The SC6-L Mobile Interview kit has the Røde SC6-L interface that connects to an iPhones' Lightning connector jack and uses the Røde Reporter recording app (free download). The SC6-L has two 3.5-mm TRRS microphone inputs and a stereo 3.5-mm output headphone jack for monitoring. The kit comes with two, miniature RØDE smartLav+ pro-level lavaliere microphones with clips and windscreens. These are omnidirectional condenser capsules with Kevlar reinforced cables.
I tried the SC6-L for an interview and it could not be simpler to setup and use. In the Settings/Configure page of the Røde Recording app, you have a choice of three different fixed recording levels and a Separate channel mode so that microphone 1 is recorded on the left channel and mic 2 on the right channel. The SC6-L always produces a stereo audio track and the Combined mode mixes the two mics together in mono on the same track. I wanted the option to post-process the two audio tracks separately, if required, to remove street and A/C noise.
I liked the 3.5-mm headphone jack output - it has plenty of level to drive my Shure SRH840 professional headphones and you can lock monitoring to Direct Monitor with no latency. The sound quality was top notch! Using my headphones I could optimize the microphone position clipped to my interview subject quickly before starting the session. The microphone cables are just long enough to have my iPhone X on the coffee table between us but not too long to get all tangled up. The Medium mic gain record level worked fine with only an occasional clip on outbursts and laughter.
The SC6-L records in either standard, broadcast/video quality 48kHz/24-bit .wav or in (data) compressed formats at 48kHz with a choice of AAC (default) or MP3 and a choice of 128 (default), 256 or 320 bps bitrates and a choice of variable bit rate (VBR).
Checking recordings is easy with all recordings getting time stamped and going to a list on the Library page - ready for renaming and exporting via e-mail, AirDrop or other apps within your phone. The Mobile Interview Kit will also work as a two-microphone interface with other iOS recording audio and video software as well as Røde's range of VideoMics using a TRRS adapter.
The Røde SC6-L mobile interface alone sells for $79 MSRP and the entire Mobile Interview Kit including: the SC6-L Interface, LAV-Clips, WS-LAV windshields, storage pouch, and two smartLav+ Microphones sells for $199.
Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs and more. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and loves teaching audio engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS and a contributing editor for Mix Magazine. barryrudolph.com
