We’ve all experienced being struck by a musical idea or a compelling sound but without access to the high-quality audio equipment we’d ideally like to capture it with. It’s all too easy to let a moment of inspiration slip past because we think we don't have the perfect tool on hand, but thanks to the phones most of us carry around in our pockets, this doesn’t have to be the case. With the ubiquity of smartphones and their constantly improving technologies, we should never have an excuse not to capture a moment of inspiration again.

At Loop 2021, Liz Teutsch, musician, audio engineer and educator, joined us from Jazztone Studios in Valencia, Spain, offering a two-hour deep dive into the basics of microphone technology, and tips on how to make the most of the tools we have available to us. In this workshop, with the assistance of musician and songwriter Gÿe, Liz demonstrated that with a bit of knowledge about the way microphones work, we don’t have to feel stuck without expensive equipment: the microphones in our devices can do more than we might have imagined.

Here we bring you video from Liz’s original workshop at Loop, covering foundational microphone knowledge, a mic comparison with some unexpected results, and some strategies for getting the most out of whatever recording situation you might find yourself in. 

https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/the-best-microphone-is-the-one-you-already-have-a-workshop-with-liz-teutsch/