How To Record a 3.5mm Mic on an iPhone

Another day, another video. In the first day of my last video, I received a lot of questions about what other mics work on the iPhone 6. So, I tested out the SF-930, SM-58, NW-700, BM-800, & NW-1500. Surprisingly, all the microphones technically worked.

This method consists of plugging the microphone into the Startech 4-pin Splitter, and then plugging the splitter into my iPhone and recording into the stock Voice Memos app. 

Some microphones performed much better than others in this test. However, none of the microphones even came close to their full potential. Every single microphone sounds much better when being recording on a computer in the appropriate fashion.

I have major concerns about this technique. I don't know the iPhones TRRS jack specs, but I don't think it was designed to handle the power needs of a 5v condenser mic. This could possibly damage your battery or damage your TRRS jack. I'm not sure. I would need to consult Apple on this, but I don't have the time. 

I guess, I should just say that I do not recommend using this method. It does not provide good results, and you could potentially damage your phone. The iPhone mic doesn't sound terrible. Just use that in the mean time. I think that the quote from Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park is surprisingly fitting. I was so preoccupied with whether or not I could, that I didn't stop to think if I should.

Can You Record an External Microphone on Your iPhone?

Hey! Special edition of Podcastage! I received quite a few comments asking me "Can you record an external microphone on your iPhone?". The majority of these comments were on my SF-920 review video, so that's the mic I decided to test out. I will walk you through the adapter and app that I used, and some of my warnings and concerns.

The iPhone has a single 3.5mm jack on it. This jack is a TRRS plug, which stands for Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve. What this jack allows you to do is transfer audio in and audio out on a single cable. That is all well and good, but if you want to record a different mic than your stupid iPhone headphones mic, then you're out of luck. Until NOW! There is a $7 adapter that splits this jack into two jacks; a headphone out and a microphone in. This allows you to plug in your headphones, and plug in a separate mic!

In this video, I test this out by using the the Voice Memo app on the iPhone. It seemed to work fine, but here are my concerns.

• You cannot change the microphones input gain on the phone. Therefore, you will need to monitor the input closely and change your distance to the microphone accordingly. You can also use a microphone that has a gain control on it, like the SF-920.
• I do not know what kind of voltage the TRRS plug provides, so I cannot guarantee that all microphones will work using this method. I can almost guarantee that the most condenser microphones will not work using this method. 

That's what I found on my first test of this method. I hope you learned something or found the video and article helpful. If you did, go ahead and give us a thumbs up and subscribe on youtube. If you have any more questions leave them in the comments down below. Talk to y'all next time.

Each G2000 3.5mm Stereo Gaming Headset Review/Test

Alright ladies and gentleman. Time for another Mic test video. The search for an all in one gaming headset for podcasting is still underway, but I think I have found the current front runner.

This is a generic  headset that seems to be sold under a bunch of different company names on Amazon. But it works well for what I'm looking for and it runs between $22 & $25 on amazon.

The build quality is flimsy plastic, which feels cheap, but it does have nice ear piece and head piece padding to keep it comfortable. It also has a braided cable that leads into (2) 3.5mm Cables (Headphone / Microphone) and a USB cable (whose purpose I could not determine). It does have a small control dongle in the middle of the headphone wire that allows you to mute your microphone and adjust your headphone volume.

The headphones provide a frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz, but they do not fit snuggly to your head, so if you are playing games in a loud environment, you will be able to hear everything going on around you. I tested the Freq Response on AudioCheck.net and the stated response seemed to be pretty accurate. I will blame the small discrepancy on my own hearing loss.

The mic is another thing that blew me away. It is a dang good sounding mic, but there is no listed frequency response, and I haven't developed an accurate way of testing that yet. The microphone is omni directional, which  for a gaming headset seems a bit strange to me. So if you are going to be gaming in a loud area, this may not be the best headset. Another thing that I was not a fan of, is the mic is not articulating, meaning, I cannot position the mic closer or farther away from my face. It only moves on one axis. 

A HUGE problem I have is with the way it was shipped. It came in an amazon box, and the headphones were inside, but only in bubble wrap. No directions, or spec sheets, or proper packaging were included. That makes the company seem pretty crappy, and it would make me hesitant to want to test out any more of their equipment, if this mic didn't sound so good for $20! 

Overall I would recommend this mic if you are going to be in a quiet room designated for gaming, or if you are going to be podcasting. If you are in competitions, or play with the sound on your TV or Computer turned up, this may not work well for you. Really cool headset though, and I'm glad that our viewer Cobra Gaming requested this device.

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1ja3Ip8

How to Get Good Audio out of a 3.5mm Microphone

Hey Everyone. I have received a lot of questions about how I set up a cheap 3.5mm microphone and still get decent audio. I don't have any fancy tips or trips on how to get good audio, but I do provide a walkthrough of how I set up 3.5mm mics on my Computer. The main issue I have heard on videos of people with cheap microphones is clipping. I walk you through how I avoid clipping as well. Hope this helps. 

If you have any questions about the setup, leave them in the comments down below and I will do my best to answer them ASAP.