Practical Podcast Tips

Practical Podcast Tips

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Our current list of recommended equipment.

 

Read This First!

Our general advice is to use a microphone that is dynamic, front addressing and USB compatible. We have discovered significantly fewer issues occur when people use these types of microphones.

This is because side address microphones are notoriously misused, positioned incorrectly, or setup incorrectly. Examples of these kinds of microphones are Blue Yeti, Tonor TC-777 and HyperX DuoCast. 

That being said, 90% of your audio quality comes from good microphone technique. Remember these few things:

  1. Keep your microphone 2-6" from your mouth
  2. When in doubt, keep your gain lower than usual.
  3. Speak slightly past your microphone (not directly into it).

 

 

Microphones:

Best Microphones:

 

Budget Microphones:

 

Decent Microphones: (We have our opinions on these mics, but do match our initial criteria)

  • Rode PodMic (USB) - $199 (We feel this microphone is overpriced for the quality it provides)
  • Audio-Technica ATR2100x - $79 (We feel this microphone tends to be ultra sensitive to handling noises/table bumps. Requires a very good shock absorber)

 

 

Audio Interfaces

Note: The audio interface is ONLY needed if you plan on using more than one microphone connected to the SAME computer. For example, if you purchased 2 Shure MV7+ microphones and would like to use both of them on the same computer, you will need an audio interface to connect both microphones using their XLR connection (the 3-pronged port). While there are ways to simultaneously use USB microphones together on the same computer, all of those systems are notoriously complicated to setup and unreliable to use. For this reason, we do not recommend anyone attempt to use USB microphones in conjunction with each other.

Also, we will not include any single-input interfaces in this list, since we will assume that if you only need a single microphone that you are likely purchasing a USB microphone.

Interfaces w/ TWO Inputs:

  • Focusrite Vocaster Two - $250 (Has Auto Capabilities)
    • Note that this device requires accompanying software called "Vocaster Hub". However, the software is very straightforward and easy to use.
  • Zoom AMS-24 - $120
    • While this unit has poor metering abilities, it does have clear visible numbered markings, making it easy to understand exactly what your gain level is set to.
  • Motu M2 2x2 - $200
    • This unit has very clear metering, and a little cheaper than the Vocaster.

 

Interfaces w/ FOUR or more Inputs:

 

 

Cameras & Lighting

 

Note: Avoid webcams that have an ultra-wide FOV. This would be cameras like the Logitech Brio (90 degree FOV). These cameras are designed for conferences, or capturing multiple people in the frame, not for high production quality.

Best Webcams:

 

Budget Webcams:

 

Lighting

We strongly recommend lighting that is adjustable remotely. This makes it significantly easier to adjust brightness/color from your chair, rather than having to get up to make adjustments. We recommend you have at least 3 lights and set them. Also, I strongly recommend having a bi-color lighting system at minimum. This will allow you to adjust lighting for a warmer or cooler look. RGB lights are usually not necessary unless you would like to add some fun colors to yourself or your background.

 

We do not recommend ring lights, as they typically have very poor lighting quality. 

 

Best Lighting:

 

Budget Lighting:

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