Podcast Setup Question

[thomamon]

So I am planning on setting up a podcast, but want to do it right.

How much would the proper equipment cost to set something up and what would I need? I would really like it to allow me to accept phone calls for interviews and such.

 

[Diastro]

Hi there!

There's several ways to go about this.

The first thing you need is a microphone. A good one. Doesn't have to be expensive! But you want it to be good audio quality and maybe even more important: solidly built.

I can recommend something like a Blue Snowball. Don't know if you live in the States, but you can find one here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...LL_ICE_Snowball_USB_Condenser_Microphone.html

It runs via USB, easy as can be! All you need now is software. You can use GarageBand (you've probably seen it in your dock), Skype for calls and SoundFlower (or even the buil-in audio/MIDI setup utility) for audio routing. And that's all free! Awesome!

If you want to get a setup that allows for land-line calls though, you need some serious hardware.
Here's such a setup from that same handy dandy website: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/772793-REG/Audio_Technica_THE_TWO_PERSON_Audio.html

As you can see, that's quite the price difference! And it comes with a bit a of learning curve too.

The Snowball is a very cool mic for the money. You can't go wrong with it.

Oh, one more thing, I found this cool article on Mashable with lots more tips: http://mashable.com/2011/03/25/podcasting-tips/

Good luck!

PS: I don't work for B&H lol.

 

[Booch21]

I make two podcasts and the simplest setup I have are two Electrovoice microphones going into a Zoom H4n. Then I dump the data into Adobe Audition for editing. I also have a VoiceOver business so my studio is much more complex, using a Neumann mic in a Studiobricks VO booth. I feed into a USB mixer directly into Audition.

A decent USB mic should be a good start. Take a look at the Rode Podcaster and a Rode boom stand with the right shockmount. It's a dynamic mic, more forgiving and picks up less noise, plus the boom will keep your mic above the desk and give you flexible mic positioning. I have used this mic and it produces some very nice results, adequate for podcasts.

 

[Irishman]

So I am planning on setting up a podcast, but want to do it right.

How much would the proper equipment cost to set something up and what would I need? I would really like it to allow me to accept phone calls for interviews and such.

Skype and Google Hangouts are now being used to handle multiple voice track podcasts. There is an app for OSX called Call Recorder that can save every voice call as a separate file that you can import into a waveform editor (like Garageband or Audacity) to mix later on. CR is not free (it's $10), but works with Skype, and gets updated every time Skype is.

Any of the Blue Microphones will do a phenomenal job recording your voice (I'm partial to the Yeti), but keep in mind that if you're pulling in audio four other callers, you'll be limited by the quality of their mic. It works better if you can have the same mic for all participants. Be kind to the ears of your listeners and invest in a pop filter. They're cheap.

Also, run your file through an app like Levelator, which takes out the peaks that will also hurt your listeners ears, making everything sound more appealing.

 

[ChrisA]

So I am planning on setting up a podcast, but want to do it right.

How much would the proper equipment cost to set something up and what would I need? I would really like it to allow me to accept phone calls for interviews and such.

Recording telephones is hard. It takes some skill and equipment to do it right. What you hear a radio call-in show what you DON'T hear is that an engineer has been working with the caller to get the sound and level right before they switch to on-air. Also many of those live callers are recored.

For pod casts you have the luxury of recording and editing and being able to tweak the sound before you mix it.

It's easy tospend$600 on a telephone interface but this might be the cheapest thing that could work well enough
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/QuickTap/

But you need a good microphone too. There are quite a few USB microphones at the $150 price point. This one is good.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Percep120USB/
Lots of people like this one too
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AT2020USB/

You would need a microphone stand and a pop filter too
here is a deal on the filter. YES, you need this.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PopFilter6/

You are also going to need some acoustical treatment of the recording space. DOn't speak at a hard surface. A $5 moving blanket folded in quarts works

One thing about the phone interview. Use the USB mic at your end. Record that on one track and the phone on the other track and later cut the two track together.

 

[Booch21]

For a telephone connection, I use my cell phone and a simple jack from Radio Shack to plug the audio into the mixer. Then I hear the audio in my headphones and the mic picks up my audio. It's simple and works well. My first mixer was an Alesis 4 in 1 USB mixer and it worked fine for multiple inputs. This does put all audio on one track but you can adjust the volume easily with the pots on the mixer. It doesn't work well for call-in type shows, but for a phone interview, it's perfect.