Mics for iPad

niwenomian

niwenomian

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I'm looking to buy a mic to improve the sound of my iPad (mini 2) and iPhone (6) recordings. My priorities are convenience and reasonable price. Convenience means small form factor and minimal or no wires or cables. Price would ideally be under $100. I'm using it with Garageband and the native video camera apps.

I started my search with the blue snowball, but it looks like it won't plug directly into the lightning port on the devices. Blue does make the Mikey, which appears to fit my priorities. A friend suggested the Apogee MiC, but it's out of my price range.

Anyone have experience with the Blue Mikey or have a suggestion for another lightning connector mic? I also see some "xy" style mics, but don't know if this is something I should be interested in.

Appreciate any advice or experience.....
 
I just picked up a Shure MV5. Comes with both lightning and pc connections and works well using my iPhone, iPad -GarageBand - and in Windows. No other interface required. I really like its compact size. It was well within you budget on an Amazon deal.
 
Although, it doesn't use the X/Y pattern, the Shure MV88 is a stereo mic which allows several different patterns to be used. It's a little above the $100 price at $150. It's a great mic that directly attaches.

That said, I prefer the MV5 $99 or MV51 $199.00. The cable allows me to move the mics around finding the sweet spot, without the bulk of the ipad or phone. They also both come with USB and lightning cables. So you can also use them with Mac or Windows computers. Also, all of the MOTIV products have DSP which is configurable through the iOS app. There are also presets built in for the non-technical.

http://www.shure.com/americas/motiv/overview

Disclaimer, I am the Shure Rep in Florida. So, if you were to buy a Shure product from an Authorized Shure Dealer in Florida, I would benefit.

That said I own and use Blue and Tascam products, both of which have lightning and USB products. I'm sure they're products are first class as well.
 
With the $29 camera connection dongle (USB to lightning) you can use just about any USB mic you want. Heck, if you had a traditional XLR there are plenty of input boxes for those, too, like the PreSonus AudioBox iOne or iTwo.
 
I was thinking that it would be more convenient to have something that attaches directly to the iPad without cables. Would it be better to have something that attaches by cord or cable so that I could reposition the microphone without having to also move the iPad?
 
With the $29 camera connection dongle (USB to lightning) you can use just about any USB mic you want. Heck, if you had a traditional XLR there are plenty of input boxes for those, too, like the PreSonus AudioBox iOne or iTwo.
Click to expand...
All true!

I love the Presonus iTwo! It does up the complexity....You're adding to the amount of cables, but also adding flexibility. Note: The iPad can't power the iTwo, alone. You need to plug in the USB connector to a power brick or in the wall.

Disclaimer, I am the Presonus Rep in Florida. So, if you were to buy a Presonus product from an Authorized Presonus Dealer in Florida, I would benefit.
 
The simplest approach is to get a microphone that connects directly to the iPad with a Lightning cable. This limits your choice, but you won't need an adapter, an additional cable (XLR microphone cables tend to be thick), and an audio interface (which may alsi require an additional power supply). I went on the same journey and settled for an Apogee Mic 96k when I learned that it can also be used with a Windows and OSX machine. I really only use it with my iPad, though, and it's extremely convenient, which is what I aimed for (that, and not needing extra stuff). You plug it in and it overrides the internal mic, and you can pull it out hot and the internal mic is active again. A used one may be closer to your price range.
 
I used a Blue Mikey before, and I see there is Zoom version as well. The Blue Mikey ($99) worked very well for me, and the Zoom ($89) looks pretty good too.

lightning blue mic.jpg
Lightning Zoom iQ6-large.jpg
 
niwenomian said:
I was thinking that it would be more convenient to have something that attaches directly to the iPad without cables. Would it be better to have something that attaches by cord or cable so that I could reposition the microphone without having to also move the iPad?
Click to expand...

I think an external mic that can be mounted, such as on a tripod, offers flexibility. And then your USB mic can be used with other devices...computer, android, whatever.

And the cable is just a USB cable...nothing fancy...and you can leave the iPad dongle plugged into it.

Also...the latest USB adapters also allow you to charge the iPad (not sure this is $29).
 
niwenomian said:
I was thinking that it would be more convenient to have something that attaches directly to the iPad without cables. Would it be better to have something that attaches by cord or cable so that I could reposition the microphone without having to also move the iPad?
Click to expand...

I tried the Shure MV88 that attaches directly to the iPad before the MV5. It is a real nifty setup and I really liked the mic but it does limit you as to where you can place the mic if you are recording video too. That's why I went with the MV5 with the cable....and it also attaches to a standard tripod. I just found it easier to adjust the mic separate from the recording device.

There are lots of great options - some that have been mentioned. Booli has a ton of posts with very in-depth and astute recommendations- a quick search might answer any lingering questions you have. I think he favors the Apogee 96k. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend ( for me it was an easy choice @ $70 CAD on a one time deal).
 
Choirguy said:
With the $29 camera connection dongle (USB to lightning) you can use just about any USB mic you want. Heck, if you had a traditional XLR there are plenty of input boxes for those, too, like the PreSonus AudioBox iOne or iTwo.
Click to expand...

I had read about a year ago these adapters were getting harder to find, but I have one and have experimented with both the Blue Yeti Pro and Marshall USB. 009. Both sound exceptional recorded into Garage Band. They are at the higher end of the cost spectrum, but the sound quality really impressed me. I have recorded with a friend on the Apogee 96 K which sounded great as well. The nice thing about Apogee is that they have kind of partnered with Apple and so their products are extremely easy to use on Apple hardware.
 
If you do get a CCK, definitely buy the one from Apple that Choirguy linked. I once tried to get away with cheaper third party alternatives, because the price Apple charges is on the exploitative side, but the results ranged from non-functional for the purpose to poor and unreliable. In the end, I grudgingly bought Apple's original.
 
Mivo said:
The simplest approach is to get a microphone that connects directly to the iPad with a Lightning cable. This limits your choice, but you won't need an adapter, an additional cable (XLR microphone cables tend to be thick), and an audio interface (which may alsi require an additional power supply). I went on the same journey and settled for an Apogee Mic 96k when I learned that it can also be used with a Windows and OSX machine. I really only use it with my iPad, though, and it's extremely convenient, which is what I aimed for (that, and not needing extra stuff). You plug it in and it overrides the internal mic, and you can pull it out hot and the internal mic is active again. A used one may be closer to your price range.
Click to expand...

This was the mic recommended to me initially. I balked at the price, though. After reading through these comments and searching through other threads I think this sounds like the best bet for me even if it takes me a bit longer to save up for it.
 
The Apogee website sells refurbished mics. Highly recommended if you're looking to save a few bucks.
 
photoshooter said:
The Apogee website sells refurbished mics. Highly recommended if you're looking to save a few bucks.
Click to expand...

Easiest, simplest and best sound will be with the Apogee MiC. Apogee has been doing pro audio for about 30 yrs and their products are no joke. Many sound engineers (including myself) are very impressed and pleased with their products.

I use the Apogee MiC, as well as a few other setups in my own recording. This topic has been previously discussed in another thread about one year ago with 101 posts, see here: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?120478-I-d-like-to-buy-a-mic

and here is the search result of pointing Google at the UU forum, where this has been both stickied and discussed previously in another 285 different threads: https://www.google.com/#q=allintitle:"mic"+site:forum.ukuleleunderground.com

If you want to save time, money and frustration, while ALSO learning about recording with current technology and all the options available to you, in a whole spectrum of both price points and complexity vs. simplicity, you would do yourself a great service to fire up the coffee pot and buckle down and read, read read. Some may not make sense and we are all happy to answer questions, but like most things in life the following rules apply:

"buy cheap, buy twice" and "garbage in, garbage out"

Good luck, and please come back with questions. Many folks here on UU are happy to share knowledge and experience. :)
 
Side note:

Booli was the one who steered me (and probably others) to the refurb deals on Apogee's website. I've been extremely pleased with mine.
 
photoshooter said:
Side note:

Booli was the one who steered me (and probably others) to the refurb deals on Apogee's website. I've been extremely pleased with mine.
Click to expand...

Going up the food-chain, fellow UU brother and Seasonista libranian (Andrew Morse) originally tipped me off to the Apogee reurbs around the time of Black Friday in 2014 or thereabouts...

It seems a constant thing for Apogee to offer refurbs now, since prior to when Andrew told me, I had not seen them for sale before, and now they offer them pretty regularly.

Having said that, my Apogee MiC and Apogee JAM were both purchased as refurbs back in Dec 2014, and still going strong now with no issues at all just over 2 yrs later (fingers crossed), and I use them like every 3-4 days (with iPad, Mac and Linux).

Apogee products all come with a USB cable, and depending upon when you bought yours, either the 30-pin or Lightning Apple connector cable as well. If you want another or additional different cable they are 'only' $30 on their web site.

I can also confirm that the USB cable works perfectly fine with the iPad when using the genuine Apple iPad CCK (Camera Connector Kit), just the same as the iOS-dedicated cable...

The Apogee MiC is about the size of a standard size 'D' battery.

MiC-837x550.jpg


http://www.apogeedigital.com/shop
 
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