iPod HELP! Recording with an ipod

[Mr. Monsieur]

hey folks...

after a search of the forums, i still haven't found what i'm looking for...the answer to these two questions:

1) is it possible to use a normal mic (with the correct plug, of course) to record with the ipod or is it necessary to get the belkin mic or the griffin italk?

2) i've read complaints about the poor sound quality of the italk (and even worse, of the belkin)...i'd like to record live acoustic music and was wondering if anyone had had any luck doing this with the italk on its own or the italk with an external mic?

thanks in advance!

 

[antrabbit]

Belkin do this microphone input

But you're not going to have much control over recording levels, there's no meter to check whether you're distorting, and the sound quality is probably a bit hit and miss. If you're a songwriter and want to note down ideas quickly I would imagine it would be fine.

For quality recordings I'd get a firewire interface (Edirol or M-Audio are both got and reasonbly priced) and logic express for your iBook. You've still got the portability but you have a lot more control. That's how I do my recordings on my Powerbook on location and at home.

 

[Yebot]

Recording live music with an iPod is not worth your time - yet.

Some specs:
Recorded File Specs (iPod Specified)
8kHz, 16 bit mono WAV files

Two problems with this; 1. You can't record in stereo. 2. The 8kHz sampling rate means the sound quality will be about 5 times less than the quality of a CD (44.1kHz.)

Look for another solution.

There is hope however -> http://www.yebot.net/?p=9

 

[solvs]

Well, the cheapest I've seen is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855997406 but I don't know how good it is. The reason the iPod can't record higher quality is that the RIAA doesn't want you bringing your iPod to a concert and recording the show. Sucks, but Apple does say it's low quality, mostly for taking notes. I'd suggest a cheap standalone audio recorder. Some mp3 players have higher recording quality, but I don't know if they're any good. Doubt they would be much better than a $30 cassette recorder with a good mic. If you want something more professional sounding, it will cost more and be bigger than an iPod.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Well, the cheapest I've seen is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855997406 but I don't know how good it is. The reason the iPod can't record higher quality is that the RIAA doesn't want you bringing your iPod to a concert and recording the show. Sucks, but Apple does say it's low quality, mostly for taking notes.

What the heck does the RIAA have to do with it?
They don't dictate to Apple what recording bitrate that Apple can use. That was an engineering decision on Apple's part (and there's nothing Belkin or Griffin can do about it, 'cause its hardwired in the iPod.)

For an example of a MP3 recorder that will do stereo 24/96 http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html

(take that, RIAA conspiracy theorists )

 

[solvs]

(take that, RIAA conspiracy theorists )

Well, it's my conspiracy and I'm sticking to it. Perhaps I should have prefaced that with I've heard... And no, you're right, Belkin and Griffin have nothing to do with the limitation. It's all in Apple's firmware. Same with the iPod mini. It's hardware compatible, but not software, so no recording on it at all. Hopefully that changes with the next rev.

 

[pianojoe]

Try iRiver

I love my iPod, but that's one feature I'm missing, therefore I got me an iRiver H320. It's about the same price as the iPod, 20GB, but not so small, not so stylish, a hell of a user interface, but: exellent recording...