Home Recording for Singer-Songwriters: Capturing a Demo on iPhone

You can record a demo two ways and both are valid. The first is a single live take. Voice and guitar together through one mic. It keeps the natural feel and takes minutes. The second is layering. Record the guitar first, then overdub the vocal. That gives you control over the balance between them, and the overdub lands where you sang it, because Reel compensates for the full round trip through the interface and back. You also do not have to be at the phone to start. Arm the take and let your first chord begin it, and a rolling buffer keeps the moment before that, so nothing is clipped off the front.

For a first demo the live take is often the better choice. It captures the performance as you actually play it. That is usually what makes a song demo worth listening to.

Set the mic between your voice and the guitar and find the spot where both sit right. Usually a little closer to whichever is quieter. Then hit record and perform the song. That is the whole method. It is how countless classic demos were made.

Because Reel records 32-bit float a loud strum or a belted line will not clip. You can commit to the take instead of holding back.

When you want more control, record the guitar to track one, then play it back and overdub your vocal on track two. Add a harmony, a shaker or a second guitar on the remaining tracks. Reel gives you four tracks and tape-style overdubbing. You can arrange a small production one layer at a time.

The built-in microphone is enough to capture an idea and many demos never need more. When you want a fuller sound, connect a class-compliant USB audio interface. Use a condenser mic for the vocal and a direct input for the guitar. Reel records it all in clean 32-bit float.

Resist the urge to over-edit a demo. The slightly imperfect take with the right feeling almost always beats the corrected one that lost its spark. Scrub back through your takes with the jog wheel. Keep the best and move on.