I’m always looking for a good deal and when I find an app that let’s me use one of my many microphones and be outdoors I’m the first one to hit that “Buy” button! During the holidays I saw the app Backpack Studio on sale and decided to check it out. The developers were the same ones who created Bossjock Studio and I had a great time using that app. So, I figured this would be a better app with more options and settings based on the app store description.
Digging around in my box of goodies for a mic and my Shure Motive audio interface, I decided to put the app to use and go out and have some fun!
The app works with just about any microphone that you can connect to your iOS phone via lightning connection or blue tooth. However, if you wish to just get going on recording, you can use your Apple ear buds to get the show started. There are plenty of settings for control junkies like myself who have to have control over the compression, EQ and limitor settings. But, Backpack Studio let’s you start recording with settings that are adjusted automatically. The automated settings are actually rather good if you don’t wish to dig around in the settings and adjust things yourself. There are tiles that you can assign sound effects to or even complete intros and outros for a podcast. There are no lengths to what you can assign to these tiles so you can program several songs on them and record an entire radio show with you as the DJ inbetween songs. There are obviously plenty of options here but of course my favorite feature is that you can monitor yourself easily through the app so you can hear what is being recorded. I can’t tell you how many recordings I’ve had to retake because I couldn’t tell if the app was recording what I wanted it to record. So thank you developers, next round of beer is on me!
Now at this point most Voiceover users will ask if the app is accessible. Being a Voiceover user myself, I had to test the developers claim on their web site that Backpack Studio is fully accessible. To my delight, the app was incredibly accessible. All settings for the microphone and recording settings are fully adjustable with Voiceover. The preset Tiles where you store recordings or songs are activated quickly with a single finger double tap. Recording a show in person at your favorite coffee shop, convention or concert and uploading instantly is a snap. Imagine recording that awesome interview and publishing it up on Youtube or Facebook right away. If you prefer to do some post editing, you can upload your work to Dropbox or iCloud and choose your recording format in wave or MP3 with various sampling rates.
The great thing is that at no point during any of these actions does Voiceover appear in the recording. Once you hit record, the app does its thing and you can simply swipe left and right on the horizontal list of tiles and double tap on the one you wish to start playing. If you need to adjust volume while it is playing, simply swipe up or down as needed. Using Voiceover you are in total control of the entire show. This ability took me back to my college radio days where I learned to hit play on carts for ads and sound effects. All I need now is to sneak in some 99 cent tacos from Jack in the Box and this will be exactly like my college days.
During the holidays Backpack Studio was on sale and the price has since gone back up to $9.99 on the Apple App store. However, for what it does and how easy it is to use with Voiceover, I would still pay that price for recording interviews on the go. I love being able to record funny clips and send them to friends through Whatsapp. I think I may just start Air Dropping funny clips to people on the train ride into work.
Whatever your use may be for recording on your iPhone, Backpack Studio can definitely help improve the quality of your sound. The ability to upload any of your own effects or songs to the app and send it just about anywhere makes it worth the price alone. However, for control junkies like me, it has tons of settings to shape your recordings exactly how you want them to sound. I grabbed this app to have fun on the go and to fulfill that desire I get when I’m out and about and suddenly hear things that make me say “I wish I had my microphone with me.” With this app and how quickly I can get it going on my iPhone, I can do that and so much more. So pick it up, get out there and record something wonderful today.