's not money, it's not gear, it's not ability (well sometimes), but mostly it's doubt/fear that's really mostly unfounded.