Topic: ISO cheap microphone around $20 or less to record live audio

[Brisk]

I attend a lot of shows and I have a Samsung Galaxy S4. The internal microphone can be okay if you are in the right place etc but an app lets me use an external microphone. I figured something off Amazon for 20 bucks or less would be better clipped onto a shirt than in my pocket and would give me much better quality? Shows I go to are rock shows should that matter.

or are cheap microphones the same quality?

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-ME-52W-Noise-Canceling-Microphone/dp/B000MYPPPE/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_1

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR-3350-Omnidirectional-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B002HJ9PTO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1383064843&sr=8-4&keywords=external+microphone

[Marshall7]

The Audio-Technica mic says it:

is engineered for intelligible, accurate voice reproduction

That won't be much good at a loud rock show.

[obaaron]

what program is it that you are using?  And there is the "line/Mic in"?  Isnt there only a line/headphone out?

[Brisk]

I've just taken a couple recordings of Pearl Jam and the sound quality is incredible and I was right by the speakers.

Hmm there is a heaadphone jack only but no way of converting that into mic?

[jefflester]

I would assume most (if not all) jacks on phones these days are TRRS so you can use a pair of earphones with a mic built in for hands-free use. So you'd need a mic that is designed specially for a phone with TRRS plug, or an adapter like this:
http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-mic.htm

[Chuck]

The first microphones I bought from Jon a Naiant were around $25ish? for the pair. They were electrets built into XLR housings. Great mics, I actually used them over the weekend. Karma used to have some really cheap mics too.

If you are considering those mini-jack mics you could also try plugging a really cheap pair of headphones into the mic jack. They will transmit sound, like a mic does. But, you will probably fry the headphones if the mic jack outputs DC for electret mics.

Anyway, good luck and keep looking. I bet you'll find something that'll work for you. Check eBay for used mics too.

[Marshall7]

I've just taken a couple recordings of Pearl Jam and the sound quality is incredible

 

[daspyknows]

I've just taken a couple recordings of Pearl Jam and the sound quality is incredible

 

   I hope he means the venue sound and not the recording.

[anr]

I'm really sorry I don't know the precise details, but for a while I used a generic stereo mic Sony supplied with their Walkman Pro recorders.  Once plugged in it protruded about an inch and is about 1/4" diameter.  But it is better with a clip & lead attached and remote from the recorder as all such mics pick up recorder noise.   You could try contacting Sony.  Just a suggestion.   

If you follow this link, scroll down to Down By the Glenside / An Dord Feinne, that is a typical example. 


https://soundcloud.com/carraigh-donn

[Marshall7]

I've just taken a couple recordings of Pearl Jam and the sound quality is incredible

 

   I hope he means the venue sound and not the recording.

Seems to me he meant the recordings.    He did say he was right by the speakers, so maybe he suffered permanent hearing damage.

[JackoRoses]

just no

[daspyknows]

I've just taken a couple recordings of Pearl Jam and the sound quality is incredible

 

   I hope he means the venue sound and not the recording.

Seems to me he meant the recordings.    He did say he was right by the speakers, so maybe he suffered permanent hearing damage.

So the ringing in his ears sounded incredible  .   

[bombdiggity]

Those ancient Realistic "twin head" mics went for about $20 in the 80's.  Those things were by far the best mics ever from a value perspective.  They could handle any amount of noise and come out with a fine recording...  I assume that's why they haven't been made in 30 years give or take.  I'd match them up against a lot of mics that cost 10 to 100 times as much for recording something like Pearl Jam near the stacks. 

[jagraham]

Quite frankly for $20 you might do just as well with the internals. Save up 80-100 and find some CA or other small mics onsale.

[earmonger]

Recommendations for regular mics aren't going to help.

The OP is trying to record with a Samsung Galaxy S4. That is a cellphone. It has an internal mic and a headphone jack that can probably take a hands-free mic with a four-pole TRRS connector.

Regular mics with a 3.5mm plug will fit the jack but I doubt they'd work. The input is probaby mono, not stereo. 

This mic seems to be made for phones...but it also seems to be mono.

http://www.amazon.com/Edutige-EIM-003-i-Microphone-Edition-Recorder/dp/B0058DC1FG/ref=sr_1_2/178-3699092-0694209?ie=UTF8&qid=1383535922&sr=8-2&keywords=imicrophone

That's a "music edition," which is probably a little more geared for the spectrum of music; they also make a cheaper voice recorder version that probably emphasizes the midrange where people talk. Supposely there are YouTube demos for that I-Microphone and Samsung if you want to look for them.

About that Pearl Jammer, I've actually gotten a decent recording in a pinch with the internal mic of another Samsung phone, but...not hi-fi. 

What app is it? Does the app developer have any advice or recommendations on mics? I have ASR Recorder in my phone, and it will record in stereo--but I don't see how to get a stereo input.