IK Multimedia is easily the world leader in nifty audio products for mobile production (as well as making my favorite guitar amp modeling plugin Amplitube), and they recently released the new iRig Mic Studio. It’s an adorable little large diaphragm condenser mic that you can plug directly into a computer or device for instant recording anywhere with no separate interface.
The uses for this thing are near infinite. Podcasting, mobile music recording, field sound capture for sound design, interviews, lectures – anytime you want good quality condenser mic recordings but don’t want to or can’t haul a larger rig, this is the jam. It comes with plugs for cables for USB, Apple devices, and Android 5 devices as well (30-pin connector available separately). It’s compact, pocket-sized even, and comes with a desktop tripod stand for ultra convenience.
The convenience factor on this little wonder is through the roof. It’s not something you would replace your U87 with – it sounds pretty good (and better with the addition of the Mic Room app for mic emulation of famous models) despite being a bit noisy, but it’s the ease of use and compact size-to-quality ratio that impressed me.
The ability to plug it directly into a device to use as an interface was extremely handy, and I experienced no connectivity issues at all – it was instant plug and play. If it hadn’t been, we’d likely be having a different conversation. I used it with my MacBook Pro and iPhone 5s with no problems at all.
The IK Multimedia dominance of the market for this kind of product rolls smoothly on. For making good quality demos while mobile, you’d be dumb not to make this a part of your rig. Anytime I travel now, I take my armada of IK mobile production gear (which fits easily in my carry-on with room to spare) and I’m never without the tools to be creative, wherever I go.
Snag the iRig Mic Studio for $179.99Â now.
