Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

What is Audiobus?Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

Download on the App Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Shure MV51 Microphone

Anyone using it or have any experience with this iOS model of microphone? Sounds like there's an app needed to use it which I don't love but seems very convenient....

Comments

  • I had it .. Retirned the next day .. It sounded muffled , stuffy and awful IMO. Get an apogee mic+. Much better . I have one now

  • Heavy also

  • I have it, personally I really like it. You don't need the app to use the mic (I'm pretty sure I don't even have the app installed). You just use the controls on the front of the mic. I don't use the DSP stuff, just set it to flat and record.

    Does it sound muffled? Not in my opinion. But then mics are like headphones, different people like different sonic signatures. I have 4 condenser mics in total, and I tend to prefer warmer sounding mics, but IMO the MV51 is relatively neutral.

  • Fair enough..I did download the app and there’s tons you can do with it.

  • I guess it's a bit like the SM57. It needs a bit of EQ to really shine :)

  • edited March 2018

    I tried, Samu. But it’s a condesor mic. It should out shine the 57 I think. One of the reviewers on Amazon had the same experience I did. I thing Apogee is the way to go, personally. The Rode NTUSB is nice also but the new Apogee tops it.

  • If a condensor sounds muffled it's likely something went wrong with the capsule, often moist and/or misalignement.
    Afaik the latest Apogee Mic is a Sennheiser colaboration, probably featuring the capsule of their MK-4 mic.
    But I'm a true fan of the original SM57 - maybe not the best for each and every source, but always delivers. The capsule has a stunning resolution if sent through a good preamp... which excludes ALL low budget interfaces.

  • @Telefunky said:
    But I'm a true fan of the original SM57 - maybe not the best for each and every source, but always delivers. The capsule has a stunning resolution if sent through a good preamp... which excludes ALL low budget interfaces.

    The SM57 works pretty well with my UR242 and the built-in DSP on it is very nice for conditioning the signal prior to sampling & recording :)

  • did you crosscheck with a Neve or Telefunken preamp stage ? ;)

  • Sometimes people have in their head that dynamic mics are lower on the food chain than condensers, but they're not, they are just 2 different ways of collecting sound.

    I don't know the shure ios mic but if it's muffled there's probably something faulty with that one.

    Budget solution? Itrack pocket, especially if it's still $10. I know zoom makes one as well and if it's anything like what is on my zoom video camera, again, it sounds pretty darn good.

    And for a really budget solution (well, assuming you have an iPhone already)- measurement mode. The iPhone mic is pretty good once you disable its processing.

    Finally, not ios specifically, but a seriously under-known brand of mics- check out KAM mics- I've been using the rt1 handheld dynamics on my sound gigs for the past month and every vocalist that has used it has been very very happy. And they make many other models as well. I recorded a few of those gigs and I need way less eq than I have in the past.

    My 2 cents for the day...

  • Thanks, everyone! As @richardyot stated, I'm sure personal preference plays a big role in perception of the sound, just as with headphones (love my AT's!). The Shure option is about $50-100US cheaper than the Apogee, so that's appealing, but I do tend to like a brighter sound, so maybe my move should be to buy both and return the one I don't like as much. Orrrr, maybe I should check out the budget solutions and see if they do the trick. After all, I put so much FX and post-processing into my music that it might not matter THAT much... ;)

  • I'll see if I can find the time to do a comparison between the MV51 and my AT2035 (which is a pretty neutral sounding mic). Time permitting I will try and post something for you tomorrow.

  • edited March 2018

    .

  • @Telefunky said:
    did you crosscheck with a Neve or Telefunken preamp stage ? ;)

    I'm not into ASMR and the gain provided by the UR242 is good enough for my needs ;)

  • edited March 2018

    By and large condensers are known for their detail and dynamics for their ruggedness. If this were not the case then Neuman would be out of business. I’ve always found this to be true

  • edited March 2018

    I dunno financial details, but Neumann actually is a part of Sennheiser ;)
    for the 58 and 'details'...

    anyone's welcome to replicate that resolution with an UR or Scarlett
    (admittedly some of those capsules in the 80s were exceptional - I once listened to a recording from such a mic that was stunning to say at least)

  • OK so I've done a quick and dirty test between the Shure MV51 and the AT2035. Both microphones were right next to each other recording the same performance, one into my phone and the other into my iPad using a Scarlett 2i4 interface for the At2035. It's a quick and dirty test so sorry for the raw sounding vocal. There's no processing at all, except that both files were normalised in Audioshare (I matched the levels at the recording stage as best I could).

    I suggest you listen to each mic blind and make up your own mind:

    Mic 1

    Mic 2

    Results and comments in the spoiler:

    Mic 1 is the MV51, Mic 2 is the AT2035. The AT is clearly brighter, and in IMO it is a pretty neutral sounding mic, which means the Shure is a little dark - you can hear that the 12 string guitar is not as crisp, however the recording also has a lot less sibilance.

    It's worth noting that my 12 string is a really bright sounding guitar as well.

    But generally I don't use the AT for recording vocals because the sibilance can be a problem and I personally prefer a slightly darker sound (my other mics are dark sounding: an Oktava 319 and a Violet Atomic).

    I use the MV51 whenever I don't want to hook up an interface, for practice sessions and sometimes for final recordings. The convenience of a USB mic is really useful, it's a lot less fuss to set up compared to an XLR mic with an interface, and it means you end up using it more often.

    Anyway if you want a bright sounding mic then the MV51 is not for you, you would be better off with a Blue Spark or the Apogee Mic IMO.

  • Thanks so much for doing that, @richardyot . In a blind test, I actually preferred the character of the first mic, so that was eye(ear?)-opening. I could definitely hear the highs clearer on the second, but the fuller sound of the first more than compensated, I think.

  • @oddSTAR said:
    Thanks so much for doing that, @richardyot . In a blind test, I actually preferred the character of the first mic, so that was eye(ear?)-opening. I could definitely hear the highs clearer on the second, but the fuller sound of the first more than compensated, I think.

    Well that's the thing - it's so subjective - That's how you end up with a whole collection of microphones, and same with headphones, and guitars... :)

  • edited March 2018

    @richardyot said:

    @oddSTAR said:
    Thanks so much for doing that, @richardyot . In a blind test, I actually preferred the character of the first mic, so that was eye(ear?)-opening. I could definitely hear the highs clearer on the second, but the fuller sound of the first more than compensated, I think.

    Well that's the thing - it's so subjective - That's how you end up with a whole collection of microphones, and same with headphones, and guitars... :)

    Agreed, I listened a few times to each and felt that the first one was slightly more open sounding, maybe a little more room in it whereas the mic 2 seemed more focussed on the sound sources giving it a slightly more forceful and lively/punchier sound. I preferred that second one.

  • My guess is that the 2nd is the MV51

  • edited March 2018

    @Jocphone good description, mic 2 is much more focussed and I'd also prefer it.
    For fairness I snipped a section with less peaks from both files and normalized again to give both a more similiar energy and mic 2 was still ahead (for my taste).
    Still curious which is which, didn't tap the spoiler yet...
    ps: thanks a lot @richardyot

  • @Telstar5 said:
    My guess is that the 2nd is the MV51

    You can find out out by clicking (or tapping) the spoiler in the post with the comparison.

  • I'm in the process of making a song where everything is recorded with the Shure MV51, instruments and vocals. When I'm finished, in about a week or two, I will post the video here for you. I'm happy with the mic, the only problem I have with USB mics in general is that you can't have another audio interface connected to the iPad so you can record something else at the same time. This is actually a limitation of iOS.

  • it actually applies to desktops as well unless you aggregate devices
    (well known in OSX, may work with Asio4All in classic Windoze, dunno about Win10)
    The most interesting aspect in Richard's comparison is the wider dynamic range of the MV51 and a slightly less pronounced sound.
    Imho this may relate to the housing of the capsule and whatever Shure may have applied as internal pop-protection. At least the mic delivers a solid performance for it's price.
    With some smart limiting (as provided by Maxima) and a bit of EQ I have few concerns that it won't do the mobile job quite well.
    Btw the AT2035 has a very (!) aggressive price tag (kind of Audio Technica's entry drug...). Originally this mic sold for almost 400€ iirc.

  • @Telefunky : Before I returned the MV 51 I opened it up and sure enough there was a huge swath of glued on , virtually non removable thick foam attached which might have colored the sound. I dunno.. The Apogee worked much better for me .

  • @Telstar5 said:

    The Rode NTUSB is nice also but the new Apogee tops it.

    Danger zone with the Rode mic- no gain control. Some local friends were trying to record band practice, and their recordings were all screwed up and distorted, because you can't adjust the gain anywhere on the mic. Terrible design!

    The apogee is nice, and truly portable.

  • @Telstar5 said:
    @Telefunky : Before I returned the MV 51 I opened it up and sure enough there was a huge swath of glued on , virtually non removable thick foam attached which might have colored the sound. I dunno..

    makes sense, and it may have been applied (accidently) in a way that influenced the capsule.
    Imho the amount of 'damping' in Richard's example is well tolerable: you usually don't have a pop-screen on the go - and in front of a guitar cabinet the slightly darker sound would work much nicer.

  • Here’s a song I recorded entirely with the shure mv51, both instruments and vocals. I’m a happy amateur and I’m happy with the mic.

  • Really enjoyed that, @fattigman! Thanks for the great testament...

Sign In or Register to comment.