Record Rap Vocals On Your iPhone

We’ve all been there, recording hot fire bars on our iPhone but the lack of quality destroys the audio for any listener. Leaving you dissappointed as you show your friends and family.

With lava microphones and other professional microphones, you are able to record in crisp quality that’ll be easier to work with during postproduction. Unfortunately, these mics cost a substantial amount of money. Most new and aspiring artists do not have the resources to spend money on audio equipment which leads to a major problem; quality.

But what if there was a way to increase the quality of the microphone on your smartphone? Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to improve the sound of your recorded audio.

From tweaking a few settings to downloading some free music editing apps, these tips and tricks can completely transform your amateur audio to clear professional sound.

iOS Settings

On iOS, the built-in Voice Memo app can capture perfect sounding audio if used correctly. You can use this simple trick to enhance the quality of the audio. Go to your iPhone Settings > Voice Memos > Audio Quality and change the quality to Lossless.

Lossless audio withholds every detail in the original recording while at the same time compresses the audio to a smaller size. This adds more “crisp”

GarageBand for Rap Vocals

If you want to have more control over your audio, you may download the GarageBand app for free. In GarageBand, you are able to add effects to your audio and also have more options to alter the sound.

Audio Recorder

Using GarageBand’s Audio Recorder, you are able to record and adjust microphone input levels. The timeline editor lets you reduce unwanted noise and offers different presets to change your vocals.

To do this, tap on the Navigation Button in the control bar, tap the Sounds button, then tap the sound you want edit. Turn the knobs appropriately to fit your style!

Another popular method is setting the key and scale for the Extreme Tuning preset which is a popular effect that changes the pitch of the recorded audio.

To do this, tap on the Settings Button, tap Key Signature, then tap your desired key or change the scale. Make sure the key or scale of your song matches with the settings so you can avoid undesirable pitches on notes.

Plugins

GarageBand has plenty of plugins that help your vocals sound great. Plugins such as Noise Gate, Peak Limiter, Parametric EQ, and Reverb can do a lot for your recorded audio.

You may also cut out sections and background noise manually by using the Visual EQ. From there you may boost mids and cut some highs and lows. Experimenting with different plugins by themselves is the best way to learn about their effects. After familiarizing yourself with each plugin, throw them together in a subtle combination.

It would not be a bad idea to layer the rap vocals on top of each other to create more space within the song. Layering is a great technique used to add more energy to your vocals.

External Microphones for iPhone

External mics for iPhone are by far the best choice for quality audio on the go. Whether you have the latest iPhone with no jack or an older version, we’ve got you covered on the best mic for your iPhone.

If you have iPhone 7+ then you do not have the headphone jack to plug in external mics. Luckily, more mics are becoming compatible. Among the top iPhone external mics is the Shure MV88 Portable iOS Microphone. With lightning connection, this powerful mic can record crisp quality all while being able to rotate, flip, or tilt towards the source of audio. Seriously a big winner in the space.

For affordability, we recommend a professional-grade lavalier microphone for iPhone. These work just fine and still get significantly better audio than recording straight off of your phone. One trick to boost the quality of these microphones is to put your phone on airplane mode AND do not disturb mode. This will cancel all frequencies including wireless radio. This will also prevent any interference with your recording like calls, notifications etc.

My Thoughts

Listen I get it, you might not want to buy any studio equipment or invest much money into microphones. The fact of the matter is that audio equipment tremendously improves your sound regardless if you’re new into rapping or not. My recommendation is to check your current microphone levels to find the perfect distance so your audio does not clip. Next, experiment and learn about the different plugins like EQ, Delay, Noise Gate etc. and their effects. After these steps that you should have better-sounding vocals.