I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I record my podcasts and what equipment I use. So I decided to put together this list of equipment and apps that I use to help someone out there that might be gearing up to do a podcast series of their own. Now, to be clear, there are many ways to create a podcast, and you don’t have to follow what I’m doing exactly. But I don’t have the budget to rent time in a studio, so I record from home. (Right now, that’s the only way to do it anyway, right?) In a future post I’ll go over alternate options and more in-depth tutorials.
(There are affiliate links in this post, but I can assure you I use absolutely everything in here!)
Like your website, your podcast needs to “live” somewhere, so everyone can access it. The way it works is, once I have my finished mic, I upload the file to the blubrry server and they distribute it to all of the major podcasting sites. (Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, etc.) I really like Blubrry because they have excellent statistics and ways of keeping track of my recordings and I can make money on the platform too! It also seamlessly integrates with my WordPress site with the PowerPress feature which means my show notes, blog posts and podcast uploads all work together! They also have a ton of extras, like podcast music, transcriptions , ads and even engineering and mixing. Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a tutorial on Blubrry.
There are several ways to handle calls over VOIP. I have found that SKYPE is the cleanest for me. I use it in tandem with eCamm (more on that below). For the interviewees that don’t have (or don’t want to use SKYPE) I do pay for my own SKYPE phone number so that I can call them, or call into a conference call number right from the SKYPE app.
I use this option a lot when the interviewee doesn’t have SKYPE and doesn’t want to give me their phone number. (In the press this happens a lot). It’s free and I have the ability to give them a call-in number which is more professional than having them call me at at a specific time for a live call. Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a tutorial on FreeConferenceCall.com)
I really love this app. Even before SKYPE had the ability to record, I was using it and I still do because of it’s ability to record split tracks. This means I can separate the audio of the person that I’m talking to from my own. It also has the ability of exporting multiple formats including .wav .aif and .mp3. (I consider the first two master quality and that’s what I usually edit in). Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a tutorial on eCamm for SKYPE.
When it’s a quick record I still use my Blue Yeti because it can easily plug right into my computer. And the sound is great when you use it with a suspension mount and a stand. (It’s a little too sensitive to just sit on my desk). This set up is fine if you’re simply going to use the eCamm to record both your track and your interviewee. I don’t have a problem with this setup at all and it’s super simple.
However, computer’s crash. So nowadays, I like recording my podcast into an external recorder, just like I would if I was on the road. And for that, I think the Samson Q2U is an excellent choice! Simply because it has XLR, USB anda 3/5mm headphone output on the mic as well. I have it mounted on a mic stand with a barrel clip in my office. I feed the XLR outputs directly into my recorder and the USB goes straight into my computer so my SKYPE caller can hear me as well.
This little guy is my workhorse. It eliminates my need for a mixer because there is one onboard the device. It has four XLR inputs that double as ¼” inputs and has the ability to record a mini lavalier mic as well. (Although I use an XLR lav with phantom power for that mostly). I have used this thing to record audio for my videos, remote recordings, on-location work and for all the interviews that I need to get transcribed. It’s not cheap, BUT it’s paid for itself 3 times over since I’ve had it. In addition to the process described above, I feed audio from my computer’s headphone jack back out to the Zoom onto another channel and now I have two places that my interview is recording split audio at once! (Redundancy is always a good idea when you have limited time with a guest). Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a video tutorial on how I set up my gear.
I love it when an interviewee can record themselves and send me their audio, but that doesn’t always work. And sometimes their phone connection isn’t the greatest, or they are in a room with an air conditioner or lights with a low hum. This is an app that is really good at doing cleanup and it saves me time pre-mix from having to clean up the audio myself. (I will post a tutorial about this app soon). It’s free online for up to 2 hours of audio per month! Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a tutorial on Auphonic.
I use Audition to edit my podcast for two reasons: One, I’m a trained video editor and have used Adobe applications for years and it’s included in the monthly CC service I already pay for. And two, although I do less editing than I used to of my podcast, Audition still makes my projects sound great! I did have a bit of a learning curve. (I used to edit the podcast in Premiere), but through repetition, I have definitely come up with some shortcuts that make my podcast sound really good!
Promoting
I’ve been having a blast using Wavve to create clipped content of my podcasts to post across social media. You take a portion or clip of the audio that you want to use and then upload artwork to create your own waveform animated clip. It’s been a very effective way to get more people connected with my podcast. Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a tutorial on Wavve.
Audioburst
Exclusive to Blubrry subscribers, this is another way to clip content. Or, you can also create videos of your entire podcast to put on Youtube or IGTV
Alternatives
Don’t let all of this gear frighten you! if you’re just starting out, you can use an all-in-one app like Anchor .
These are all great pointers for starting off. I’m all for a tutorial on Bluebrry and using the Zoom for recording.
Yes! These are SOOOOO helpful but not as tech savvy as I use to be. Please tutorials
Working on that for you! Thanks for the feedback!