7
Using the iTrack Pocket
Use the iTrack Pocket as shown below.
The slot is designed to accept an iPhone 5, iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S.
The stereo microphone assembly is located behind the front grille, so the mics can pick up your
vocal or acoustic instrument while you are facing the iPhone’s camera.
If you are new to recording with high quality microphones, you need to be aware of a number of
important acoustic factors that may affect the quality of your recording. A guide to microphone
technique is beyond the scope of this User Guide (though many excellent books on the subject are
available), but there are a few golden rules to observe.
Here are some important tips for getting the best out of your iTrack Pocket:
DON’T ignore the room acoustics. You probably won’t have the luxury of a recording studio’s
carefully tailored acoustics, so be aware of how reverberant the room is. Reverberation is neither
good nor bad, but frequently inappropriate! Some instruments will benefit from being recorded
in a reverberant space, others won’t. A “dead” acoustic is generally better than a “live” one,
because reverberation can be added electronically by the Impact by Focusrite app, but room
reverberation on the recording can’t be removed.
DON’T blow at the microphones to test them! Lightly rub or scratch the grille instead.
DO experiment with the placement of the iTrack Pocket. Remember you will not only be recording
the vocal or instrument, but the effect of the microphone position relative to the voice or instrument
as well, and this will be affected by the room acoustics. Moving the iTrack Pocket around, and
trying recordings at different distances and angles to the source will produce different sounding
results, some of which will be better than others.
