Cell phone recordings

[timoarthur]

Hello! I am a newbie to TAXI. I had a question regarding recording quality, namely submitting cell phone recordings. I can certainly understand why, for a few reasons right off the bat, it would be discouraged - the low quality sound, the unprofessional presentation, the fact that you'd likely be competing with high quality, polished sounding demos, etc. But still, if you're a low budget, songwriting biz novice, and all you have to record with is a cell phone, then as long as it's a clean, clear recording/performance of the song, is it better or okay to submit that than nothing at all, letting the opportunity pass until you can get a proper demo done of the song? Or do publishers and/or screeners, perhaps reluctantly, accept cell phone recordings if the song that it showcases has enough potential? I look forward to the advice. God bless.

[Sunset]

Hi,

My advice would not be to submit a cell phone recording..most audio of "broadcast quality" is 16 bit 44.1k audio,which I think is beyond cell phone specs..

Depending on your computer specs, you may already have an included music studio..Mac has Garage Band installed, Windows probably has free or cheap DAw's or recorders that would get you into the quality ballpark without much investment..


Good Luck!!

John

[cardell]

I agree with John on this issue.

However, I have actually used cell phone recordings before, some have been surprisingly good.
The rap from this remix, I did a few years ago, was recorded as a poem on an iPhone.

https://soundcloud.com/cardell/vsob-wip

Stuart

[HowlingUlf]

Since you ask that way we could maybe assume you're not trying to squeeze a symphony orchestra into the phone mic but rather voice and guitar/piano/etc?
Maybe you can get one of these handheld recorders with surprisingly good mics built in.
I've got a ZOOM H4n and it's more than capable of capturing anything in your situation.
I'd rather buy this unit than cheaping out because there are other brands and models out there with a lower price tag but then again you get what you pay for.
No point in buying something that's barely better than your cellphone, right?
On the bright side there is a little 4 track recorder in the H4n and you can plug in external mics or a guitar or whatever noise toys you've got ...
Since you're on TAXI I presume that you one day expect to get some $$$ out of it and if so the ~€250 price tag would soon be covered for?

And the H4n * d e v o u r s * batteries, but you can run it from a USB cable when you're at home. Problem solved!

You need some kind of monitoring even if it's just some headphones of reasonable quality to check against some reference music so you know you're in the ballpark.

[mojobone]

Formats are kinda irrelevant; the performance and arrangement are key, once you have a great and on-target song. It was done to prove a point, but at least one song produced entirely on iPhone went to #1 in Japan, and a few recent US ads were done with only iPhone audio and video.

Having said that, your odds are better if you use production and instrumentation that are appropriate for the genre. I'll put in a good word for Zoom's new H4N Pro; if I were starting with nothing and only had $200 USD +tax, it'd be my first purchase, barring something I could use to upload my music to the 'net. It records up to four simultaneous tracks, you can edit, mix and bounce, with or without effects, and no computer is required, but you can easily interface with phones, laptops, desktops, Chromebooks, etc, but also professional-grade, phantom-powered condenser mics.

One of the coolest applications is to take a live direct stereo feed from a console and use the onboard XY mics to fill out the room sound. For perspective, it does everything my first Portastudio did, (minus Dolby) and way more, for about a third of the price, and without tape hiss.

[Len911]

Or do publishers and/or screeners, perhaps reluctantly, accept cell phone recordings if the song that it showcases has enough potential?

The first step may be to find a collaborator. Post one or more of your cell phone recordings in the collaboration section.

You could also spend the money and get a custom critique, if you ask they will tell you whether your song is broadcast quality or not, or peer to peer for free.

Imo, the screeners will not reluctantly accept anything! Potential will only get you nice comments on your return.

[timoarthur]

Thanks to all who replied (and will reply in the future). I will take all of your responses into consideration. God bless!

[Casey H]

I wouldn't send for a custom critique other than for the SONGWRITING itself, which can be very helpful. Cell phone recordings are not pitchable to publishers, etc. They want broadcast quality records even if stripped down such as guitar and vocal.

+1 on seeking collaborators who can both co-write and do production.

It all starts with a well written song so if you want to share with us some of the songs, many here will give you their opinion on the songwriting, regardless of production. If you don't want to post publicly, feel free to PM me and I'll listen to 1-2 songs and tell you what **I** think. Early on, many of us (including me) think that the only issue is recording when the songs themselves were not really ready yet.

As far as getting started with home recording, another approach is to buy a USB front end (under $200, maybe even around $169). Most come with a lite version of a DAW such as Cubase or Logic which you can install on your PC. Then you need 1-2 mics, possibly one for recording guitar and another for vocal (If there is one mic good for both, someone chime in).

If you can come to the rally, you will learn SO MUCH!!!

Best
Casey

Or do publishers and/or screeners, perhaps reluctantly, accept cell phone recordings if the song that it showcases has enough potential?

The first step may be to find a collaborator. Post one or more of your cell phone recordings in the collaboration section.

You could also spend the money and get a custom critique, if you ask they will tell you whether your song is broadcast quality or not, or peer to peer for free.

Imo, the screeners will not reluctantly accept anything! Potential will only get you nice comments on your return.

[Kolstad]

The general rule is that if it sounds good, it is good. But clearly, a cellphone recording isn't produced in any way, so you're looking at very specific situations, and mostly for feedback on songwriting and submitting to demohouses/ collaborators. It would really have to be an extraordinary cellphone recording in order to submitting it for an actual Taxi listing.

[Paulie]

You can get surprisingly good results with Garage band on an iPhone or iPad if you use a decent microphone. I suggest saving up for a reliable computer recording setup, or like someone else said, find someone to collaborate with. Good luck!