Getting the Best Drum Recording with Your Phone | Season Three, Episode 7

[@Jirka-h2e]

That is amazing, I was just searching how to record the best drum sound with my phone and my favorite drum channel uploaded this video. Thanks!!!

[@friedpie4327]

Same!

[@davidcalderon5291]

Great timing indeed. Before watching I'll say I've gotten great results at a hip level mic/phone about 5' behind me or 2-3' in front of the BD.

[@nickferrence8593]

My sentiments exactly

[@paradiddle5150]

You guys leave no stone unturned. Thank you SLAD

[@ZeBubba]

Just got a Shure M51 mic that plugs straight into my iphone lightning port to record drums and guitars for quick IG clips etc. Only used it with guitar amps so far, got some very good results. I used to record audio with a Zoom H2 and combine the audio & video with iMovie, but that is a real hassle for such a simple task. Cheers!

[@guestivity2063]

Thank you, i can't afford any drum mics so this is a big help. My phone mic doesn't seem to like my hihat though hahahaha

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Hihats can come across as quite harsh. That's one of the reasons why we did what we did with positioning of the phone. Cheers!

[@BubblegumBrown]

Would some sort of pop filter help?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Pop filters are more about taming bursts of air from plosives. With hihats the issue tends to be the particular frequency range and it’s best to experiment with with distancing the mic from them a bit if possible (as we did here).

[@indigos290]

I'm using digital reference and I have no complaints. CAD makes some pretty good ones too.

[@WinstonBartholomewIII]

I used to record my rehearsals in the old days with a small cassette recorder. Always got the best sound when the recorder was wrapped in a T-shirt inside a backpack behind the drums. We were in a metal storage facility and those recordings actually turned out pretty good.

[@tylerblake3596]

I used to get pretty impressive results when putting my phone in a corner behind the kit (sort of in Glyn John’s position aiming over the floor tom). I think you get some of the low end build up from the corner and then the hi hats won’t kill the high end. It sounds pretty similar to how it would sound to the drummer, in my experience. The compression works surprisingly well once it figures out what’s happening

[@user-dc7um4pr3f]

So when you say throw it in the corner, do you literally mean on the floor in the corner? Sounds like way too much low. How high would you want it off of the ground? Floor tom height?

[@tylerblake3596]

@@user-dc7um4pr3f I would have my camera on top of a kit that was stacked in the corner, I guess roughly 5ft high

[@anthonydratnal1870]

When I want to quickly grab an audio-only phone sketch to get an idea down, my biggest problem has been the sound level blowing out my phone's mic, so I've developed a "technique" of shoving the phone in my pocket and folding a shirt onto my lap to get enough layers of cloth to tame the sound. The mic position actually gets a surprisingly good mix of the kit, and the results might actually be usable in some kind of lo-fi hip hop context, although it's nothing to write home about.

[@alazrabed]

Interesting. I presume you put your phone in the base drum leg pocket?

[@anthonydratnal1870]

@@alazrabed it doesn't make too much difference, the sound is so loud it's almost clipping anyway

[@davidperez5089]

Such a gem of BD! Beautiful, always.

[@Savantjazzcollective]

best position IMO, is just to the right of drummers right elbow looking at tom 1. Good floor tom sound and kick attack. inverse for lefties of course

[@kzaz069]

Wow i'm so amazed by how good the phone sounded. I like to think that my laptop run through my tv and a sound system sounds amazing with all the subs frequinces i use. What i learned was now i know why when watching videos like yours on my system i was getting way to much bass sounds. My home system was set up for low bugget youtube videos to make sound amazing. ThanQ for making this Video

[@rexc.fernandez8294]

Great, I will say that I am a drummer and I have not recorded ant video of me just audio playing to my favorite drumless songs and I have an app called n-track studio app it's great for mixing and EQ is awesome for those unwanted tones,thanks for the tips on positioning.

[@patdeniston3697]

Very helpful Really looking forward to the sound treatment video

[@humzakhalid7902]

was waiting and hoping for an over head shot and audio...any tips or tricks for using a cellphone as the over head mic....? anyone?

[@Zachadiddle]

I’ve also had decent results with simply placing my finger over the microphone manually limiting the sound does wonders.

[@y0bc0]

how r u going to play the drumz when u have a finger over the hole

[@nickferrence8593]

Thanks for such a fantastic video. I think it's really important nowadays where people are trying to record in some cases with our phones before we buy more gear. Cheers

[@paperjawa]

Now the next question is how to edit this single audio track into sounding as good as it can. In my experience I’ve used an app called “Spire”. It’s meant to pair with a piece of hardware but I’ve used it standalone for a couple years now. Spire allows me to control the gain level, record overdubs, choose which mic to use, and crop the tracks a bit. The gain staging, mic placement, and the rooms acoustics have the most impact. Great content, thanks again gize. Cheers.

[@sonosax83]

Apogee Duet will give you stereo mic pres and quality D/A converters into lightning connector. Bought this and a pair of Neumann KM84s for my daughter to use for symphony auditions.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Definitely not a bad $2,000+ solution!

[@GT-fx8fd]

Great video cheers guys. How amazing is it how far tech has come since the 90's. Recording video and audio at these levels would take an insane amount of massive gear. Now... you just download an app.....away you go. Crazy shit

[@FadjarMoeljarto]

Good lesson, thanks 👍🥁

[@georgepelekoudis]

Filmic Pro kicks ass! If sound and placement is important, an investment in something like Apogee’s HypeMic might do the trick. Haven’t dived in on the purchase yet, but it’s on the list. You get a usable track that you can import in to your session :)

[@Captainzach11]

Awesome! Would love a basics to drum recording episode!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Here you go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGWtZGeHZd94b9E

[@rademasi]

thanks again for another great amd relevant video!

[@frankcianciarulo7823]

I use the mic the bottom of the phone but I sit the phone on a music stand placed on top of a piece of foam rubber. It cuts some of the high end. I also use a pair of 11 inch high hats, a flat ride or small bell ride, smaller crashes and a small towel on the snare with rings on the toms. This tends to reduce high ends and ring.

[@anth0ny_drums]

👏🏽 on yet, another great episode!

[@waderonsse8819]

Your drumming style reminds me a lot of Patrick Keeler from the Raconteurs. Super fluid and a really solid looking left hand trad grip

[@EliPoli64]

Great video! I've been looking for a nice app to record drum audio and video. Thanks guys!

[@chasebrander1997]

I’m feeling the pain of the mounted cymbal in the background. Love the channel, just had to say something about that😂

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Haha, no cymbals were harmed in the making of that setup 😁 Glad you’re enjoying the channel!

[@GudmundurKristjansson]

I tried Video myself playing my drums for the very first time. I looked good in it, but the con was the phone was playing totally different song that what I was listening to. So when I though I was playing something with Steely Dan, my phone played some McCartney song

[@jonashellborg8320]

Another great topic! As a simple setup to capture me practising, and to record a band to listen back to, I use a regular iPhone with a Rode camera microphone designed for DSLR cameras. It’s the basic version, looks like a small boom microphone, and it works just fine.

[@jazzban]

Thanks for the tip! l was going to buy a Røde but let's try this one and hope to cut the "St. Anger" sound 😂

[@geoffcowan2384]

I would have liked to have heard a comparison of your normal room mic(s) only vs the final phone audio. Thanks for the information.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We'll have that in the extended demos for Patreon!

[@markgrow2112]

Great video you guys inspire me to sound better. I found a TASCAM's iM2 years back to record my self and improve my drumming. This was originally designed for older iphones 4 and has been discontinued but I was curious if I could make it work with a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter and it does. It looks like a hack because it sticks out a bit with the adapter but it works and sounds good I have used it with my iPhone 6s, 7 and later my Xs. I just use the stock video app this solution works nicely. I might be trying the filmic app to see if it will improve it.

[@kiwibarsch642]

Not really about this video but have you ever compared the Evans reso bass drum heads to the original Tama reso heads with the logo? The Evans heads are much more expensiv so I would like to know if you can hear any difference between these two.

[@HYPNIXESPORTS007]

what is the software or app Ur using to record that Ur showing at at the e final position of the video

[@RobJBoh]

What video app would you recommend for Android? I can't find an app without audio compression.

[@rhythmfield]

Fantastic video, helpful information as always. For all purpose iPhone recording, are use an app that never seems to really catch on, but are use it constantly for sketchpad ideas, rehearsals, recording gigs. It’s called twistedwave. Named so because you can edit using a waveform image, like a little baby ProTools or something like that. Some interesting EQ options, editing tools - it’s just amazing. For average sound I use the iPhone X internal mics, when I want to go a little higher level, I use my Apogee Mic, which nails to me to record at hotter or lower levels.

[@mrwhite8444]

Can I record my Yamaha dxt drums with Peavy amp this way?

[@Jarqueivies]

God, I wish my phone had that kind of mic.

[@danzitoli2796]

Good stuff! Would love to see and hear this app used with multiple phones. Like a wide shot for the best overall video look, and one or two other phones used just to capture a good mix of audio to be lated EQ'd and mixed all together. I know some of us have extra older phones and/or friends phones to use for this type of recording? Thinking outside the box and in the phone?! : )

[@fastfiddler1625]

Cool video but now I'm going to try something else. I have a galaxy S21 ultra. The Samsung pro video mode basically lets select which mic to use and manually control the gain. And any late model galaxy phone should do the same thing. I'll try back and update if it sucks and totally doesn't help, but I have high hopes.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Excellent! That’s essentially what this app was allowing with the iPhone plus control over white balance, focus, exposure, ISO, frame rate, and resolution for video.

[@Snareric]

Any update on this?

[@wgodem]

i cant afford a good hihat so the one i have is as cheap as it gets, everytime i try to record my hihats the audio clips, someone has any recommendation for me???

[@DougBrito]

I think there is something different about the internal mic in the iPhone. I don't have one but I always compares recordings from my friends's iPhones with my Android (those days I'm using a Xiaomi Smartphone) and, in terms of audio distortion or "harshness", the iPhone always gets best results....What do you think of that?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

There are a variety of microphones in most smartphones these days so it's not at all surprising that there would be some differences between phones (as well as the mics within a single phone). We can't really speak to the frequency response of particular phone mics as we haven't done that sort of testing (it's a bit outside our wheelhouse). Still, one of the most important aspects is appropriate gain settings so as not to clip the audio during the recording process. Cheers!

[@DadBodDrumming]

My Samsung Note 9 sucks at recording drum audio as it clips out too much. But iPhones have a condensor mic which is a lot better.

[@TonyVazquez8265]

I record my band's rehearsals and live show videos with my Samsung Galaxy A10e phone, no EQ or Comps, just raw.... then I export the phone video to my PC via usb... and theeeeeeen I process the audio track just a tad, via AVS Video Editor and then I save the touched up video with the new audio to a new mp4 file. I also use the same AVS Video Editor software to process video from multiple phone and camera sources, and I sync the videos to the chosen best audio track. I like this video, because now I'm learning new phone audio/video techniques... this will help me sample my drums live on my phone and export the drum sounds into my Fostex VF160EX multitrack via the phone earphone jack. And from there I can export the drum sound as WAV files on a cdrw to my PC and into Fruityloops! 😁👍

[@carrotsoup7264]

Carter Mc Lean signature sticks spotted !

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We’ve both been using them for a while now and really dig them! The new Anika Nilles model is excellent too.

[@paulreed1142]

Since I represent the typical non-sponsored, struggling musician, I can't afford a thousand dollar iPhone (nor would I own an Apple product). Instead, I have a Android platform, free smart phone that has a below average camera and only records audio in monaural. I am surprised that you did not address this in your video, since it is the reality for a lot of drummers out there.

[@SCALE_RC__AND_SLOTCARS]

Agree 100% Paul , Its always funny how people with plenty of money imagine we can all afford iphones and pay for apps , I was also hoping this post would be for real people but unfortunatly its once again for the well off

[@johnnyhelms9909]

I purchased the film mic pro and it works. However, I can hardly hear my recording when I play it back. Any suggestions?

[@johnnyhelms9909]

I have my sound turned up on my iphone but I can only hear a faint sound when I play back my recording.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Check your gain settings. You may have recorded them too low.

[@hikikomori7545]

Would be cool to multi track with multiple phones

[@geraldeditornikuyared3761]

Hi bro what the name this app

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Filmic Pro

[@CraigShawCraigShaw]

Hi-hats, man! When I watch clips filmed on phones at live gigs I hear way too much hi hat. I'm now looking for thinner/quieter hi hats (using New Beats atm).

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Some of this is also from people playing with poor dynamic balance, some can be from the way that phones handle those frequencies. Nothing wrong with seeking out other options in gear but definitely be careful when it comes to making decisions based on phone videos due to all of the reasons featured in this video. Cheers!

[@MdhLV]

Is it just me or does Cody sound like either the video was sped or he had alot of caffeine when they shot this haha. He's talking way faster than he normally does lol. BTW I've learned alot from you guys and appreciate the work you've put in to make awesome content

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Definitely cutting back on my ☕️ intake :) -Cody

[@MdhLV]

@@SoundsLikeADrum I'm just ribbing you dude haha. I've learned so much from watching you and SLAD content. Nobody deep dives the way you guys do in to issues us drummers face. This video was out of the norm but it's something every drums has dealt with amd tried to figure out. I often use my phone to video myelf playing not because I'm vain but bc I want to see if my posture looks correct and my range of motion is optimized when I play. The audio always sucks but I downloaded the Filmic app and wow! Great suggestion! Thanks dude

[@UngluckInc]

To update this post, the app is now absolutely trash.

[@jonasjordan4327]

Freeware alternatives anyone?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

If you’re able to find an app that has full manual control over audio and video like this then that’s excellent. That said, quality is worth paying for. It’s a $15 app.

[@jonasjordan4327]

@@SoundsLikeADrum You're absolutely right! From what I've heard in your demo, that's really great value. It's just that I don't necessarily need this App and I would just like to play around with manual audio control. It's like paying for a full size dinner when you're not hungry 🤷‍♂️😄

[@MattMusicianX]

Whoa, that's a cool app. Cool lessons as always, Cody. Let me add .... Wow, Ben really likes being abused by a computer company that artificially destroys the performance of its own products within a short time.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! We really dig the app and had a fun time producing this episode. Not sure what you’re getting at regarding either of our choices in computers as that’s not covered in any of our videos nor are our experiences but thanks again for watching!

[@MattMusicianX]

@@SoundsLikeADrum the iPhone

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Not to worry- my iPhone works just fine and integrates beautifully with the rest of my digital system. Thanks for your concern though! -Ben

[@MattMusicianX]

@@SoundsLikeADrum just wait 🙄

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

😅 Been using iPhones for a decade now and I’m quite happy. Sorry to hear that it sounds like you’ve had negative experiences. Again, thanks for your concern and happy drumming!

[@Kik_Hat_Sne]

I'd suggest you also try this app called *"Dolby On"* . Its got quite a few options to tweak the sound. If I'm not wrong, it calibrates the phone mic before it starts to record. Its available on both iOS as well as Android. Great video as always.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! I've spent some time with Dolby On and, while the effects controls are cool, they leave noticeable artifacts in the audio that I'm really not a fan of. Still quite happy with Filmic Pro, especially because of the degree of control over video along with audio. Cheers! -Ben

[@alexg4284]

Is filmic pro really £2.99 per week? Do you know any free options? I’m a cheap man