Recording drums with android phone?

Pyromaniac777

Silver Member
So I don't really want to get serious with recording my drums, but I would like to just take decent videos of me practicing. I don't really want to buy a usb mic, I would just like to use the mic on the phone. The problem is, I haven't found any video recording apps that have gain adjustment. And I don't really know how to sync audio and video together. Any ideas on what I should do?
 
I record myself quite a lot with Android phone, never had any issues with just the mornal video recording, no app neccessary. Although I may not be as heavy a hitter as you.

Something that maybe helps is to cover up the mic with something. Put it mic-down on a pillow or a sock or something. Of course not very high tech haha, but it's worked fine for practice reference stuff for me.
 
I record myself quite a lot with Android phone, never had any issues with just the mornal video recording, no app neccessary. Although I may not be as heavy a hitter as you.

Something that maybe helps is to cover up the mic with something. Put it mic-down on a pillow or a sock or something. Of course not very high tech haha, but it's worked fine for practice reference stuff for me.

I've tried recording my drums just with the regular video recording app, and it is always just so distorted and gross.
I would try a sock or pillow, but doing that would limit where I could place the phone to face my set.
 
I actually just found a USB condenser mic on Amazon with a gain adjustment knob http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Conde...qid=1428347052&sr=8-1&keywords=cad+microphone . I know that I said I didn't want an external mic before, but this may be what I have to do. Would this mic be able to connect to a phone via the micro usb port if I got an adapter?

I would still like to know though if it's possible for me just to used the mic on the phone.
 
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I actually just found a USB condenser mic on Amazon with a gain adjustment knob http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Conde...qid=1428347052&sr=8-1&keywords=cad+microphone . I know that I said I didn't want an external mic before, but this may be what I have to do. Would this mic be able to connect to a phone via the micro usb port if I got an adapter?

I would still like to know though if it's possible for me just to used the mic on the phone.

The butt mic on your phone probably can't handle the SPL of a drumkit. In which case it's not a gain thing, it's a capsule x-max thing.

I've seen nice omnis that can plug in to an iphone; I'm sure there's similar products for android. $100 for a good mic is a good investment if you only ever plan on using your phone. Also see if there's any A-D converter cables out there for cheap-ish to go from XLR to your android; maybe consider one of those and a real microphone that can be used for other things too.
 
I actually just found a USB condenser mic on Amazon with a gain adjustment knob http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Conde...qid=1428347052&sr=8-1&keywords=cad+microphone . I know that I said I didn't want an external mic before, but this may be what I have to do. Would this mic be able to connect to a phone via the micro usb port if I got an adapter?

I would still like to know though if it's possible for me just to used the mic on the phone.
I have that same mic. I have never tried to put it thru my phone. I never looked for a proper adaptor for it. I would also like to knoiw if it worked. I have used my with my laptop.
 
I have that same mic. I have never tried to put it thru my phone. I never looked for a proper adaptor for it. I would also like to knoiw if it worked. I have used my with my laptop.

Does it record decently? Would it work well for drums?
 
The butt mic on your phone probably can't handle the SPL of a drumkit. In which case it's not a gain thing, it's a capsule x-max thing.

I've seen nice omnis that can plug in to an iphone; I'm sure there's similar products for android. $100 for a good mic is a good investment if you only ever plan on using your phone. Also see if there's any A-D converter cables out there for cheap-ish to go from XLR to your android; maybe consider one of those and a real microphone that can be used for other things too.

I see. So pretty much the mic on the phone wouldn't be able to handle the volume?
 
Put the phone in a different room, or a closet, etc, or even across the room from where you are playing. I record myself too with my Android - sometimes using an app called Voice Recorder and sometimes just using the video camera. If the phone is right next to your drums - it's going to sound nasty. At one place I play; there is a storage room on a second story right above the drums -sometimes I put my phone up there and use Voice Recorder. It turns out great; keeps the levels from getting so high - and the cymbals don't cause any distortion. I can still hear the band - but the drums stand out the most which is cool so I can critique myself.
 
Put the phone in a different room, or a closet, etc, or even across the room from where you are playing. I record myself too with my Android - sometimes using an app called Voice Recorder and sometimes just using the video camera. If the phone is right next to your drums - it's going to sound nasty. At one place I play; there is a storage room on a second story right above the drums -sometimes I put my phone up there and use Voice Recorder. It turns out great; keeps the levels from getting so high - and the cymbals don't cause any distortion. I can still hear the band - but the drums stand out the most which is cool so I can critique myself.

Cool. I'll have to try putting the phone way across the room, because I still want to see myself playing. I'll let you know if it works.
 
I was looking for a cheap and easy way to record good audio and video for drums. I ended up buying a cracked nokia lumia 928 phone just to record my practices. And the sound is good enough for me. Only cost me $75

I can post up vids as examples if you want.
 
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