Podcasting Equipment Guide (2009)

Tuesday, 20 October 2009 • Short URL • 76 comments

Figure 1 Dan Benjamin, “broadcasting” circa 1976.

I’ve loved broadcasting my whole life. When I started my first podcast back in 2003, I was hopeful that it would turn into something I could do for fun, and maybe earn a little bit of extra cash. Today, almost 4 years later, I make a large part of my income from podcasting (I co-host Rails Envy, Tack Sharp, and the EE Podcast, as well as a few upcoming projects), and screencasting (at PeepCode).

This article is a major update (a rewrite, actually) of my original Podcasting equipment guide. I’ve tried a lot of gear and learned a lot since I wrote that article — I’ve been recording something almost daily for the last 4 years. While most of my recommendations in that article are still valid, I wanted to publish this update to share what I’ve learned.

So, if you’re thinking about podcasting and have no idea where to start, if you’ve tried recording using your computer’s built-in microphone and realized just how bad that sounds, and if you’re ready to get serious about creating great audio, you’re in the right place. My hope is that this article will assist you in building a recording rig that suits your needs and meets your budget.

I’ve split up my recommendations into 4 levels based on budget:

  1. Beginner
  2. Entry level
  3. Mid-Range
  4. Prosumer

Of course I realize that my recommendations won’t work for everybody, but I hope that you’ll find some of the information and links useful.

If you decide to buy any of this gear, consider clicking the links below. I’ll make a few bucks through the affiliate programs, and you’ll help put my kid through college.

OK, here we go.

Beginner (Under $100)

If you’re new to this, if you’re just starting out, or if you’ve been asked to be a guest on a show, there are probably a few things you should consider before you buy anything

Fortunately, there’s still a good solution for you.


Figure 2 Plantronics .Audio 655 USB Multimedia Headset.

Beginner hardware

In the past, I’ve recommended various USB mics with a low price, but those can turn out to be a dead end in that later, if you decide you want to do more recording, you’ll want to step up to the mid-range or prosumer level setups like the ones I’ve listed below. The USB mic will no longer be useful to you, and you’ll have wasted $100, while the headset will still be good for music, games, and casual recording or audio chats.

Beginner software

You’ll spend a bit more time editing with these tools, but you’ll save money initially.

Entry level ($200-250)

If you’ve already been recording for a short time and want to step up, or if you’re willing to spend a bit more money starting out to get a better end result and save some time in the editing process, this is the section for you.

Figure 3 M-Audio Fast Track USB II audio interface.

Entry level hardware

Entry level software

Mid-Range ($500-$750)

All right, this is where it starts to get fun. You’re more serious now, and you’d like to upgrade. Here we go.

Figure 4 M-Audio Fast Track Pro audio interface.

At this level, I recommend that you consider getting more professional audio editing software. There are many great options, like Apple’s Logic Express 9, Adobe Audition, and Digidesign Pro Tools.

A note about Pro Tools and Hardware

I use both Digidesign Pro Tools and Apple’s Logic Express 9. They are both awesome. One thing to note, though: if you are interested in Pro Tools, which is still the industry standard, you need to know that it’s only compatible with certain audio interfaces.

So if you’ve decided to go the Pro Tools route, you’ll need to decide if you want to get a great (and affordable) audio interface now and buy Pro Tools 8 M-Powered separately (or later, which is what I did), or save some money and get a good (but perhaps not great) audio interface with Pro Tools 8 LE bundled along with it. This is important, because there are different versions of Pro Tools compatible with different audio interfaces, and which one you get now will determine what you’ll need to get later.

I recommend getting the great audio interface now, and buying Pro Tools 8 later for one important reason: you may later decide to upgrade your audio interface to something even better than what I recommend here, and a lot of the prosumer M-Audio gear (and some professional gear, like Mackie mixers) is compatible with Pro Tools. Taking this path means that upgrading your hardware later on won’t affect your software purchase.

Mid-range hardware

At this stage, you may already own a good audio interface, mic, or boom. Fortunately, most of these items are compatible with one another, so you can upgrade on a piece-by-piece basis.

If you want to try Pro Tools and get a decent audio interface:

If you’re not into Pro Tools (or might want to try it later), get a great audio interface right now:

Now the rest of the gear:

Mid-Range software

Prosumer ($750+)

You’re serious now, and ready for some serious gear. Let’s do this.

Figure 5 M-Audio Fast Track Ultra audio interface.

Prosumer hardware

Prosumer software

It’s a Wrap

Hopefully this article has been useful to you. Audio recording is a big territory with lots of room for ideas, thoughts, and opinions, and the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know. Please feel free to add your comments below and share your recommendations, experiences, and tips.

Filed in Podcasting, Gear, Reviews.

Ryan Bates

20 October 2009 at 4:18 pm

Thanks for the overview Dan. It is very helpful.

Could you clarify your criticisms toward USB mics? Specifically this statement: “those can turn out to be a dead end in that later, if you decide you want to do more recording”. What “dead end” are you referring to?

Dan Benjamin

20 October 2009 at 4:23 pm

@Ryan If or when you want to upgrade your hardware, the USB mic won’t plug into any XLR-style inputs, so you won’t be able to make use of it with any more advanced or higher quality gear. An entry level XLR-style mic, on the other hand, will work fine with any audio interface gear.

Ryan Bates

20 October 2009 at 4:41 pm

I guess what I’m wondering is, does an average podcaster really need to worry about XLR? It adds additional expenses, wires, and another interface to worry about levels, etc. IMO, a high-end USB mic is good enough quality for 99% of podcasting needs.

I can see you’d want to go XLR if you’re doing mixing or something, but most podcasting is a single mic, so why not stick with USB? The simplicity seems worth it to me.

Now I’m not audio expert so perhaps there’s some disadvantage to USB as far as quality is concerned that I’m not seeing.

Dan Benjamin

20 October 2009 at 4:55 pm

@Ryan - that’s what I recommend the headset for!

Ryan Bates

20 October 2009 at 5:03 pm

I understand that but I’m still unsure of why a mid-to-high-end USB mic is not recommended. As far as I can tell it serves the majority of anyone’s podcasting needs.

I’m not trying to be argumentative here, just want to expand my (very limited) knowledge of audio.

My main question is, what podcasting need does XLR fill that is not met with a high-end USB microphone?

Thanks.

Jeff Duska

20 October 2009 at 5:48 pm

A couple of questions…

Any reason you don’t use Soundtrack Pro? I’m think you’ve mentioned using Final Cut Studio for screencasts that includes Soundtrack Pro.  Since I already have Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio, I would really like to avoid getting yet another software package.

Any experince using Apogee’s equipement? I’ve been interested in Apogee One or Duet, because Logic and Final Cut have integrated support for them. I’m looking for screencasting/podcasting to start with, but also want to use the interface for recording music.

I’ve read a few place suggesting using firewire interfaces instead of usb 2.0 for better performance.

Dan Benjamin

20 October 2009 at 6:53 pm

@Jeff - Soundtrack Pro is great software, and the integration with Final Cut Pro is perfect, but I don’t like the interface or workflow. There are things that Pro Tools does that no other software I’ve used can do, so that’s what I use and what I recommend.

Apogee’s new One and Duet are great. I’m writing up another piece talking about those and other “mobile” recording equipment.

heather gold

20 October 2009 at 7:42 pm

Thanks for the great post Dan.
My question is what is the best beginner method you know for recording quality phone conversations with multiple people? Call Recorder works well for one on one conversations with people who can skype, but I’m still uncertain as to the best way to record a phone call with 4 or more people , some of whom will have to call on a phone.

(FWIW @Ryan I use an H2 Zoom USB Mic which works pretty well for an entry level mic, especially if you record away from your computer for any reason, which I sometimes do)

ZuDfunck

20 October 2009 at 8:19 pm

Here is my Bare Bonz setup:

Blue Snowball Mic
Garageband part of iLife
Macbook

You do it all for cheap and hopefully it doesn’t soud Cheap!

Cheesy but not cheap!

Plus I prefer the term Audio Blogging
As I am the original audio Blogger
I have proof!

Jason Seifer

20 October 2009 at 9:48 pm

@Ryan To build on what Dan has written, another reason that XLR is better for than USB is upgradability in stages.  You can get a less expensive mic and interface but have it sound several orders of magnitude more rich with a good preamp/compressor, like the ThreeQ that Dan linked.

This is exactly what I did.  I had a “starter kit” from Sam Ash that included the mbox 2 mini, M-Audio monitor speakers, and an M-Audio condenser mic.  I later added the Joemeek ThreeQ and eventually got rid of that mic and picked up the Heil PR40 that Dan mentions in this post.

@Jeff Regarding Soundtrack Pro, it’s a great piece of software.  It’s fantastic for editing movie sound tracks and it’s also great for single track podcasts.  Once you get more than one audio track, like a podcast with two people, Pro Tools really shines.  The concept of the different modes is what makes it so powerful.  In Soundtrack if I have to cut, say, 10 seconds of audio from two tracks at once, I have to do that on each track individually.  If I have music or sound effects, I then have to move all those back the same 10 seconds.  In Pro Tools, I can select all the tracks, highlight what I want to remove, change to shuffle mode, and hit delete and it moves it all back for me.  It’s an incredibly powerful workflow that’s well worth the money in time saved once you get the hang of it.

Derek K. Miller

20 October 2009 at 11:35 pm

Here’s the thing about USB mics: you have no opportunity to insert hardware-based processing before digitization. No compressors, limiters, preamps, EQ, or anything. You have a much narrower range of mics to choose from, and most of those are low-end. And you can use XLR-based mics in many more places and ways. I have both, and almost never use the USB microphones at all.

For the price of a Rode Podcaster or a Blue Snowball or another decent USB mic, you can easily get a perfectly decent XLR mic (even a workhorse Shure SM58 “ball” mic like every podium and Roger Daltrey use) and an interface to go with it, which will give you much more flexibility down the line.

Personally, I dislike how Digidesign locks Pro Tools to hardware of one kind or another, and while M-Audio and low-end Digi hardware are generally fine, there’s a lot of better stuff out there from the likes or PreSonus, Focusrite, and so on—but you’ll need to get different, non-Pro Tools software to use them. Pro Tools is still great for chopping and slicing audio, and it is one of the main industry standards, but if you’re going to get a full-fledged digital audio workstation (DAW), others like Logic Studio, Cubase, SONAR, etc. or more specialized apps like Soundtrack Pro, Soundbooth, Audition, and the like are worth looking at.

Also don’t forget little apps like Amadeus Pro and Fission, which offer lots that podcasters can find useful for very little money.

I put together a similar low-budget list over at Inside Home Recording some time ago, but the info might still be useful. Dan’s current lists above are generally much better though:

http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=82

Finally, I’ve really enjoyed my Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones for studio use.

William

21 October 2009 at 12:34 am

What about remote recording? Say you want to cover an event, interview people, etc., without having to haul your MacBook around. Suggestions on digital recorders for that? Thanks!

Jarkko Laine

21 October 2009 at 1:44 am

Great article and advice, Dan!

PR40 is a dynamic mic, though, isn’t it?

Andrew

21 October 2009 at 3:22 am

Oh Dan, you didn’t mention The Talk Show.  It’s truly dead, isn’t it? :(

Chris Anderson

21 October 2009 at 8:56 am

Definitely a dumb question, but what are the boom mics for? Filming video or recording multiple people?

Also, any recommendations on good lapel mics for video podcasting?

Thanks so much for the guide - it’s outstanding!

Jarkko Laine

21 October 2009 at 9:26 am

@Chris: Heil PL2T is a mic boom, not a boom mic. It’s basically a long-reach mic stand that you can use to silently move the mic when you’re bouncing around on your gym ball while recording.

Unless you’re using a headset, you’re going to need a mic stand/boom and PL2T is probably your best bet.

Marcus dePaula

21 October 2009 at 9:31 am

I would like to ask how specifically Pro Tools “saves time”.  I am a professional audio engineer and have installed multiple Pro Tools systms over the years, and while it is the “industry standard” for multitrack recording, I feel for the vast majority of people recording a single mic for speech it can be more trouble than it’s worth.  I will also say that all of this is personal opinion - no aspect of audio editing/engineering is objective.  It’s all a matter of taste.

For the average non-audio professional, Pro Tools has a very steep learning curve.  Beyond that, the added headache is in their customer service and upgrading.  Once you buy one version of Pro Tools, you can’t ever upgrade your OS until they say you can.  And my customer experince with their tech support has made me not want to use their product ever again.  But that’s just me.

I’m personally a fan of Garage Band.  While the editing tools are dummied down considerably, they are very easy for the average non-audio professional to use.  Things just make sense in Garage Band to me.  And for recording a single channel, slapping a little EQ and compression on it, and than exporting it for the web, Garage Band is what I keep going back to after trying other Pro audio editing programs.  Primarily for me it’s the ease of exporting for web download - trying to find the perfect balance between fidelity and file size.  Garage Band mad it easy for me to find my setting of 48 Kbps Mono to use.  Also we add images that progress with the audio to make out “enhanced podcast”, which is also super simple to do in Garage Band.

The last thing I’d like to address is equipment.  While I’m a HUGE fan of Apogee and Rode or Milennium mics, one must keep in mind the end product.  Is the added fidelity an expensive mic or pre/interface brings worth it when you will end up exporting the final product as a low bit mono file for web streaming or download?!  Also, is that fidelity going to come thru on the end user’s laptop speakers or generic ear buds?  I suggest finding middle-of-the road hardware that is easy to use and can keep up with the frequent OS updates.  I like the PreSonus FireWire interfaces since they sound great, are a great price, and use the core OS audio drivers.  You plug them in and they just work.  There are great mics listed above and you should be able to find a great sounding mic for a couple hundred dollars.

In summary, find software that makes the most sense tonyou and your workflow - don’t just buy software because it’s what pros use.  And get hardware that is a good value based on your end product keeping in mind what it’s going to sound like to the average listener on the street.

Audio is very much a matter of taste so take or leave anything or everything I’ve said here.  :)

St. Chris

21 October 2009 at 10:46 am

I’ll add my recommendation for the Heil PL2T boom. Any position you put it in, it stays there solidly. (I replaced a floor-stand boom with the Heil, and ye gods, what a difference in workspace.) Being able to run the cable “invisibly” through the boom may sound like a trivial improvement, but once you do it and see the result, it’s quite elegant.

All these higher-end recommendations have me feeling a little bush-league for still not having outgrown my Samson C03U, but (with good mic technique) I’m still happy with it, so far.

Erick

21 October 2009 at 10:52 am

Dan, got any thoughts on the Apogee Duet, in lieu of the audio interface and pre-amp?

Matt Otto

21 October 2009 at 11:55 am

As an audio professional I’d warn against any products from M-Audio. They are designed as my first audio interface. No matter the model number. some great alternatives are the AudioFire line from Echo Audio. MOTU also makes some nice gear and finally there are the Metric Halo ULN stuff and RME Fireface series which both are for the professionals and expensive but completely worth it.

With any of the interfaces I listed above you generally will not need mic pres. Especially if you go the Metric Halo and RME route.

Also the Duet is a fantastic interface and well worth the cash many of my friends and colleagues use it and love it. (FWI the Duet is an audio interface)

Doug

21 October 2009 at 12:01 pm

Solid advice. To get back to the difference between USB mics & XLR mic…. I have used both and, being a musician, my preference would be the XLR mic due to the heavy compression that seems to come with most USB mics that I’ve tried. By compression I mean…the overall sound of a voice recorded with a USB mic seems to be all crunched up sounding and with an XLR mic (I use a Shure SM58) the overall sound is much more light and airy and seems to bring out the audio range of a voice much better & clearer.

Audacity is a terrific app for cross platform recording. I have used it to get a high quality recording from the windows using party on the other end. This is called a double-ender. I record in Audacity on my end (Mac) they record on their end (Windows) they send me the file and I sync them up and you get a great sound without having to go through the wiring nightmare of getting your sound from Skype and recording both as well as sending a mix back through Skype. In this fashion one can easily put the two together and mix it down.

Dan, this a terrific article and I’ll be glad to pass it along to others. Thanks!

Derek K. Miller

21 October 2009 at 12:11 pm

Marcus makes further good points against Pro Tools (and M-Audio hardware) for most people. I really think Digidesign is letting the rest of the industry pass them by while trying to maintain their market position using old-fashioned methods. If you want the best deal in a high-end DAW package and have a Mac, Logic Studio is hard to beat.

But you don’t need anything that powerful for podcasting. I trim my audio with Fission, enhance it was the free Levelator, and do final production in GarageBand, and haven’t needed anything further.

William asked about remote recording. I quite like my Zoom H4 recorder, which includes XLR inputs so you can use good external mics—or the built-in ones if you prefer. The New H4n is apparently ruggedized with better preamps, so that’s worth looking at. I like the H4 well enough that I use it for all my podcast recording (in studio or out), bypassing a computer altogether until the editing stage. Much more reliable than a computer that’s trying to do so many other things.

Darius Dunlap

21 October 2009 at 12:19 pm

A few comments I hope are helpful…

XLR Mics:

Different mics are good for different purposes. Using a good interface and XLR mics allows you to use different mics in different situations. This is a variation on the upgrade path point made earlier.

Be sure your interface can also do “phantom power” on those XLR mic inputs. It’s necessary for many of the best mics.

Apogee Duet:

The finest small audio interface I’ve heard. It does make a difference! Beautiful sound, excellent design, easy to use and understand. Mac only, but nicely integrated with Garage Band and Logic Express/Studio.

Software:

I’ve noticed people get carried away with the software choices, buying way more than they need. If you’re on a budget, better to put more money into mics and interfaces than software with a bunch of fancy multi-track and synth features that you likely will never use.

There are lots of nice options, some especially made for podcasting. On the Mac, check out:

Garage Band - http://www.apple.com/support/garageband/podcasts/
WireTap Studio - http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/
Audio HiJack + Fission - http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/
Übercaster - http://www.ubercaster.com/


This one is cross-platform:
Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

darius

David Sparks

21 October 2009 at 12:35 pm

Dan,

I’ve got a used (but very nice) Heil PR40. I’m having trouble with my Blue XLR-USB converter (on my second) and thinking about just buying the Shure XLR-USB converter.  Should I do the MAudio instead?

Mike WS Stone

21 October 2009 at 12:49 pm

Good article.
For the entry level podcaster who really wants to save money you can save $18 by getting a wire coat hanger and a pair of your other half’s stockings/tights. Bend the hanger to a suitable shape, cut a foot off the lingerie, stretch it over the frame and secure with duct tape. Job done. You might have to be creative about fixing it to and/or positioning it correctly in front of the mic, though.
This sort of pop filter is very effective and has been spotted in pro recording studios. Speaking of spots, one advantage is that if the filter accumulates too much spittle it is much easier to replace the fabric than wash or replace the commercial gubbins.
Cheers,
Mike

Dan Benjamin

21 October 2009 at 1:14 pm

Those of you asking about the Apogee Duet (or Apogee One) ... My Tack Sharp co-host Duncan Davidson bought one of them while he was here in Orlando a few weeks ago, and you can hear him using it on the last few episodes.

I think it’s a great little device.

Samuel

21 October 2009 at 1:32 pm

For the entry level PC user and up, I would whole-heartedly recommend REAPER (http://reaper.fm). For educational or non-profits, or even businesses with gross revenues up to $20,000 the license is only $60 and it is fantastic software. I’ve used it for audiobooks as well as acoustic recordings and it can more than handle several contributors for simultaneous independent recording.

I also thoroughly second the recommendation of the AT2020 microphone. It has served me well for a long time.

nex

21 October 2009 at 1:35 pm

> causal recording

hehehe. personally, “if case” i had to do that, i’d use a “dyanmic mic.”

anyway, great tips, thanks for putting this together! i didn’t know there’s an affordable USB headset that also has regular jacks. and the M-Audio Fast Track Pro looks great for $172.36 with free shipping. i wish amazon had the same offer over here in Foreignistan.

however, i’m sceptical about the other M-Audio interface in the entry level section. constraining yourself to 1 input channel just to save 50 bucks is a gamble.

Dan, i hope you’ll make a new episode of Tack Sharp soon; i really enjoyed that. at the moment the web site isn’t even up :(

BK

21 October 2009 at 1:51 pm

When I’m podcasting I tend to prefer headset mics because I feel as if I have more freedom and one less thing to worry about.

Any recommendations for an XLR headset or good USB headset? I primarily want to use it for skype interviews.

Also, I’ve had some pretty good success with Audio Hijack Pro for recording skype conversations on my mac. I like being able to split voices between left and right channels making editing easier later on.

Bill

21 October 2009 at 1:53 pm

Thanks for all the great advice! Do you (or anyone) have any thoughts on recording both myself and a Skype call on two separate channels? I am trying to record a podcast with a friend in D.C. (I’m in NYC) and this is really proving to be a hurdle.

Thanks,

bg

Ryan O

21 October 2009 at 2:24 pm

I have the Shure SM7B mic and use the AudioBox USB (preSonus) interface.  Would you recommend using the preamp or not?  I know the Shure mic does not need a preamp/compressor hardware.  What benefit would I gain in purchasing that preamp (The Audiobox, I believe comes with a preamp included and 48v phantom power).  Just wondering whether to upgrade or not.  Thanks.

Dan Benjamin

21 October 2009 at 2:33 pm

@nex The Tacksharp podcast (tacksharp.tv) is alive and well, and the site loads fine for me.

Drew

21 October 2009 at 2:35 pm

This is essentially a really helpful article (and I relate closely to Dan’s passion for broadcasting from an early age) but I have to add my voice in saying you simply don’t need to buy ProTools 8 to make a professional quality podcast.

It’s a well-regarded system, of course, and still widely used by those who have invested heavily in it - but you pay a premium for the name and your choice of hardware is restricted. It’s also well known that certain aspects of the cheaper systems are held back to provide a clear distinction from the HD range.

The old arguments that “ProTools sounds better” or “it’s what the professionals use” are easily swept away (a null test for the former and a look around the BBC would do the trick). Being an older beast it’s also lacking some of the modern internet-world thinking.. unless you pay for costly compatible plugins.

Adobe Audition is popular in radio stations and capable of delivering, but I’d personally recommend REAPER ( http://www.reaper.fm ) for a number of reasons. The main one being that you can achieve the same results and pay $60 (unless you qualify for the commercial license applicable to those earning over $20k from this game!)

It’s a 4MB download, free trial for a month and you can choose hardware from any manufacturer. You could even use a laptop’s own mic or a headset if the quality proves sufficient (and they’re getting better all the time), but I’d probably go for one of the following:

A Shure X2U (which connects via USB and gives you thumbwheel headphone & mic volume controls directly below your microphone), or an Edirol UA-25 (which is more like the M-Audio interfaces shown and provides 2 independent inputs) depending on your needs.

The Zoom H2 portable recorder suggested previously is an excellent choice so you have a way to capture audio directly to SD card without any computer involvement + via the USB cable directly to REAPER.

I love being able to do things like output direct to a SHOUTcast stream + use in-built tools such as “ReaNINJAM” voice chat mode to conduct interviews. It’s also lightning fast - if you choose ProTools aspects like “real-time bounce” will just slow you down.. that means if you have a great half hour show ready to go you would need to wait 30 mins before you can even upload it.

Dan I’m cowering & hoping you won’t object to this - things are changing fast and as a former ProTools HD2 owner who had spent over $30,000 with Digidesign I can promise I had very solid reasons for moving away!

A Young

21 October 2009 at 2:58 pm

Just putting my 2 cents in, great article and comments!  I about 6 months ago picked up the MOTU Ultralite Mk3 and am really liking it thus far. Reasonably good pre-amps for being onboard, and lots of room to grow (2 XLR inputs with phantom power, and room for 8 other inputs). I’ve been using it with GarageBand, STP and various other simple recording apps. Has some space for DSPs as well.

The question I have as far as Control Surfaces, I was curious to possibly pick up a Presonus FaderPort, but I’m not sure if any of the applications I use will actually WORK with it. I’ve looked at the software list it works with, but I don’t see any of what I use on there.

Anyone have suggestions for reasonable-price control surfaces for easier editing/tweaking?

thanks!

jimbo

21 October 2009 at 4:05 pm

looks like you got sponsored by m-audio or somethin’.. :/

Dan Benjamin

21 October 2009 at 4:05 pm

Regarding Pro Tools - you absolutely do <em>not</en> need it to edit great podcasts, you can use any software you like and still get great results.

I’ve updated the article with some more in-depth information about Pro Tools and why I switched, hopefully it’ll clear things up as to why I like it, as well as present some alternatives.

Antony Gravett

21 October 2009 at 4:29 pm

Thank you for the great guide, and I would only add in a couple of “off the beaten audio track” options:

For audio recording software, I am very impressed with TwistedWave (http://twistedwave.com/). It has been well supported, and I like the way it handles recording and effects plug-ins ...

... speaking of which, Ozone is this mastering engineer’s first go-to tool (http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/)

I favor the Rode NT1A for voice, because of its very low noise floor.  A pop filter and a good scissor-style boom support is my preference, e.g., http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-SKSD-STD

Mary-Lynn

21 October 2009 at 4:46 pm

Love reading about all the equipment. I’m a girl who loves to curl up with my BSW magazine. Anyway a great podcasting kit for starters is this one: http://www.behringer.de/EN/Products/PODCASTUDIO-USB.aspx. I’m with Derek above. Its nice to have some control over processing before digitization with the use if this cute little mixing board.

Personally, I use a mackie onyx mixing board. A Heil microphone and we use a phone hybrid that runs through an aux channel on the board for radio station quality interviews. But then again…I’m a “Prosumer.” Thanks for the update to your guide, Dan.

Dan Benjamin

21 October 2009 at 4:49 pm

@jimbo - Nope, no sponsorships by M-Audio. I only recommend gear that I like, and I’m not compensated by anybody for my recommendations.

Any sponsorships (like the ad in the sidebar or the RSS Feed sponsorship) are clearly marked, and I’d never present them as “my opinion” as I’ve done here.

Thanks for asking, as it gave me the opportunity to mention it, in case others were wondering as well.

Dan Benjamin

21 October 2009 at 4:51 pm

@Mary-Lynn - those look great, thanks for the links! I’ve had great luck with the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra, but as I move toward integrating some additional audio sources (with widely varying quality), I’m considering a Mackie. Which one are you using?

Mary-Lynn

21 October 2009 at 5:01 pm

Dan, I’ve got the Mackie Onyx 1220. It’s been great. I’ve had it for about 2 years now. It has more channels than I need, but had the Aux channel that I needed for the phone setup. This post and conversation is a great resource for podcasters. I’ll definitely share this :)

Funtime Ben

21 October 2009 at 5:13 pm

As someone who’s been podcasting a while I would also definitely recommend TASCAM audio interfaces and Ableton Live for recording. While I can appreciate the pro tools route, Ableton is definitely a mid-range solution that works remarkably well for podcasting or music production and has a far less steep learning curve.

I myself after 5 years of podcasting have now reverted back to Garageband because it does most everything you could ever hope for and use a fairly cheap microphone. Most important is to get a good set of closed-air headphones. Really hearing what you are recording is critical.

Thanks for the list!

Jerry Lee Hughes

21 October 2009 at 6:48 pm

I have a MOTU 8Pre and CubaseStudio 4 and a Rode NT2-A mic plus headphones and Logitec video. Do I need anything else to start podcasting? Oh yes! I was an on-air announcer in major market radio for 26 years.

nex

21 October 2009 at 7:11 pm

Ah, yes, missing the last two episodes of Tack Sharp had been entirely my fault; due to the long delay between episodes 8 and 9, I hadn’t put it into my podcatcher after migrating to a new machine ... Now I have two new ones to listen to at once, wheee! And I re-subscribed, of course. That I couldn’t reach the site just then was a coincidence.

The clarification about Pro Tools is nice, but I’m still wondering if it would offer me something significant (for the purpose of editing podcasts at a Jad-Abumrad-wannabe level) that I haven’t already got in, say, Ardour (which is GPL). Does it have super-efficient keyboard shortcuts that support your workflow more ingeniously than other programs? Or does it come with superior audio filters? (I’m not specifically asking Dan here; I’m grateful for answers from anyone who tried it.)

Steven Artlip

21 October 2009 at 9:44 pm

Thanks for the great info, I was actually a little curious if you guys have any alternatives for skype or tips for improving the skype quality for podcasting.

Kevin Larrabee

21 October 2009 at 10:21 pm

So the M-Audio Fast Track II/ Audio-Technica AT2020 mic is really worth the extra money over the USB AT 2020?

ira blanco

21 October 2009 at 10:29 pm

Disclaimer: I work for Samson/Hartke/Zoom

One solution not mentioned in this guide is using a Zoom H4 or H4n as a USB mic and/or a USB Audio Interface. You can use the H4 and H4n with their X/Y condenser mics as a stereo USB mic or use the XLR-1/4” combi connectors to plug in external dynamic or condenser mics (with phantom power). And of course you can take the Zoom Handy recorder with you in the field for interviews and such. The Zoom H2 can also be used as a USB mic (with it’s four built-in microphones) but lacks the necessary inputs to be a great USB interface.

The Zoom H4 and H4n are powerful field recorders, but are often overlooked for their potential use in home or studio environment podcasting situations.

Thanks to the earlier commenters that mentioned using these pieces.

Also worth a look: Samson Q2U - a Dynamic mic with XLR and USB outputs.

Sean Barrett

21 October 2009 at 11:59 pm

These hardware suggestions look great, thanks.

I’ll third the recommendation for REAPER; I used to use Pro Tools (on the PC with an MBox) and switched to Reaper last year—this is for music production, not podcasting.. For the way I work, Reaper is a better fit (that is, I get stuff done faster and it feels more comfortable). Tastes vary, of course, but Reaper is free to try out.

Dan Benjamin

22 October 2009 at 5:30 am

@ira blanco - I didn’t mention the Zoom on purpose ... I’ll be talking about the Zoom, the Apogee One and Duet, and some other portable devices in an upcoming post on a related topic.

Jorge

22 October 2009 at 7:33 am

I’ve just bought Behringer podcast studio and is great. Has anything you need for an affordable price $150.

Alan

22 October 2009 at 8:27 am

I’ve been recording voice over for years, and I’ve settled on the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra as well. I tried the Apogee Duet, and it’s a bit clearer, but the FTUltra gives you something most interfaces don’t—inserts for outboard processing. Inserts let you place a compressor between the preamp and the analog/digital converter. While you can always compress after you record, it works better for me to smooth everything out and get rid of the peaks before the sound hits my harddrive. The FMR Audio RNC1773 ($175) is the secret sauce for me. What’s most important is pairing processing that works with the mic that makes *you* sound best. That takes some trial and error and experimentation.

Dan Benjamin

22 October 2009 at 10:56 am

@Alan - The FMR stuff you mention is great, and created with the same love for audio that the Joe Meek people have. Here’s a link for those interested in the FMR RNC - http://www.fmraudio.com/RNC1773.HTM

Cliff Pearson

22 October 2009 at 12:59 pm

I come from a musical background and launched the Progzilla podcast a few months ago.  Here’s the kit I’m using at the moment.

The heart of my system is my MacBook Pro, running Logic Pro - my podcast features lots of music, intros, beds and idents, so multiple tracks are a big requirement.

I recently bought a Rode Procaster microphone and have been very happy with the results.  I’m adding the studio arm and shockmount in the next couple of weeks.

All mixing is done via my Tascam FW1884 control surface/interface - which is lovely!  I use some high-end Sennheiser cans and Adam A7 monitors with this.

Once mixed down, I use Podcast Maker, by LemonzDream to edit the chapters, artwork and links to make it iTunes/iPod friendly.

I’ll soon be adding a Zoom H4n field recorder and the JoeMeek ThreeQ, mentioned above.

Great article.

</cliff>

Clint Lalonde

22 October 2009 at 4:14 pm

XLR vs USB. One advantage XLR has over USB is that an XLR cable will physically lock into place in the interface, making it much less prone to accidentally being unplugged if someone trips over the wires, or you turn your head too fast an d pull up the cable slack in the case of headsets.

Eric Elliott

22 October 2009 at 5:41 pm

Thanks for the article, definitely some cool stuff for me to check out.

I did, however, think Soundtrack was an odd choice for this… wouldn’t Logic Studio ro Logic Express be a better option if you wanted to go with a higher-end Apple solution?

nex

22 October 2009 at 6:18 pm

Well, if you’ve already got Soundtrack anyways and you’re happy with it, why buy Logic?

Concerning Skype quality: Ideally, it should be irrelevant, because on each end of the conversation, people will record their voices directly to disk through a decent mic and audio interface. This can be a cheap USB headset, such as the one Dan mentioned; the most important factor is that you get clean audio from that directly, and don’t have to fall back on the horribly compressed stream that gets sent over the net in real time during the conversation. Also, make sure that if people don’t use a headset, they at least have headphones so only their own voice enters their mic. It’s these areas where you can really make a big difference; the tiny things you can do with the data sent by Skype are not important in comparison.

Keith Beucler

22 October 2009 at 9:56 pm

Just one simple tip if you are using Audacity, do not use the LAME MP3 encoder. It is probably the worst encoder there is. The best free encoder and id3 tagger is to simply use iTunes. As far as USB mics, I find they really do limit growth and upgrade potential. For field interviews I love my Edirol R-09. I also prefer to record through the Edirol instead of directly to a computer. This eliminates any potential noise or interference caused by the computer.

Eric Elliott

22 October 2009 at 10:53 pm

@nex: Yes, I agree, if you already have Final Cut Studio then you already have Soundtrack and it would be worth a shot. I was just asking since it seemed like he was recommending you buy Final Cut Studio to get Soundtrack to use it, when there was no mention of Logic or Logic Express, which would be much cheaper (and it seems better suited) than Final Cut Studio.

nex

22 October 2009 at 11:45 pm

> do not use the LAME MP3 encoder. It is probably the worst encoder there is.

[citation needed]

(srsly!)

@Eric: Ah, I see! Thanks for the explanation ... I’d been too lazy to read the pasage you’d been referring to. But I’d say it’s fair to start from the “look what you’ve already got” angle, since IMHO both Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio are too expensive to buy just for the purpose of putting together a podcast. OTOH it’s trivial to decide which one you’d get if you were purely interested in audio work ;)

Phil Earnhardt

23 October 2009 at 9:28 am

As another commenter noted, I wish you’d include the Levelator in the recommend list for beginners. It’s a great tool for ensuring that interviews are clear and legible in the podcast. Simply running levelator on audio segments can give podcasters a clue what’s good and bad in terms of legible talk in a podcast.

Brian

23 October 2009 at 9:45 am

Nice roundup. Several of those components are in my “studio.”

My question is about editing. I have a video background so my editing process and preferences tend to skew that way. As I survey the audio editing software landscape, most of the apps are geared towards a beat/measure/sample workflow that is foreign to me.

I use Vegas because it does everything I need, but specifically (for this discussion), ripple trimming. I’ve searched around for an editor that will allow me to split a track, grab the edge, trim it, and have the timeline snap shut without any further dickering with further selections or keystrokes, and have come up empty. Vegas does that (and so much more), but my issue is that I am now more of a Mac user than a PC user.

So back to my question: is there a Mac multitrack editor that has ripple trimming? Soundtrack Pro has ripple delete of a selection, but while that’s close, it’s not the same.

Dan Benjamin

23 October 2009 at 10:16 am

Thanks to those who reminded me about Levelator—I’ve added it to the lists. I guess that because I use it so much, I got confused and thought it shipped with Mac OS X.

Drew

23 October 2009 at 1:32 pm

Brian - REAPER is in beta for OSX (but that’s more down to the need to match the PC version feature for feature) and has a great Ripple mode and plenty of other things you’ll have used in Vegas. Many long-standing users of it pushed for all the audio goodness of Vegas during early development. Hope that helps.

Jeffry Houser

23 October 2009 at 4:12 pm

I didn’t see anyone mention it yet, so I wanted to add that I use a mix of N-Track and Sound Forge for editing podcasts.  I doubt I’d recommend Sound Forge to anyone getting in [a lot of alternatives out there I only use it because I have for years].

But N-track is an awesome multi-track editing, and very cost effective.

brandonjp

23 October 2009 at 4:16 pm

Aaahhh…Dan… please, no… not PROTOOLS!!  eugghhh….

Real-time bouncing.
The dumbest thing in the world.

Convoluted arrangement and editing screens (especially if you’re just doing podcasts).

Nearly any other current software can do more than enough for podcasting in a more efficient manner:  Ableton Live Full/Lite, Logic Pro/Express, heck…even Mackie Tracktion.

Truthfully, I fully understand when you get to know and love an app, especially an audio editor, (Sony SoundForge & Vegas are the only reason I use Windows), and there are many things to love about ProTools so I respect that; but for podcasting (even advanced editing/layering), it’s not just overkill, it’s just the wrong tool for the job.

Also, thanks for the tip on cheap Platronics usb headset!
—bp

Brian

23 October 2009 at 10:32 pm

Drew- I installed REAPER (PC version for the moment) and it does indeed resemble Vegas in many ways. I still couldn’t find a way to trim edges of clips and have it ripple, though. The Options screen is really deep so maybe I’m just missing it.

Just to be clear, here is how I do a great deal of edits in Vegas, in no time flat.  There’s a clip playing, and I see a telltale “uhh” coming on the waveform.  Hit S for Split right before it.  Then grabbing the left edge of the right-most track that was just split, I drag it to the right, past the offending “uhh.” Once I release the mouse button, everything to the right ripples left to fill in the gap that was just made. Quick. Easy. Done.

Now if this is possible in REAPER or any other Mac editor, someone please enlighten me. :)

Hollow Gram

24 October 2009 at 7:31 am

Nice article Dan, but…. How could you skip mentioning Logic Studio?! It has Soundtrack combined in it, along with a lot of other useful audio software.

Ugh!

sheila

24 October 2009 at 9:01 pm

Thanks, Dan.  I’ve got the equipment and the software, but I’m hoping you’ll have another article about the next step.  I have a great podcast, now what do I do?

All the best,
Sheila

Jack Josey

25 October 2009 at 11:29 am

Hi, Dan. You wrote a very good article about getting into podcasting. If someone is going for the highest quality possible in a podcast (and I realize not everyone needs or wants the highest quality), I’d suggest using several software programs. We use Sony Sound Forge for recording and editing our voice, Adobe Audition for “painting out” extraneous noise, and Cockos Reaper for compression (we use the “Smile” setting ReaXcomp plug-in). And finally, we use Sony Vegas Pro for mixing our voice with a podcast intro, outro and short music transitions. Vegas Pro has a fairly low learning curve and there are some nice plug-ins you can use to enhance the sound quality. We use PreSonus Firepod for our equipment (and Presonus Firebox when we’re traveling) because we like to record at 88kHz 32bit (then downsample our podcast to a 128 MP3 file). Of course, once someone records, edits, and mixes a podcast, then the real fun begins. Promoting it.

Drew

27 October 2009 at 8:34 am

@Brian - I’ve replied to your question on the REAPER forum posting you made a few days ago, so as not to clutter Dan’s page!

Selo

11 December 2009 at 7:34 am

Hey Buddy,

Great article! Another area that most beginners dont have any clue about is the profit model. How did you start in 2006 and derive an income from your podcasts? what sort of marketing mechanism did yo use? can you advertise on your podcast if its in itunes? etc… etc…

Just a thought :) if you dont feel like writing a blog about it, could you share your thoughts with me at least?

thanks again

James M. Cornett

12 December 2009 at 12:57 pm

While I do appreciate the article (something like this could have helped early into the JND.MP3 run), my cohost at the time and I ran into a problem with the USB mics. Most computers will only recognize one USB mic at a time, and while it had good sound quality, we couldn’t afford to go M-Audio. Luckily, I had a copy of Magix Audio Studio Generation 6 from my techno mixing days, and that corrected the problem almost immediately with help from a splitter. Neither mic I had was noise reducing, and yet, the way we recorded and edited the shows you could almost never tell they weren’t done in a professional studio.
It’s been my experience that the microphones themselves aren’t so much a worry point as the software you use to mix and/or record everything with.  You could use a $10 mic from Walmart, and so long as you have the right software, you’ll get the sounds you’re looking for.

Bren

06 January 2010 at 7:32 pm

Excellent post that I’ve passed around to a few folks, thanks for taking the time to put it up.

You mentioned in the comments that you’d been working on a similar post for mobile gear. Any progress? I’m very interested in learning what portable gear you’ve found to work well…

rich

07 January 2010 at 1:54 pm

I am a complete neophyte to podcasting and the associated equipment, although I have been in radio broadcasting (sports related) for 6 years.

In any event, I am interested in doing a World of Warcraft podcast and plan to start with the plantronics 655 along with audactiy and levelator as recommended.

Is that all I need? I was under the impression that audacity does not edit. Is this correct? If so, what else do I need to complete my podcast (have computers and skype as well).

Thank you very much for the article!

Christina

19 January 2010 at 9:26 am

I work in internal communications for my organization and with two of my colleagues, we’ve produced a few podcasts, enough that we’re looking to purchase some basic equipment (we’ve been using a personal mic). I did some digging around for recommendations but found this post to be the most helpful. I didn’t know where to start; the categories were valuable. Thanks for sharing!

Kurt Sasso

07 February 2010 at 7:08 pm

Hello Dan,

I’m in the process of trying to put together a list of items that I will need for a convention I’m going to in Chicago. I will be doing video interviews and I’m looking for a digital recorders with a mic-input. Would you have any suggestions for that?

Also, this is a great list could you recommend any actual microphones that would work with the products you have listed above or maybe an updated list of this?

Thanks for this great information

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