Ten fantastic apps, tips and tools for recording audio
If you want to make your blog more multimedia, work as a broadcast journalist, or are a sports reporter covering a team whose fans have an appetite for post-match team talk, here are 10 ideas and apps to make recording audio so much easier.
1. The VC Audio Pro, iPhone and iPod Touch app, £3.49
There are two fantastic apps, both from developer VeriCorder, that allow you to record, edit audio on the fly and send it to the newsroom.
VC Audio Pro has a free version, VC Audio – Networks Edition, but requires a subscription.
The 1stVideo – Consumer Edition app from the same developer performs the same task but is even more powerful in that you can film, edit and upload video. 1stVideo costs £5.99 and you will need 3GS or iPhone 4.
With VC Audio Pro you can:
* Set your iPhone to airplane mode for the best quality audio recording;
* Add markers while recording;
* Monitor the recording on headphones;
* Edit in multitrack;
* Import audio from the iTunes library on your phone (this adds a handy, cable free option to get music from your phone onto a computer);
* Attach voice scripts;
* Share edited or raw audio over the same wifi network using an IP address;
* Share audio by email (if it is less than 10MB);
* Share audio by sending it directly to SoundCloud (as a private or public file) and offers the ability to download audio (there is more on SoundCloud below);
* Opt for the ‘networks edition’ of the app enabling you to upload your audio to secure FTP;
* Download a wav file of your audio (to find out how to convert wav to mp3 see below);
* Add a microphone. If you want to push your iPhone even further, to serious recording capabilities, order yourself this XLR adaptor costing $60. It allows you to plug in a mic to the headphone socket of your iPhone and adds a headphone extension so you can also monitor audio while you record. You also have the option to but this basic mic attachment for $25.
