looking for an iPhone "microphone amp" application
November 24, 2008 8:11 AM Subscribe
Is there an iPhone app (jailbroken or legit) that simply outputs the sound from the microphone directly to the headphones with no delay, as if it were an amp? I tried searching google and the iPhone store with no success.
Response by poster: Sorry, by "amp" I just meant that it will pass through the microphone input to the headphones (which is just the normal amplification).
I want to be able to hear my own voice in the headphones in real-time so that I can practice pronunciation (French).
I could use a recorder app to record and play back, but that's too slow. I need instant feedback.
I am using a mixer to do it at home, but that's bulky and non-portable. And I want an iPhone app because I know it's technically possible (it happens when you make phone calls for example) and I don't want to carry around another piece of equipment for no reason.
And it's true that Apple might have reservations about approving such an app, but 1) I don't mind jailbreaking my phone for a non-approved app, and 2) I can find hundreds of apps in the App Store that are more worthless and do less than this one would do.
posted by helios at 9:40 AM on November 24, 2008
I want to be able to hear my own voice in the headphones in real-time so that I can practice pronunciation (French).
I could use a recorder app to record and play back, but that's too slow. I need instant feedback.
I am using a mixer to do it at home, but that's bulky and non-portable. And I want an iPhone app because I know it's technically possible (it happens when you make phone calls for example) and I don't want to carry around another piece of equipment for no reason.
And it's true that Apple might have reservations about approving such an app, but 1) I don't mind jailbreaking my phone for a non-approved app, and 2) I can find hundreds of apps in the App Store that are more worthless and do less than this one would do.
posted by helios at 9:40 AM on November 24, 2008
Okay, it's overkill, but FourTrack should be able to do this.
posted by jedicus at 9:57 AM on November 24, 2008
posted by jedicus at 9:57 AM on November 24, 2008
Response by poster: Nope, it doesn't. I guess the iPhone app platform doesn't support latency low enough for professional monitoring, but I'm still convinced that an app could do simple voice monitoring; a small (less than 100ms) delay wouldn't be an issue for my usage.
Thanks for your help so far, though.
posted by helios at 10:10 AM on November 24, 2008
Thanks for your help so far, though.
posted by helios at 10:10 AM on November 24, 2008
Ah, my apologies. The FAQ made it sound like there was a direct pass through from the mic to the headphones. I'm glad you found the catch in the forums before dropping $10 on the app, though.
Smule's Sonic Vox claims to do real time voice alteration (think Darth Vader). Looking at the video, it seems like the latency is pretty low. I can't tell if it has a default 'no change' mode. If it doesn't, you might try contacting Smule and asking for a pass through mode in the next version. It should be trivial for them to add.
posted by jedicus at 10:37 AM on November 24, 2008
Smule's Sonic Vox claims to do real time voice alteration (think Darth Vader). Looking at the video, it seems like the latency is pretty low. I can't tell if it has a default 'no change' mode. If it doesn't, you might try contacting Smule and asking for a pass through mode in the next version. It should be trivial for them to add.
posted by jedicus at 10:37 AM on November 24, 2008
I did this exact thing last year with birthday messages from my kids' great-grandmother in Germany, after more than a year of saving them every week on the phone.
I did it via the land line, though. You don't mention if you're on a Mac, but I used the trial version of Ambrosia's WireTap (there's also this one and many others if you search for "phone" "record" etc.)
You just plug a phone cable from your computer modem into the wall jack, hit record and dial in to your messages. You can dial with another phone on the line or use a phone dialing app. Sounds convoluted but it worked pretty well.
posted by chococat at 11:40 AM on November 24, 2008
I did it via the land line, though. You don't mention if you're on a Mac, but I used the trial version of Ambrosia's WireTap (there's also this one and many others if you search for "phone" "record" etc.)
You just plug a phone cable from your computer modem into the wall jack, hit record and dial in to your messages. You can dial with another phone on the line or use a phone dialing app. Sounds convoluted but it worked pretty well.
posted by chococat at 11:40 AM on November 24, 2008
Response by poster: jedicus: I have tried Sonic Vox, but it doesn't have a normal mode (you can get somewhat close to normal, but you still sound a bit robotic), and the delay is much greater than the video (probably due to all the DSP). Maybe I'll mail them though.
chococat: Actually, I am not interested at all in recording phone conversations, I simply want to use my phone as a portable mic amplifier so that I can talk into it and hear my own voice in my headphones.
posted by helios at 2:49 PM on November 24, 2008
chococat: Actually, I am not interested at all in recording phone conversations, I simply want to use my phone as a portable mic amplifier so that I can talk into it and hear my own voice in my headphones.
posted by helios at 2:49 PM on November 24, 2008
It's a bit of a fiddly and convoluted solution, but you could use PD to make a 'scene' for RjDj that doesn't do anything to the signal from the mic, or just boosts it a bit.
Here's a hotwo on making your own RjDj scenes.
posted by jack_mo at 4:50 PM on November 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Here's a hotwo on making your own RjDj scenes.
posted by jack_mo at 4:50 PM on November 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Although for that to work, you'd have to be using headphones with a built-in mic on the cord.
Just to satisfy my curiosity: how is this different to/better than just talking out loud and listening to yourself, with no technology involved at all?
posted by jack_mo at 4:56 PM on November 24, 2008
Just to satisfy my curiosity: how is this different to/better than just talking out loud and listening to yourself, with no technology involved at all?
posted by jack_mo at 4:56 PM on November 24, 2008
jack_mo: The mic->headphones loopback gives you a better sense of how your voice sounds to others (as opposed to how it sounds in your own head).
posted by jedicus at 5:52 PM on November 24, 2008
posted by jedicus at 5:52 PM on November 24, 2008
Jeez, sorry; that answer was meant for another phone question a few posts down. I'm an idiot.
posted by chococat at 6:24 PM on November 24, 2008
posted by chococat at 6:24 PM on November 24, 2008
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Without knowing more, my guess would be that Apple would reject an AppStore version of such a program as being of limited utility. What purpose are you putting this to?
posted by jedicus at 9:26 AM on November 24, 2008