Comments on: Podcasting, hypothetically

By: dgustav

dgustav — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:34:16 +0000

http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2007/12/23/skype-for-interviews offers great advice for using Skype to record interviews and podcasts of talkers at very distant locations

By: wadswerth

wadswerth — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:27:33 +0000

On a website i work on we do podcasts, i have just used like a 20 dollar headset mic, we record it on skype with a add on program called Pamela.

This setup does an ok job of it, allows multiple people to talk or be called up during the podcast and such. The drawbacks have been, a slight delays in responses (this seems dependant on the persons internet connection) and we have also had to record it in mono because stereo would cause one persons voice in the left speaker, and the other persons voice in the right speaker.

By: MCinBoise

MCinBoise — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:34:58 +0000

I would like to endorse the Blue Snowball and the idea of a U.S.S. Mariner podcast. I have the first and love it. I hope for the second and would love it, even if Dave used his radio robot voice.

By: dw

dw — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:15:03 +0000

Looks like most everyone took my ideas, but:

I do podcasts at work. I use a Marantz digital recorder and edit with Audacity. I wouldn’t recommend that setup for you, since I’m riding on PA systems and boards, although Audacity is ridiculously powerful for a free/open-source audio editor.

Other podcasting folk I know use USB mics, notably the Blue Snowball.

I talked to an audio guy a couple years ago at a conference about upgrading our system, and he said to go with decent sub-$100 mics. You’re going to downsample to 64 or 32kbps, anyway, so you’re looking for radio-quality, not quadraphonic.

Definitely look at Matt Haughey’s stuff for his podcasts — he has a similar issue with people on opposite coasts, and you really can’t tell Jessamyn is in Vermont and not in Portland.

End of the day, though, you can podcast with a USB mic and a laptop. That’s all you need if it’s one person. If you need a 2+ mic setup, then you start getting into the tough stuff. But a cheap USB mic will set you back $20. And a setup like Haughey’s is probably $100 at most.

By: thesinators

thesinators — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:38:50 +0000

You guys should totally do a podcast. I would definitely listen.

By: Xteve X

Xteve X — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:15:09 +0000

BlogTalkRadio I think is your best option for what it sounds like you want…

You don’t really need a microphones, IMO. If so don’t bother getting any kind of vocal or instrument mic, it’s more than you need for a podcast … payday’s link has lots of good suggestions.

I did guest shots on various NBA podcasts when I was at SonicsCentral and each time I did my portion over the phone. It was easy. You basically conduct it like a phone interview, recording the conversation on digital tape recorder. Then if you have a Mac you can dump the MP3 into GarageBand which has a virtually idiotproof podcast setting and wouldn’t require a separate stand-alone mixer, or you could go the Skype route.

By: BrianL

BrianL — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:57:45 +0000

Well you can’t go wrong with the good old Shure 57s or 58s. Good standby microphones at a fair price. Personally I’m rather fond of Electrovoice microphones

Combine that with a fairly cheap Behringer Podcast Studio device and you’ll have just about everything you need to put a podcast together.

I know Mills Music in Bothell and Lynnwood has sold all of this stuff in the past and at a decent price, but I haven’t worked on the sales floor for a while so I’m not sure if they still stock it.

By: coffeemonkey

coffeemonkey — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:01:19 +0000

There is a podcast called Systm, in episode 4 of that podcast, which you can find here, they talk about the basics of podcasting and how to get started. Real good stuff.

By: payday0023

payday0023 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:54:58 +0000

Serendipitous indeed! I'm literally about to record 4 podcasts today in preparation for a big Gardening podcast launch for my work... (exciting, I know) I'm an audio engineer (aka geek) and I've prepped systems for people before so hopefully I can help. The standard response to a request like this is: what do you have already and what is your budget? The easiest and most convenient system is utilizing your current computer for recording and editing your podcast. What kind of computer do you have/will you be using? How complex are you trying to make this? Lots of bells and whistles with music and sound effects or just two dudes talkin' baseball? (I'm guessing the later...) If you're looking to link up from coast to coast, Skype is a great option. JK Audio makes a small box that is perfect for interfacing a phone line into your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), but you will need a hard-line phone to patch into it. Skype is nicer, though, because it doesn't sound like a phone line. As far as microphones, there are a hand full of USB mics available now that are designed for podcasters. I wouldn't use one to mic an acoustic guitar, but mics like these and these are generally compact, efficient, and designed to be plug-and-play. In the recording software department, Apple's Garage Band is suprisingly capable for recording and processing your audio and getting it up to podcast quality standards. Other than that, you can purchase a software package but it could run you about $500. A small mixer might be neceassary, too. But Behringer makes them for dirt cheap and you can probably find one that will fit your needs on craigslist for about 60 bucks.

By: Kid_A

Kid_A — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:55:48 +0000

If you’re looking to make simple, “archived” (i.e. not live) podcasts, you can an Olympus audio recorder. You just plug it in to any computer (via USB) and use Audacity to make a basic mp3 file, then upload it to the website. It’s also good for doing interviews.