If you really want to get serious with sound recordings on your iPhone or iPad, a professional audio recorder is necessary. Like Ferrite. Not the cheapest (in the paid version), but indispensable for those who want to make high-quality recordings and edits for work or study. Use it to create your own documentary or podcast.
In any case, for the very best sound quality when it comes to interviews and the like, a good microphone is needed. As good as the microphones in the current generations of iPad and iPhone are, they can’t compete with (for example) a good handheld microphone. There are various solutions, Bluetooth or – always better – wired and suitable for the Lightning port of your phone. Users of the more recent iPad (Pros) have more choice thanks to USB-C.
Plan B is to use an external analog-to-digital converter (aka USB audio interface; you may need a USB-C to USB or Lightning to USB adapter). They come in different shapes and sizes, from Behringer or Roland, for example.
They are especially useful for stationary use (due to their size), but offer the added benefit that input volume is easily adjustable on the device itself, while also supporting professional XLR microphones. Perfect for studio (on location) conversations for example.
Ferrite free or Pro
Ferrite is an app made for this kind of purpose. In the full version you pay an amount of just under €30 for it, but the options quickly make up for that price. It is not only a sound recorder, but also a comprehensive (multitrack) editor.
If you don’t want to pay money, you can. In the free version, recordings of up to 1 hour are possible, without further advanced editing options. But for study purposes, for example, the free variant can also be enough, just try it out!
Adjust recording volume
In this example we are simply going to work with the microphones built into an iPad, to give a quick impression of the possibilities. The advantage of this: you can now make stereo recordings. The central pivot is the recording volume control in the shape of a circle. You will find this at the bottom right of the centrally placed microphone button.
Tap it and swipe left or right to adjust the level. You adjust the recording volume in such a way that it remains just below the red area of ​​the VU meters in terms of deflection. For the old hands: digital recordings don’t work like cassettes or tapes, where – depending on the type of tape, recorder and fingerspitzengefühl – it is often better to send out just something in the red.
Red in the digital world simply means distortion and the resulting annoying and ‘hard’ distortion. Then click on the microphone to start recording. Finished? Then tap the stop button.
Edit audio
To edit a recording directly tap click the edit button (leftmost) on the toolbar. You now see the recording as a (compressed) waveform. You can shorten a recording by dragging the start or end point to the desired location(s).
The small triangles at the top of the waveform allow you to set a fade-in and fade-out of the respective block. Handy, because it prevents tapping in cut fragments. You can zoom in on the waveform via a horizontal spreading movement with two fingers.
A powerful option is Split. Simply swipe from top to bottom at the desired split point, just like cutting a slice of sausage. Zoom in if necessary to find the exact point.
If you want to delete a fragment in a recording, then you split at the start and end point of the unwanted part. Then tap on the isolated block and then in the appeared menu on delete. If desired, you can then remove the ‘hole’ that has now arisen by pressing Ripple Delete to tap. Or you drag the remaining blocks to another position.
You can also use multiple tracks; Create a new, empty track by tapping the + button at the bottom right of the waveform. The advantage of the multitrack method is that you can keep an overview by, for example, giving the interviewer and interviewee their own track.
File formats and codecs
When you’re done editing, click the button at the bottom left of the screen. You will then return to the transition view. To share a recording, tap the share button next to a recording in the recording list. The usual options now appear, so saving as a file is possible.
In which file format – compressed or uncompressed and according to which codec – is recorded and (or) exported, you determine by tapping the wrench in the top right of the screen in the main panel of the app. Tap on Settings and then recording.
lossless always delivers the best sound quality and the best starting point for editing, but it does cost (significantly) more storage space. For professional use and (or) further processing, this is really the only right choice.
In terms of export format you will find the necessary formats under the wrench, Settings and the head SHARING FORMAT. Again, lossless is of course the best. But if you are on the road and need to quickly transfer your work via a mobile data connection, compression is also a practical option.
Quality settings are available for each format; In principle, choose the highest possible bitrates to prevent loss of quality as much as possible. If you are a pro who works for a radio studio, for example, then loss-free is and remains the best option. In addition, you give the recipient the chance to edit something if there is a wish to do so.
Many possibilities
Ferrite has many more options and possibilities, including filtering via internal and external filters (and filter apps). It is a very complete package that allows you to make ready-made productions without ever having to sit in front of a ‘real’ computer. It goes without saying that the larger screen of an iPad works a lot more pleasantly.
However, nothing prevents you from taking a recording on your iPhone and editing it later on the iPad. The app also goes significantly further than the standard dictaphone of iOS and iPad. Although nowadays it is also quite extensive and remains a dictaphone. Perfect for interviews that are not intended for broadcasting on podcasts, such as an interview for a paper that you type later.
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