Nice microphone to record my songs as I walk around?
March 9, 2025 12:21 PM Subscribe
My final product will be TikTok-type videos.
I want to record myself singing the melodies of my songs while I handle puppets, walk around a little, etc.
(Later I will put the audio track into GarageBand for iOS and put other tracks under it using virtual instruments; then I will put the video into iMovie for iOS and substitute this multitrack audio for the recording's original (just me singing) audio.
What I want, then is a microphone that will capture my voice pretty well (it doesn't have to produce the greatest sound on earth), that I will plug into my phone, and that I can move with. I will not have to monitor the sound with "things" in my ears or on my head; I will just do enough takes to get a pretty good sound recording. So my fantasy to to wear a little mic around my neck (?) or something. Or a big mic around my neck. Preferably not visible in the video.
I want to record myself singing the melodies of my songs while I handle puppets, walk around a little, etc.
(Later I will put the audio track into GarageBand for iOS and put other tracks under it using virtual instruments; then I will put the video into iMovie for iOS and substitute this multitrack audio for the recording's original (just me singing) audio.
What I want, then is a microphone that will capture my voice pretty well (it doesn't have to produce the greatest sound on earth), that I will plug into my phone, and that I can move with. I will not have to monitor the sound with "things" in my ears or on my head; I will just do enough takes to get a pretty good sound recording. So my fantasy to to wear a little mic around my neck (?) or something. Or a big mic around my neck. Preferably not visible in the video.
that zoom mic that HearHere linked to doesn't look like a match for your ask. it looks like it's hard mounted on the bottom of the phone, which will make it tricky to wear round your neck.
I don't have a good answer for your question based on my own personal experience, but I googled lapel mic for android and got some results that may be useful. A lapel mic is exactly what it sounds like -- an itty bitty mic that clips onto your clothes.
it has been fun to follow the creative journey implied by your askmes. rock on!
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:30 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]
I don't have a good answer for your question based on my own personal experience, but I googled lapel mic for android and got some results that may be useful. A lapel mic is exactly what it sounds like -- an itty bitty mic that clips onto your clothes.
it has been fun to follow the creative journey implied by your askmes. rock on!
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:30 PM on March 9 [1 favorite]
A question: how much battery life you need on that? And it's mainly for your phone? How far will you be from it?
There are wireless lavaliers from big names to no-name clones.
posted by kschang at 2:42 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]
There are wireless lavaliers from big names to no-name clones.
posted by kschang at 2:42 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]
I see a lot of YouTubers using Rode lav mics. It looks like a single transmitter and receiver will run about $150, but these are kind of chunky and visible—a bit bigger than a matchbox. You can plug a remote mic into one of these transmitters, which would be more discreet. BH Photo is a good place to shop for this stuff.
You don't want to use Bluetooth if audio/video sync is important, because there's considerable delay with Bluetooth audio.
posted by adamrice at 6:05 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]
You don't want to use Bluetooth if audio/video sync is important, because there's considerable delay with Bluetooth audio.
posted by adamrice at 6:05 AM on March 10 [1 favorite]
No specific mics to recommend but the term you’re looking for is lavelere microphone. Those are the ones that clip on lapels and people use for live theater/talk shows/business presentations/etc.
It’s worth noting that lavelere mics are notoriously weird to eq. Part of this is because they get a ton of boosted bass signal from the proximity effect, part of it is because your torso works as a weird resonating chamber for your voice that they’re sitting on, and part of is it’s just at a weird angle to the bit of you sound comes out. (There’s also feedback issues that you won’t have to worry about if you don’t have monitors or PAs). Headset mics solve a lot of these problems, but at the expense of being a lot more visable.
You definitely don’t want to just strap something around your neck though. You aren’t the first one with these requirements and people have thrown a lot of money to make this is as solved a problem as it’s going to get until there’s a major technological breakthrough.
posted by Gygesringtone at 6:06 AM on March 10 [4 favorites]
It’s worth noting that lavelere mics are notoriously weird to eq. Part of this is because they get a ton of boosted bass signal from the proximity effect, part of it is because your torso works as a weird resonating chamber for your voice that they’re sitting on, and part of is it’s just at a weird angle to the bit of you sound comes out. (There’s also feedback issues that you won’t have to worry about if you don’t have monitors or PAs). Headset mics solve a lot of these problems, but at the expense of being a lot more visable.
You definitely don’t want to just strap something around your neck though. You aren’t the first one with these requirements and people have thrown a lot of money to make this is as solved a problem as it’s going to get until there’s a major technological breakthrough.
posted by Gygesringtone at 6:06 AM on March 10 [4 favorites]
I'm a former audio engineer and now occasional video producer by trade. From personal experience I'd heartily recommend the Rode Wireless line of mics for this. Specifically, I think you want the Rode Wireless ME with the optional Rode Lavalier Go that you can connect to it. I have the Rode Wireless Pro which is a full kit of 2 mics with charging cases and various accessories, which is excellent but probably overkill for your use.
These mics are very affordable compared to most pro audio gear, and are comparably simple to use too. The transmitter and receiver are each a little square about 2" on a side. The transmitter has a mic built in, and you just clip it to your collar. Or if you want to hide the transmitter, you can plug the lavaliere mic into it, clip the lavaliere to your collar, and put the transmitter in a pocket or on a belt. The receiver plugs into your phone via Lighting or USB-C cable, or, can plug into a camera via 3.5mm cable. When using it with a camera it can be physically held by a coldshoe mount; when using with a phone you I'd guess there are mounts or clamps you can use, but honestly I'd just gaff tape it to the phone case. The transmitter also has a recorder builtin to it, so you can use it independently of the receiver if you want-- or alongside it for a somewhat higher-quality backup audio recording-- and sync up audio later.
Good luck, I hope this helps!
posted by hovey at 7:15 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
These mics are very affordable compared to most pro audio gear, and are comparably simple to use too. The transmitter and receiver are each a little square about 2" on a side. The transmitter has a mic built in, and you just clip it to your collar. Or if you want to hide the transmitter, you can plug the lavaliere mic into it, clip the lavaliere to your collar, and put the transmitter in a pocket or on a belt. The receiver plugs into your phone via Lighting or USB-C cable, or, can plug into a camera via 3.5mm cable. When using it with a camera it can be physically held by a coldshoe mount; when using with a phone you I'd guess there are mounts or clamps you can use, but honestly I'd just gaff tape it to the phone case. The transmitter also has a recorder builtin to it, so you can use it independently of the receiver if you want-- or alongside it for a somewhat higher-quality backup audio recording-- and sync up audio later.
Good luck, I hope this helps!
posted by hovey at 7:15 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: hovey, may I ask --- what does "wireless" mean, other than Bluetooth?
posted by DMelanogaster at 1:13 PM on March 10
posted by DMelanogaster at 1:13 PM on March 10
DMelanogaster, wireless microphone transmitters and receivers like the Rode use frequencies assigned (in the US by the FCC) in the UHF spectrum, distinct from Bluetooth. Some technical details here.
After years of experience doing video production in higher education, I second hovey’s recommendation for the Rodes.
posted by conscious matter at 1:32 PM on March 10
After years of experience doing video production in higher education, I second hovey’s recommendation for the Rodes.
posted by conscious matter at 1:32 PM on March 10
Bluetooth is just a protocol that works over radio frequencies. But there are lots of ways to transmit data over RF (which is what we usually mean by "wireless"), including, well, old-fashioned radio (which used to be called "the wireless").
It looks like Rode and Bluetooth both use the 2.4 GHz band, which is unlicensed. Some flavors of Wifi, cordless phones, and baby monitors also use this band.
posted by adamrice at 1:36 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
It looks like Rode and Bluetooth both use the 2.4 GHz band, which is unlicensed. Some flavors of Wifi, cordless phones, and baby monitors also use this band.
posted by adamrice at 1:36 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
Sure! Practically, when using a wireless mic transmitter that is "not Bluetooth", this will mean you don't pair it directly with your phone. Rather, it transmits wirelessly (using different frequencies and protocols, as mentioned) to its own dedicated receiver, which then outputs audio into your recording device -- your phone, or camera, or multi-track recorder, or whatever-- using a short wire. For a variety of reasons this ends up being a lot more robust, reliable, and flexible than trying to use Bluetooth to transmit the audio.
Sometimes these devices will also have Bluetooth connectivity, but only to run a control/settings app, not to transmit the actual audio. This is the way you want it! Bluetooth pairing is fine for listening to audio in your car or whatnot, but you don't want it in the signal chain for your recording, if you can avoid it.
posted by hovey at 4:26 PM on March 10
Sometimes these devices will also have Bluetooth connectivity, but only to run a control/settings app, not to transmit the actual audio. This is the way you want it! Bluetooth pairing is fine for listening to audio in your car or whatnot, but you don't want it in the signal chain for your recording, if you can avoid it.
posted by hovey at 4:26 PM on March 10
This is a product recommendation. I recently started using a wireless lavalier mic (semi-budget option) to record all the sounds my cat makes, with some decent clarity. I debated between this and dji mic mini and it seemed enough from all the review recordings. It is from this company hollyland. The model is Lark M2. It is very light and unobtrusive (9g, smaller than 1 inch diameter), so much so that my cat doesn't worry about it being on her all the time. It comes with different ways to attach, a magnetic back, a necklace holder, clip, and stickers where you can obscure the logo etc...The battery life is good (more than 8 hrs) and it can connect via a receiver that can fit into iphone or android or USB or 3.5mm (I have the combo version). It also has noise reduction, but I don't really use it. The recordings seem very clean (the spectrogram, to my engineer/acoustician eyes) and the passthrough matches the sounds my cat makes. Here is a recording of her purring, and one of her snoring. Rode's is also a good option (albeit somewhat expensive).
posted by ssri at 5:05 PM on March 12
posted by ssri at 5:05 PM on March 12
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Maybe a wireless (Bluetooth?) mic connected to my phone? (Phone is Google Pixel fancy 8)
posted by DMelanogaster at 12:39 PM on March 9