Recording - July 2012 - 48

BY BETO HALE

Apogee

Pocket-sized interfaces with Apogee power

MiC and Jam

The acoustic guitar was a Martin HD-28 dreadnought; this guitar is loud and produces considerable low end, yet also has a good amount of full mids and shiny highs. The gain control on MiC was set around the mid-way point. To start, I played a simple strummed riff over a progression of open chords. I then added two more tracks with the same guitar; one was a more percussive

Apogee Electronics is known for producing high-quality audio interfaces intended for home-studio use, as well as very high-end cards geared for state-ofthe-art facilities. Recording has reviewed quite a few of Apogee’s products, most recently the Duet 2 (February 2012), and today we will add two more to that list— the MiC and JAM interfaces. MiC and JAM: Overview MiC was designed to record acoustic instruments or voice on an iPad, iPhone or a Mac, while JAM is for recording guitar directly into those same devices. In addition to music creation, MiC was also designed for recording interviews, podcasts, voiceovers and audio for DSLR video. Included with MiC and JAM are two cables: one for connection to a Mac (1m in length), and the other for iPhone/iPad (0.5m). Both products feature locking output jacks which connect directly to the iPad and iPhone’s 30-pin docking ports or to the USB port on a Mac, using the corresponding cables. MiC also includes a carrying case and a mic-stand adaptor. The documentation explains that sound is converted inside of MiC and JAM instead of inside of the recording device, since according to Apogee, audio converted inside the iPad may be affected by the noise of the iPad’s circuitry. Both interfaces are bus-powered by the recording device.
48
RECORDING JULY 2012

MiC and JAM are “Made For iOS” certified devices, which according to Apogee means they are held to a higher standard by the Apple MFi program and subjected to tests other products are not. The documentation says that both products feature Apogee’s PureDIGITAL technology, providing 44.1 or 48 kHz/24-bit analog-todigital conversion, and that both devices allow for 40 dB of gain. The polar pattern for MiC, a condenser, is cardioid.

MiC
MiC is quite attractive and sturdy. It has a metal body but is very light, and it features a rotary-style wheel on the side for input-gain control. The front has a level-indication LED which changes color depending on the status of MiC: blue means MiC is connected, but not ready; green tells you that MiC is connected, ready, and working with your software; and red indicates that the gain is set too high. (JAM features the same LED indicator.) I connected MiC to a MacBook Pro running OS 10.6.8 and used Apple Logic Pro 9. It started working with the software without a hitch, and I was recording in no time. I tracked acoustic guitar, vocals, cabasa, and bongos.

riff around the middle of the neck, and the other was an ostinato pattern of gently articulated notes. In all three cases, the guitar’s sound was faithfully reproduced. I was especially impressed with the third track; it seems like MiC really liked the sweet sound of a softly fingerpicked figure. The cabasa has a penetrating sound, which MiC handled well, and I really liked how it recorded the bongos. Every stroke was registered faithfully, from the louder accents to the very subtle “ghost notes” I played with my fingertips. I also recorded two vocal tracks, one low, and one high. Both parts sounded nice and smooth on playback; I know my voice well, and the interface was very true to my sound. Apogee recommends using a pop filter with MiC, to avoid nasty plosives; I agree. For the takes, I placed MiC at a distance of 8 to 12 inches from the source, tipping it on its side when tracking the guitar. (Apogee includes a small tripod which is ideal for table-top recording—a stand adapter for standard mic stands, a carrycase, and longer USB or iOS cables are available as options.) I also used MiC with my iPad 2 running Apple GarageBand; for these tests I decided to record my old, full-size upright piano. I placed

Recording - July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - July 2012