App: RecordStudio Pro

After examining the multi-track recorder apps in the App Store RecordStudio stood out. No frills here, just simplicity. Many others had tacky, confusing interfaces and a ton of features that looked easy to get lost in and seemed like they'd be better done later on a computer. Record Studio is a nice little musical scratchpad that records 4 CD-quality tracks.

The quality of the built-in 3Gs iPhone mic with RecordStudio is substantially better than you'd expect. You can set your iPhone on the edge of a table for recording acoustic strings, in front of an amp at low volume for amped instruments or hold it in your hand for vocals.

RecordStudio has a sleek interface and is no nonsense. You tap a track to put it in record mode and then tap the record button. You're rolling. And RecordStudio is very stable when it comes to laying down tracks. I'm seeing issues with this in competing apps.

One thing to be aware about this app is that you can't hear the track you're recording in the headphones. I assume this was done because of latency problems. What's amazing is that there are no latency issues with RecordStudio. These exist in apps like Garage Band and even in dedicated digital workstations. It's refreshing not to have to face them in RecordStudio. There's no punch-in or cue. While some may not like this, it keeps the controls to what's necessary.

RecordStudio gives you a flat "dry" recording with no effects and doesn't do mixdown. Competing multitrack apps for the iPhone seem to be limited on mixdown capabilities. And this is really best left to an app like Garage Band or Audacity. Once you send the tracks to your computer by WiFi you can set up patches that gate the noise and add effects to really sweeten your tracks. You'll be surprised with what the symbiotic relationship between RecordStudio and an app like Garage Band can create.

One nice feature is that you can import stereo backing tracks and still have three tracks to record. This allows you to add instrumental and beat tracks. RecordStudio can take short .aif file and loop them. This feature is Ideal for rapp and hiphop artists, but is also useful for composing. I created a bunch of loops in Garage Band with a Kaossilator and have these always handy on my iPhone for experimenting. There is also a metronome which takes up a track, but you can turn it off once you have three tracks down and free up the fourth track.

So will you record your next album in RecordStudio? Probably not, but you'll find yourself doing crude demos on the fly with it. The beauty of RecordStudio is that with a decent set of earbuds you can take it and record whenever or wherever inspiration strikes.

App: Recorder

We have Jeff Hawkins of Palm to to thank for the philosophy behind our smart phones. The rules at Palm have always been: one function apps, just the controls you need on screen and minimal taps to work the app. Apple encourages iPhone developers to think with a similar set of philosophies which gives us extremely easy to use apps.

A fine example of an app like this is Recorder by Retronyms. They're only charging a buck for this very useful piece of software. For those who have been waiting for a dictaphone, it's here. There are a few others out there as well. I have tried the free ones which seem clumbsy and most of the other apps you have to pay for were quite a bit more expensive or cumbersome.

What makes this one great it that you open the app there's a big fat record button at the bottom of the screen ready to tap. Why the bottom? You turn your recorder upside down to use it since that's where the mic is. Tap the button to start recording and tap it again to stop. All recordings are titled "Memo" so there's no text screens to okay or to have to type in just to jot a quick note. This is a problem on some of the other recorder apps.

Playback is also simple. Just tap the title in the list and it will play through your iPhone's speaker. There is a pause button for playback. You can also drag the timeline cursor back a little or drag it to the end to stop it. And if you tap the memo title again while it's playing, it starts from the the top. To delete simply swipe right on the title and tap the Delete button.

Tap the blue arrow button on the right of a memo and you can retitle it as well as email it. There are restrictions in your iPhone's email that won't allow an application to add attachments except for images, so Retronyms came up with a clever solution: the file is sent to a Web server and an email is generated with a link to it. The files are standard AIFF files that Mac will play just fine and PC should play with little trouble. The latest version offers wifi downloads of your recordings. Just type the link shown in Recorder in any Web browser.

That's pretty much it. Recorder does just what you need it to, nothing more or less. No cumbersome useless features to get in your way. The recording quality is about what you'd expect in a pocket recorder. Not great, but fine for your voice. This gives you plenty of recording time. If you put your iPhone on the podium you'll be able to record one single recording until your iPhone runs out of space, but it will run out of power before that. Recorder will lay down well over 100 hours on most iPhones, even if you have a lot of tunes on there. And do be careful: Recorder keeps recording after your iPhone goes to sleep. Not saying it's a great espionage tool that you can innocently lay on a desk and clandestinely record a conversation when it appears that your iPhone is off but...

Not sure it was the developer's decision or just the way the iPhone is built, but it appears the mic is EQed so it just picks up voice and cuts way down on background noise.

Tip: Do short dictations, maybe a sentence or two. These are very easy to jot down, navigate through and erase.

Update 9/8/09: Recorder now records outgoing phone calls. This service costs a few cents a minute. Nice addition for anyone who does interviews by phone. Note that law states that you must tell the party you're recording immediately when they answer the phone.