If you’ve spent anytime at all on YouTube watching videos of guitarists you know that they range in quality from quick and dirty iPhone videos to more elaborate multi-screen, multi-track presentations.
Until this week and being quarantined and all with the Coronavirus pandemic, I had never really given much thought to posting my own videos or how one might even go about doing so.
Over the past few days, I’ve hit on a pretty good middle-ground between the quick and dirty iPhone video and the more elaborate, high-production quality videos and figured I’d share how I do it.
Here’s an example of a video I recently recorded of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright using the setup detailed below.
Using External Mic With Garageband Ipad Air
- It’s also perfectly possible to use GarageBand’s microphone option to record an acoustic instrument, such as a violin or a tuba, but the quality will never be great, because you’re relying on the.
- The external microphones featured are Saramonic Blink 500 and Audio Technical AT2020. Check out more reviews on Amazon.
I’m going to break this HowTo into 3 sections:
- Part 1, recording guitar and vocal into GarageBand on iPad using 2 external microphones
- Part 2, recording the video component
- Part 3, synchronizing the audio and video component and publishing the final product.
Part 1
Recording guitar and vocal into GarageBand on iPad using 2 external microphones
Record voice memos using the built-in microphone, a supported headset, or an external microphone. Can you record music with an iPad? Using the Audio Recorder, you can record your voice, an instrument, or any other sound using the microphone on your iPad, and play it back in GarageBand.
I record my audio using Garageband. By design I don’t do a lot of tweaking to the default settings. I use the preset “lead vocal” setting for the vocals and the default “nice room” setting for the guitar. I don’t fiddle with the EQ.
Here are some details from Apple on using the “Audio Recorder” function of GarageBand on iPad. Some very useful stuff here and worth looking over.
Recording into an iPad Pro with external microphones requires some kind of Audio Interface to convert the XLR or 1/4″ inputs of your microphones into USB for the iPad.
Using External Mic With Garageband Ipad Pro
I have an older Zoom H4n Pro that does double duty as field recorder and an audio interface (here’s how to set it up). I got lucky, I had no idea it had the audio interface feature when I bought it, but it does.
So I didn’t need to buy an interface. If you need one, for under $200, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is referenced on a lot of websites/videos as being a good safe bet.
Once you have your microphones and XLR cables, here’s a diagram detailing how I get them into the iPad.
Once you have all the hardware hooked up, you can just record into GarageBand.
You can, of course, go down some really deep rabbit holes of which microphones to use, mic placement, eq, etc. Feel free. I’m using a Shure SM-58 and a Sennheiser 609 that I usually use for mic’ing up my amplifier but seems to work just fine for vocals. Very easy to start chasing marginal gains with this kind of stuff. My advice is get it good enough and start recording.
There are a couple of minor settings changes you need to make in GarageBand to do simultaneous multitrack recordings. This guy has a fantastic video. If you’re not super-familiar with GarageBand and don’t want to through your iPad out the window trying to sort out multitrack recording on your own, I highly encourage you to sit through this guy’s tutorial.
How To Use A Microphone With Garageband Ipad
Ok, so that’s the audio part! I’ll write up the video and synchronization stuff as soon as I can.
How do I record guitar on my iPad?
A simple little device that converts your analog electric guitar signal to USB, which can then be plugged into your iPad. Just run your standard 1/4″ guitar cable directly from your instrument into the UCG102, and you can plug that into your iPad (via the Camera Connection Kit).
Can I plug my guitar directly into my iPad?
Connecting one of these interfaces to your device is easy: Just plug it in to the dock connector, plug your guitar or bass into its 1/4” input jack, and you’re ready to rock. … If you plan on using both MIDI and audio in your live rig, make sure you buy an interface that supports both.
Why can’t I hear my guitar on GarageBand?
Feel free to select another track and enable its Input Monitoring button to hear its sound. If you see nothing in the meter and your guitar’s volume knob is turned up, choose GarageBand > Preferences > Audio/MIDI and make sure that the Output Device and Input Device pop-up menus are configured correctly.
Does GarageBand have guitar effects?
GarageBand includes a variety of amp models that simulate the sounds of famous guitar and bass amplifiers. When you create an audio track for electric guitar or bass, you can choose patches with an amp model and one or more stompbox pedal effects.
What is the best Guitar Interface for iPad?
Using External Mic With Garageband Ipad Mini
Best Audio Interfaces For IPAD
Using External Mic With Garageband Ipad Charger
- Tascam IXZ Audio Interface.
- Steinberg UR22MKII 2-Channel USB Interface.
- Yamaha AG03 3-Channel Audio Interface/Mixer.
- IConnectAUDIO4+ Audio Interface.
- Steinberg UR-RT4 Audio Interface.
Can I use my iPad as a recording device?
With the Voice Memos app , you can use iPad as a portable recording device to record personal notes, classroom lectures, musical ideas, and more. … Record voice memos using the built-in microphone, a supported headset, or an external microphone.
Can you record music with an iPad?
Using the Audio Recorder, you can record your voice, an instrument, or any other sound using the microphone on your iPad, and play it back in GarageBand. You can also record sounds using an external microphone connected to your iPad.
How do you record acoustic guitar?
Start by placing one microphone around the 12th/14th fret and the other at the bridge pointing either at the body or towards the sound hole, 6 – 12 inches away. Adjust each mic so that they sound good on their own. When mixing the guitar sound, often each mic will be panned hard left and hard right.