Recording drums on an iPad

Random User Name

Junior Member
Hi everyone

This is my first post so apologies if this topic has been covered before. Just wondering if anyone has experience of recording drums on an iPad. If so what system do you recommend using as well as mics and MIDIs. I ideally want to programme or record guitar and bass parts over the drums to.

Any advise on this would be very helpful.

Cheers
Random User Name
 
Hi everyone

This is my first post so apologies if this topic has been covered before. Just wondering if anyone has experience of recording drums on an iPad. If so what system do you recommend using as well as mics and MIDIs. I ideally want to programme or record guitar and bass parts over the drums to.

Any advise on this would be very helpful.

Cheers
Random User Name

Honestly, I don't think there is an interface that exists with enough pre-amps and inputs to record drums onto an ipad.

I recently bought myself a new PC + a Roland Studio capture (16 inputs) in order to record drums. I researched the ipad option and couldn't find anything that would give me enough inputs.

Honestly I would use a mac or a PC and select a usb audio interface that gives you enough inputs. There are lots out there but the studio capture was the only one that gave more than 8 pre-amps / inputs. I currently use 10 mics concurrently.

You also have to consider the with the ipad, you have a finite amount of disk space and so recording multiple wav files at once will probably brick it.
 
Thanks Johno

At the moment I don't own a PC, MAC or even a laptop. I've just got on the property ladder so may be awhile before I can get one. On the ipad front if you can recommend even a rudimentary way of recording with even just two or three mics it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks Johno

At the moment I don't own a PC, MAC or even a laptop. I've just got on the property ladder so may be awhile before I can get one. On the ipad front if you can recommend even a rudimentary way of recording with even just two or three mics it would be greatly appreciated.

Check out Focusrite's Scarlett line of interfaces. Great stuff. I've not used the scarlett stuff for ipad interface personally, but I know a couple of people who have and they give high marks.
 
I remember seeing a device that would let you slide the ipad into and has a recording interface built in. Let me look


Google ,ipad recording interface, several options
 
The problem with an iPad is there's no USB slot so its impossible to connect an interface, although there's probably some sort of work around. And if it did include one, an iPad probably couldn't handle it. It's possible with a higher-end Microsoft Surface Pro tablet as that's actually a computer, although not recommended.

You'll need a computer. Preferably a somewhat fast system.
 
If money is a problem, then buy a second-hand laptop or PC. The only way I can see the iPad working out for you is if you buy an interface that actually stores all the data on the interface itself. Just for reference, I am recording with 11 or 12 channels (depending on if I use the aux snare mic) and depending on how many takes I'm doing and if I've remembered to clean out unused files, my project folders contain generally between 1-5gb per song.

The best thing to do is get an idea of what you can get second-hand (preferably with an i5 or i7 processor - don't bother buying a second-hand Mac if you want to save money), and then weigh up the cost comparison between buying an iPad-compatible interface, or buying something else + a Laptop or PC to run it.

You can get quite a lot of power on the cheap in this way - I managed to get a second-hand i5 powered laptop for around AU$350 which I use with my Behringer XR-18 for recording.

Of course you are taking a risk with buying second-hand but that's why you should always run it up and check it out before paying for it.
 
I've had a lot of success tracking drums with an iPad Mini 2, an Apogee Quartet and the Auria recording app. It’s basically as seamless as it gets. You plug in your mics, run the Quartet into the iPad, load up your input matrix in Auria and then hit record.

Now, this is just my opinion, but, four microphones is more than sufficient to get an amazing drum sound. You need a nice sounding room, a couple of good mics placed in the right spots and superb drumming touch/technique. Unless you really know what you are doing, more mics usually means more problems. (ie - phase issues and signal cancelling).


If you're going the iPad recording route, I'd stick with an Apogee Duet or Quartet. Those devices even charge your iPad while recording, so your battery should never cut out mid-take. Their preamps and AD converters are amazing for the money. Pick up a nice pair of condensers or ribbon mics to use as room/OH mics, then add in a decent kick mic and possibly a snare mic like an SM57. Or, scrap the snare mic and go for a mono overhead and stereo room mics, or vice/versa. In any case, learn how to get a good drum track with 2-4 microphones. Experiment with mic placement and even kit placement within your room. By far the biggest contributor to your drum sound will be a great sounding acoustic kit played by a drummer with proper studio touch and technique. For example – tracking live on the floor, you will need to balance the drum sound with the cymbal volume. Its usually far better to slam the drums and back off on the hi hats/cymbals. Your compressors will reward you later.
 
I wouldn't even bother with 4 mics, 2 is perfectly sufficient if you're going to use this route.

1 dynamic for kick, 1 condenser for overhead in between snare/floor tom and ride cymbal (if setup with a 4 piece) - make sure you point the snare air-hole towards the mic

I've been growing my mic collection and have done more with them as I've added more. I've found that you should either record with minimum or maximum mics. Anything in between just seems to miss certain parts of the dynamic range of a kit and doesn't blend correctly when mixing.

Also, if you are close micing a snare, always use at least 2 mics top and bottom. If you just use a top mic, it just sounds like you're playing on a rock.
 
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