(Audio recorder for android, for people talking) An app please.
@warpedellipsis sent a message before this, but I wasn’t sure if they were inquiring about a microphone or an app. But I thought I’d post my answer publicly so it can benefit more people. I’m also going to talk about microphones because I love talking about microphones.
If you are just recording your voice, the app I’ve used and the one that seems to be most highly rated is Voice Recorder.
It’s *very* simple but that’s kind of why it’s great. Hit record, say stuff, it creates a file. Audio quality is good, but mostly dependent on your phone’s microphone.
If you want something that adds transcription, Google has the Recorder app for Pixel devices.
I like that Google’s Recorder easily integrates with Drive cloud storage, but if you don’t have a Pixel you have to find the file online and side load it—and even then it might not work. If you don’t mind trying to figure that out, it seems like a cool app.
There is also Voice Notes which does audio recording or transcription.
I wish it would save the audio AND the transcription but you can only do one or the other. But I really like the UI and it helps you stay organized.
And if you want something that is better for music production, like recording instruments or singing, you might try Music Editor.
It can be used for simple tasks like recording yourself talking or singing. But it also is robust enough to create music with.
If you do a lot of voice recording, you might consider getting an external microphone.
These little $20 lavalier microphones are actually surprisingly decent.
They are a nice step up from your built-in microphone and will give you better clarity and dynamic range. If you still have a smartphone with those ancient headphone jacks, you can also get a mic with a 3 ring TRRS connection.
Many smartphones will let you use proper USB microphones with an adapter.
I can’t make any guarantees because there are too many mics and smartphones to know which will have issues with compatibility.
But if that adapter does work for you, this new HyperX microphone has really impressed me.
It’s fairly compact for a desktop microphone, has a directional polar pattern so it will reject any sound going on around you, and you can use it for streaming, recording music—anything you desire.
You can listen to audio samples on YouTube, but I was really impressed by the sound quality for only $60.
This mic greatly benefits from the “proximity effect.” Meaning if you move closer to it, you’ll get that nice radio announcer/narrator sound. If you have a baritone voice it will make you quite Darth Vader-y.
I actually did a comparison of all the microphones that I own. It’s a good demonstration of the quality you can get at different price points.
1. Cheap webcam microphone 2. USB lav microphone ($20) 3. Cheap desktop microphone ($25) 4. Professional studio microphone ($240)
