what can I do to improve the microphone sound quality when recording a live band

[Android Central Question]

The microphone sounds distorted when I video a band in a club

 

[SpookDroid]

Built-in microphones are usually not built with the appropriate noise protection and frequency response needed for a 'good' live-concert recording. You usually need to resort to 3rd party accessories for that (AKA a good microphone).

You can try putting a piece of filter (foam, fabric, etc.) on top of the microphone for your phone and see if that improves the noise cutoff from loud noises, but you also need to keep the phone not moving, vibrating or being touched to avoid secondhand noise from handling the device.

 

[Mooncatt]

If this is a big enough concern for you, I think your only two realistic options are to get a dedicated microphone or replace the phone with one of LG's V series phones.

A dedicated mic would give you great sound, at the expense of added bulk and possibly not being allowed at some venues anyway.

LG is king of audio recording in smartphones with great mics that can handle loud sounds and manual video controls that let you adjust various audio properties. The downside here is you may not like the phone overall and can be a pricy trade-off. If you're curious just how good they are, I recorded these jet dragsters from trackside with the V20. No extra equipment or microphones, just turned the mic gain down to avoid clipping. The dragsters are louder than any concert, but there's no distortion in the audio.

https://youtu.be/ImsVhkJLr98