Geardos: Podcast Gear and Shop Talk

[GamerstableEric]

Feel free to discuss or ask about the nuts and bolts of podcasting. Anything from mics to mixers to software to setting up a feed.

[davemb]

I'd be interested to know how you could get started with basic kit and software to start learning to ropes. Can you start with a basic mic and audio recorder or do you need to invest a bit to get a good quality recording?

[GamerstableEric]

Podcasting 101 - Basic Sound Quality

We were an extreme case, when it came to starting off. A ton of trial and error, and wasted money on gear.

You can start a show on the cheap. A basic mic or gaming headset is really all you need, unless you are recording a show with people in the same room, like we do, it is the way to get started. All you really need then is chat software and a way to record it.

For recording and/or editing you need Audacity. For a talk show, that's all you ever really need. Unless you want to get fancy with your editing or insist on multi-track recording capability, it's the standard. For Mac users, Garage Band is good but Audacity is still simple enough that some Mac users prefer it still.

A single, centrally located, usb mic can be the easiest way to do it but you sacrifice quality for price.

I've always been an advocate of the 1-Mic-per-Mouth theory of podcasting. (For the record, I don't really know if it's an actual theory. If not, we claim it)
Most casual podcast listeners will give a show a few minutes to decided if they are going to give a show a chance. Poor quality will reduce that time table considerably. Single mouth mics, properly adjusted can mean a lot.

First thing I would buy is a mixer. Some people disagree. Some of the things you do on a mixer can be handled digitally, but I prefer to physically adjust mic levels.

As of this post, you can get a decent single-mic mixer on Amazon for about $40. Two-mic mixer for $60. That's pretty good. Analog to digital capability makes it super easy.

Mic quality is important and you definitely get what you pay for. We exclusively use Heil Sound mics (PR20 & PR22) because of their moderate price point and high quality. PR20U (the bare model without all the bells & whistles) runs about $100 each. We prefer XLR mics to usb or even 1/4 inch jacks for the cleaner signal.

Cables importance is debatable.

I am in the high-quality camp. We've used cheap cables and they can be good or they can be sketchy. For a beginner I recommend not splurging on cables just yet. If you find your audio signal is still a bit rough, upgrade. If you don't notice anything, save your money. Mic cables (xlr or 1/4 inch) can be bought for as low as $5 each to as much as $150+

[davemb]

Thanks Eric, that's great information. I'm guilty of falling into the camp of listening to a podcast and bailing on it if the quality is poor, but I think you are right quality is key. It great that Audacity is free, I'll grab a copy and see how I get on with my headset as a start and build for there. Looks like the mic and the mixer are the best places to start.

[GamerstableEric]

No problem.

Once you've geared up, give us an update.

[VV411ac3]

As far as my recording goes, I use Skype to talk to people and use a third party recorder to save the conversations. After I'm done, I transfer to the new file into Audacity and edit.

My mic is a gaming headset I got from Walmart. I've record a few times in a group with the mic central amung the group and have picked up everything