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Apps and Tools for Recording High-Quality Music on Your iPhone

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In our latest video, available over on our YouTube channel, we took a look at apps and tools that are designed to help musicians use their iPhones and iPads to work on their craft and record high-quality music while wherever they are.

This is a bit of a niche video, but it is suitable for new musicians and those who want to find tools to better take advantage of their mobile devices.


Apple's GarageBand is the first app you'll want to delve into if you're new to making music on the iPhone, as it's loaded with different instruments for you to experiment with.

Music Memos, an app that's always gone under the radar, is super useful for recording song lyrics or making notes on your compositions. There's a one-tap record button so it's easy to get started, and Music Memos will record the exact notes you're playing so you can come back to your work in the future.

For actually recording high-quality audio that's similar to what you'd get in a studio, the iPhone's microphone just isn't good enough. You're going to want an accessory like iZotope's Spire Studio, which is basically a miniature recording studio that can go anywhere. It's not cheap at $349, but it can capture great sound.

There are tons of other apps and tools out there, so if you're a musician who records with an iPhone or iPad, make sure to let us know which accessories and apps you prefer to use in the comments.

Article Link: Apps and Tools for Recording High-Quality Music on Your iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/03/22/recording-music-on-iphone/
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You know what an awesome audio I/O on an iPhone would be? A 1/8" audio jack! Oh, wait.

Edit: On a serious note though, I really like using DM1 and FunkBox for drum sequencing and vintage drum machine libraries.
 
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Does anyone have recommendations for apps that can edit music? I use Logic Pro X to cut songs down to 1 or 2 minutes for figure skating and dance routines, but I’d love an option that works on iPhone or iPad when I don’t have access to my computer.
 
BB1970 said:
AUM is a game changer ! HIGHLY recommended, if you want to use your iOS device like a traditional mixer with an interface, but it does much more. Multitrack DAW, Audioshare, Jam-up Pro are all my go-to apps.
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I’m checking out Multitrack DAW... would I be able to splice up an existing song and recut it into a shorter version? I usually edit existing songs into a 1-2 minute version for dancers and ice skating routines. Is it somewhat as easy to use this app as Logic?
 
jacjustjac said:
I’m checking out Multitrack DAW... would I be able to splice up an existing song and recut it into a shorter version? I usually edit existing songs into a 1-2 minute version for dancers and ice skating routines. Is it somewhat as easy to use this app as Logic?
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I don't see why not. What I like about this app over say Cubase or Auria (both of which I own) is that it feels like it was designed for fingers as opposed to cramming everything in as though it came from a desktop version. In your particular example, i suppose the only thing to be aware of is making sure the song doesn't fall out of sync at the edit marks, which I suppose you already do in Logic.
 
roguedaemon said:
Music Memos is such an amazing app, it’s just so annoying that Apple hasn’t updated it, among other things, to the iPhone X display. Absolutely ridiculous.
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+1 for music memos, it's the second most used app on my iPhone X, such a simple and effective tool for getting riffs and other things recorded on the fly.
 
Great article!

Our host's voice pitch changes though ... I'd swear if he didn't record himself I'd swear his voice was computer generated! Is he trying to sound like Siri's up and down voice pitches for no reason? Still great content so I can't say nothing about that. Usually always good content coming from him.
 
Since the iPhone lost the headphone jack it’s practically useless in a recording environment. Yes you could run another interface like a spire or class compliant device but why would you? Just pull out your notebook and instantly it’s a better machine. Just this morning I wanted to record a stereo sound with a mic on my phone whilst listening to a click to keep in time. GarageBand would totally do it. Except the latency between monitoring with Bluetooth headphones and a rode iXy mic plugged into the lightning port was useles.

My iPhone 6s would’ve nailed it!
 
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There are lots of audio apps out there, each with their own good and bad points. I've been really happy with Twisted Wave as an all-around no-frills live recording and editing tool. Another handy app is AudioBus, that allows you to connect audio apps to each other.

I used to interface my iPhone and iPad with the Alesis iO Dock, but a recent iOS update killed it. If you have the cash, there's a phenomenal wireless replacement, the Behringer X Air, which turns an iPhone or iPad into a full production studio.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/X18--behringer-by-air-x18-tablet-controlled-digital-mixer
 
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I've used Music Memos, and found it a good concept, but it lacks refinement. Don't even try to record anything longer than one basic short song, as the app struggles to process, crashes, hangs up and becomes useless. I've given up on trusting that the app will even work at this point. I am likewise disappointed that Apple has sort of forgot about this app development.

MacRumors said:
Music Memos, an app that's always gone under the radar, is super useful for recording song lyrics or making notes on your compositions. There's a one-tap record button so it's easy to get started, and Music Memos will record the exact notes you're playing so you can come back to your work in the future.
Click to expand...
 
Mrsaxomaphone said:
Since the iPhone lost the headphone jack it’s practically useless in a recording environment. Yes you could run another interface like a spire or class compliant device but why would you? Just pull out your notebook and instantly it’s a better machine. Just this morning I wanted to record a stereo sound with a mic on my phone whilst listening to a click to keep in time. GarageBand would totally do it. Except the latency between monitoring with Bluetooth headphones and a rode iXy mic plugged into the lightning port was useles.

My iPhone 6s would’ve nailed it!
Click to expand...

All that says to me is you have the wrong tools for your needs. There are Lightning Mics with wired headphone passthroughs for just such situations.
 
Order_66 said:
+1 for music memos, it's the second most used app on my iPhone X, such a simple and effective tool for getting riffs and other things recorded on the fly.
Click to expand...

Does it integrate with garageband!? Meaning can what I did in memo be easily added as a track to garageband.
 
The Spire app is awesome for recording voiceovers. It makes my voice sound better than I’ve heard with any other system. Disclosure, I’m pretty much an amateur, I do voiceovers on presentations about our products.
 
MacRumors said:
You're going to want an accessory like iZotope's Spire Studio, which is basically a miniature recording studio that can go anywhere.
Click to expand...


Just from a size perspective it appears one would be better off leaving the iPhone and Spire Studio at home—and instead use a notebook with separate microphone.
 
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