Stop calling it a phone. It’s so much more. Our mobile devices have become our still cameras, our video cameras, our encyclopedias, our newspapers, our magazines, and our audio recorders. The microphones that are built into our mobile devices are capable of recording the entire human frequency spectrum.

Just look at the specs for the iPhone6 (L) and the Galaxy S2 (R):

These are both older generation devices (S2 was released in 2011, iPhone 6 in 2014), but you can see that the frequency response is practically flat – nearly reference level. And they’ve only gotten better.

Here is the iPhone 11 (L) and the Pixel 4 (R):

So the device is no longer the problem. The problem is how to make a recording in your house that sounds almost as good as if you had recorded it in the studio.

I have just created two videos on how to record your guitar to a rhythm track using just one mobile device. Click here for the Android version, and click here for the Apple iPad version.

In the video I show you how to create a good recording environment by treating a common bedroom door with quilts to create a sound baffle. This keeps your recording from sounding like it was made in a bedroom.

You’ll learn where the microphone is located on your device and (through my prior testing) I’ll show you where to place your device in order to get the best sound.

I pass along some technical tips about what type of earphones to use as well as a few recording tips to make sure that you can deliver something that can be quickly time-aligned and will sound good from the start to the very end.

If you schedule a remote session with me, I have documents that I will share with you as to what apps to get for Android and IOS (they’re all free) and I’ll give you a free technical session to help you set things up.

Even though in-person sessions are available, some of you are far away and it’s not an easy thing to travel here. Remote recording is a good solution and one that shouldn’t require a sacrifice in quality.