Input options and microphones

[jorgren]

36, thanks for the TJMaxx tip! If you're interested in building a cable, use my design above - you are welcome to it as long as you sell me a nice finished product. That design produces good guitar tone.

AKA, there are various 3-ring adapter cables sold for camcorders and such. Some will work, and some will not, depending on whether ground is on the 3rd ring or the 4th ring of the plug. I am using one from a Sony camcorder and it works fine. NOTE: On the Sony cable, the headset outputs are NOT on red and white, I believe they're on yellow and white, and the red is mic input. Colors will vary by brand, you need to test.

Also note, using the earbud jack, you can only get mono input (and of course stereo output), because there's only one mic contact available. For stereo, you have to use the dock port, which has stereo analog line in and stereo analog line out.

[Agent36]

Check out this link, Amplitude is on the case of guitar inputs!
http://www.macworld.com/article/151107/ ... phone.html

Agent 36

[jorgren]

I can't tell whether that adapter is active, passive, impedance-matching, or what. Also, they apparently don't include any recording capability or metronome. But we'll see how they progress.

[jorgren]

I contacted IK Multimedia about the Amplitube iRig. The hardware adapter is indeed active and transformerless, so it would appear to be a worthwhile product to try out. The software won't record yet, but they are considering adding that capability. When that happens, I will buy it!

[Bh.]

Check this out, looks like it has all the cables we need:)

http://www.kvconnection.com/SearchResul ... earch.y=11

I just got the multitrack and was to record some elec. guitars successfully using a korg pandora into the iPad . I used this cable:
http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/k ... 43f35f.htm

Seems like functions similarly as the iRig cable, though it's passive. What's the diff between active and passive in this case btw? Thanks!

[Agent36]

Nice find! I'm gonna order some stuff from them and see how it goes. Also looks like the will do custom work as well which is a plus for patchbays.

[jorgren]

For guitar to iPxx (iPhone/iPod), there is a huge difference between active and passive. If you are inserting an effects pedal between the guitar and iPod, it may or may not be an issue, depending on the specific device. But, if you connect the guitar directly to the mic input, the iPxx will inject 2.8 volts into the guitar, which will cause terrible crackling due to sparks inside the guitar. The low impedance of the iPxx will also load down the guitar, which kills the tone - it will sound like dull thuds instead of guitar strings.

There is an in-between approach; you can make an adapter using a transformer of the type used for microphones. But this will drop the level of the guitar by 20 dB, and the impedance is still marginal.

The IK Multimedia Amplitube iRig is not out yet, but it will be active. If you can't wait, you could built the active JFET cable I diagrammed above.

[Agent36]

So I bought a prs guitar bud cable. The first plug in I noticed significant slow down when pressing the arm button. Then the app crashed the phone. If seemed like the phone was having a hard time choosing between the phone mic and the input as they cut back and forth and there was a horible clicking sound. So after hard resetting the phone and relaunching and turning up the guitar full volume it recognized the input fully and I could then drop the volume to a reasonable level. Now I just need copy and paste. This app is the only recording app that seems to have input monitoring, that I have but the only one with no copy and paste. I'm paitient though.

[pwnified]

So was it a reboot of the phone that fixed it or was having to turn up the volume? It seems an active device should provide sufficient buffering so that the guitar output impedance wouldn't affect the microphone input on the phone. (And cause the phone to flip between selecting the device and deselecting as an input source)

[Adam]

Oh Wow, what an incredible program! After consulting with you folks, I understood that I really would be able to make use of Multitrack as soon as I upgraded my iTouch. Just yesterday I got my 3rd Gen 64 GB unit, and downloaded Multitrack first thing. I also got the Value Outfitters dock extender (the slim version). I've learned how to use the ipod earbud/mic combination with Multitrack, and I've learned how to use the Mikey with the dock extender with my 1st Generation Blue Mikey. I/O works perfectly, with plenty of level to work with. Just one tip: when using Mikey, don't use the ipod mic/earbud combo; use standard earbuds--the three-ring adapter won't work.

As others have suggested, sometimes there is too much level, but there are at least some work-arounds for that, including lowering the input volume. Sure I'd like Apple to include some high-quality hardware limiting, but short of that I am fine with what I've got. The sound quality is Much better with the Mikey, but it is tolerable on the ipod mic/earbud combo. The latter is so very convenient that I was able to record multitrack stuff--6 little songs) just about anywhere, and all of the controls were intuitive. I've uploaded and downloaded songs, but not very much yet. I'll need to get good at that within the confines of wi-fi transfer. All things considered, this is a game changer for the iTouch, and I love it already. I can't wait for Multitrack 2.0, so keep the feedback flowing you beta testers, and I'm interested in upgrading to the next version of Mikey when it comes out. In the meantime, I'll see how many songs I can create over the summer. Thanks Pwnified! I hope you are having as much fun creating this app as I am already having using it. I am telling everyone I can, including folks at Sweetwater Sound in Illinois. The world is changing again, and fast!

--Adam