Link: Audiohand

From the link above:

"Audiohand allows fans to capture live performances on their smartphones, meld multiple recordings into a single mix and tinker with bonus features such as reverb. Imagine fans with their smartphones recording a popular band such as Shovels & Rope, and then uploading their audio to create a high-quality version that other fans could discover"

No no no no no no.

As someone who spent years recording live performances, this is a horrible idea. No amount of mixing and "reverb" will make something recorded on a smartphone sound anything but terrible.

I'm not saying you have to invest $6000 into portable recording gear like I did. I pulled some amazing tapes starting out using a $250 pair of AKG C1000s and a used $200 Sony D8. That's not much more than the cost of an iPhone - the difference is this equipment was made for recording. The microphone on a smartphone is meant to pickup the human voice at a low level. Not 500 decibels of music. And the idea of mixing multiple bad sources? Mixing is hard. There's no easy way of doing it. Half ass it and you'll get half ass results. It took me a long, long time to get decent at mixing 4 tracks of audio (2 stereo channels of audience recording + 2 channels direct from the soundboard). Anything more than that in the hands of a novice is a disaster waiting to happen.

I'm not against this program. Have fun. Knock yourself out. I just don't agree with the completely unrealistic expectations put forward in the article linked. If you're serious about audio recording, invest a little more money and get the right gear for the job. If you're not willing to do that, by all means pull your phone out and video a song or two. Just don't go into it thinking you'll be making the next 'Get Your Ya Ya's Out'.