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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: hardrain62 on July 29, 2021, 09:35:59 AM
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So last night, I was going to be stealthing at Bright Eyes, at the new (and pretty awesome) Westville Music Bowl in New Haven. In the days leading up to the show, I got somewhat anxious about taping, as it has been a very long time since I stealthed during a summer show. Between getting the gear past the door (full pat-down and metal detectors) and not having much clothing (t-shirt and shorts; it's hot!) on to support the gear and so on, I started to doubt my abilities. So I went to Guitar Center earlier in the afternoon and picked up a Shure MV88 iPhone mic. I've heard extremely decent results with this mic, and the Shure MOTIV app is actually pretty robust and featured. Bringing in just this mic made me more at ease with the whole situation and I thought it would be a more fun / lower pressure way to get the gear in and tape the show. I had a first row seat, dead center behind the GA pit, so the situation was fine for having the phone wrapped up in my hoodie on my lap with the mic in the windscreen poking out and up. I recorded the first two opener sets to get familiar with the mic and everything went fine and as expected. No problems. I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of taper; I set the gain levels pretty conservative, I start recording usually about 10 mins before I expect the band to start, and then I leave the gear alone. So I did just that before Bright Eyes went on, and it was an amazing show. I've seen Oberst solo, with the Mystic Valley band, with Dawes, and with Bright Eyes maybe almost 10 times, and this was the best I'd ever seen him. The sound in the venue was great, and again, I was in a primo spot to tape. The show ends and I pull out my phone to stop recording, and when I unlock my phone (a less-than-one-year-old iPhone 12 Mini), the "Save Recording" prompt is already up. For whatever reason, the phone lost connection to the MV88 6 minutes after I started taping, despite the mic being still firmly connected to the phone. I got 6 minutes of pre-show audience noise. :banging head: To say I'm disappointed is a massive understatement; heartbroken is more like it! But I'm trying to be mellow about it; just another lesson learned.
So what do you all think? Did I get punished a bit for essentially taking a shortcut? Are phones just too finicky/unreliable to tape? Am I the one to blame for my "set it and forget it" mentality? I welcome any/all thoughts! Needless to say, I'm returning the MV88 today.
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I've had good experiences with the MV88, but just like any piece of equipment it's not foolproof. I have to admit I kind of went all in on the phone concept a few years back when the Dvice came out. I'm really happy with the results, but do think it's had a higher rate of issues (a few connection related, maybe one software crash) than more traditional setups. But overall is the rate of failure higher on a phone based recording than with other recording devices? I don't have any evidence of that.
I definitely DO think it's true that using new gear is going to likely have more issues - you're just not going to be as comfortable with it or know all the ins and outs until you've run it more.
I tend to set it and forget it a decent amount, but only after a few checks to make sure things are running properly. So that's something you might want to tweak in your process.
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This is not my methodology, but from an iPhone base level pov, I have a few playback apps when I am listening over headphones unless I turn the phone display|auto-lock to never the music shuts off after the first song. I would assum the Shure app has that covered as in overriding the display settings, but........ my $.02
Oh, and sorry for the outcome. sux to really want the show and not have it. OTH, did the two openers come out OK? (if so, prolly negates my point)
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The timing suggests the lock screen might have been the culprit. Just an educated guess do not have experience specifically with that mic.
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Been using the mic about 3 years. A bit temperamental about connecting. My guess is that that was your issue.
I always go caseless when using it, and even still it's a bit of a thing. Using a lightning extension cable has helped a great deal.
Open recorded Los Lobos last Sunday w iPhone 12Pro on a stand, 2nd row seat off isle. Got decent video and audio, with a friend managing it while I recorded with my full audio rig from the SBD area.
Unedited footage of first 3 songs:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a2e9pknfojmq4vq/IMG_0888.mov?dl=0
I have tested the mic by carrying it through airport and venue walkthroughs and it hasn't set one off yet. Love it as the ultimate no stress solution for audio, and carry it and a couple lenses for shows that are open video.
Good luck!
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Recent use of the MV88, Los Lobos-July 25 @ Rancho Nicasio
Set up an iPhone 2nd row center and let it run, with a Shure MV88 plugged in. Not a pro video, but nice record of the day. Edited out Flat Top Joint because I was checking levels and adjusting, but otherwise full show.
https://youtu.be/emLrTmNY61U
Sounds pretty nice, considering...
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I've never had an issue with making an audio recording with the MV88. I do think the lightning connection can feel a little loose.
Ironically, the only time i ever had an issue with using it for video was at a Chicago concert when I was sitting next to the VP in charge of the wired microphone division of Shure. No sound on the video for one set. I was able to get the soundboard audio, however.
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Ironically, the only time i ever had an issue with using it for video was at a Chicago concert when I was sitting next to the VP in charge of the wired microphone division of Shure. No sound on the video for one set. I was able to get the soundboard audio, however.
:o :o :o
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I have use this mic about a half a dozen times, I opted to go with an iPod touch, 6 gen. No issues. I went with the iPod vs phone to eliminate issues with the phone interrupting the recording. Also I ran iPod with no case.
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I'll throw my 2 cents in here rather than start another thread - just mentioning that I've tested the MV88+ with my DJI Action 2 video camera (connected via USB-c) and it works fine. It's necessary to configure the mic using the phone app first, then just unplug from the phone, connect to the camera, and all the settings are retained. There's no choice of the audio setting on the camera, which seems to be as follows -
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 min 0 s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 317 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
The bit rate seems respectable, though it would of course be preferable to have a wav option.
As far as I am aware, the Action 2 is the only device of any kind which records from USB-C audio devices which isn't a phone. As I've said in another thread, I suspect that before long there will be audio recorders with a USB-C input as well as analog inputs.
I've not got a music sample to share but this video shows me rabbiting on about it and walking around a park towards a noisy road, that kind of thing. I rather like this little mic.
https://youtu.be/iQKfCBjtMAI
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As far as I am aware, the Action 2 is the only device of any kind which records from USB-C audio devices which isn't a phone. As I've said in another thread, I suspect that before long there will be audio recorders with a USB-C input as well as analog inputs.
I've not got a music sample to share but this video shows me rabbiting on about it and walking around a park towards a noisy road, that kind of thing. I rather like this little mic.
Sound devices MixPre units can record from USB-C.
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As far as I am aware, the Action 2 is the only device of any kind which records from USB-C audio devices which isn't a phone. As I've said in another thread, I suspect that before long there will be audio recorders with a USB-C input as well as analog inputs.
I've not got a music sample to share but this video shows me rabbiting on about it and walking around a park towards a noisy road, that kind of thing. I rather like this little mic.
Sound devices MixPre units can record from USB-C.
I thought that was only in the context of using it as an interface to a PC etc - can you actually connect a USB mic and record from it?
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As far as I am aware, the Action 2 is the only device of any kind which records from USB-C audio devices which isn't a phone. As I've said in another thread, I suspect that before long there will be audio recorders with a USB-C input as well as analog inputs.
I've not got a music sample to share but this video shows me rabbiting on about it and walking around a park towards a noisy road, that kind of thing. I rather like this little mic.
Sound devices MixPre units can record from USB-C.
I thought that was only in the context of using it as an interface to a PC etc - can you actually connect a USB mic and record from it?
Great question, I don't have a USB mic, so I dunno.
I guess it has to do with which one is the USB "host" and which is the "client" on the cable? With USB-C it's not quite as clear which is which since the cable ends are identical.