Ambrose Li

iRig 2 + LG Velvet

(updated )

I just want to report that it is indeed possible to use an iRig 2 to connect a cell phone to a mixer as described by for example Ray Ortega‍[Note 1] and Expert Island‍[Note 2] so that you can use your studio mic for phone calls. Also, the thing is made in Italy, if you, like me, care about country of origin.

In my case I have the mic routed to my earphones through JACK. Here’s my current setup:

  • phone ↔ iRig 2 TRRS in/out
  • Notepad 5 monitor output → iRig 2 instrument in
  • iRig 2 headphone out → Notepad 5 inputs 4+5 (RCA)
  • mic → Notepad 5 input 1 (XLR)
  • JACK routing:
    • system:capture_1 → system:playback_1
    • system:capture_1 → system:playback_2
  • Notepad 5 routing: monitor L+R
  • Notepad 5 settings:
    • MIC gain near max
    • MIC monitor at max
    • MIC level at max
    • line 4/5 level at max
    • monitor master at 0

First, on the mixer, mic gain should be near max (depends on your mic). If you want to hear yourself, mic level should also be at max.

To make sure you can hear the caller, gain on the iRig 2 should be at max, and level on mixer input 4/5 should also be at max.

To make sure you can be heard, on the mixer, mic monitor should be at max and monitor master should be at zero. (If you fail to turn up mic monitor or monitor master, the caller won’t hear you even though you can hear yourself.)

With this setup, the max safe level on the phone reaches roughly +0 dB LU (according to japa and ebumeter[Note 3]).

The TRRS cable is quite short, which is probably ideal if you’re using your phone only for recordings, but for me I’m planning to use it for calls so I’ll need to move my phone from time to time. I’ll need to get a TRRS extension cable.

The salesperson at Long & McQuade’s‍[Note 4] was actually not sure this would work.

Notes

  1. Ray Ortega, “Best Way to Connect a Phone (iPhone, Android) to a Mixer,” accessed March 3, 2022, https://​www​.youtube​.com/​watch​?​v​=​9rq​Pi​Xpcd1​I.
  2. Expert Island, “Great Ways to Connect a Phone to Mixer To Take Callers,” accessed March 3, 2022, https://​www​.youtube​.com/​watch​?​v​=​L9d​Z2​RQ6gcg.
  3. Kokkini Zita, “Linux Audio projects at Kokkini Zita,” accessed March 4, 2022, http://​kokkinizita​.linuxaudio​.org/​linuxaudio/​index​.html.
  4. I talked to a salesperson in the mic department, but he found out I had to go to the guitar department to get it. I had been to Long & McQuade’s once before but I didn’t remember it was this big.