Podcast Producer Course

Recording devices

The podcast business is slowly developing into a multimillion business with very high production value and quality like radio shows, but you can get by with less for sure. It is all about the quality of the content and then your audience might cut you some slack when it comes to crisp audio quality. We all have our phones right by us the whole time, and they can actually do the job in most cases. 

Of course a good MP3 recorder is a good idea. Partly because they usually have a good built-in microphone and partly because they have plenty of storage space for audio files. You can buy specialised recording equipment for any kind of environment, but the most important thing is that you know how it works, having it with you, and that you can hear what people are talking about without too much noise in the background.

In this project we would like to try to make it as cheap and easy as possible to start recording, so we will see how far you can get by just using your mobile phone.

Using your phone Modern phones actually have pretty decent audio quality in their built-in microphones. Since there are so many different Android versions on the market it is difficult to say something general on the specific models, so you need to test them out in real life. But for the newer versions of the iPhone from 11 and forward, the built-in microphone is actually not bad. The iPhone actually has four small microphones, two are in the bottom of the phone, one at the back next to the camera and one in the speaker slit in the top of the screen. The two main microphones are the most effective, so be sure to point the bottom of your phone towards the direction of the person who speaks.

The microphones are not “directional” so you just pick up every sound in the room. If you want to make sure that the voice is in focus you should get a directional microphone, but we will get to that later on.

The other problem with the built-in microphones is their sensitivity to wind noise. If you have ever talked to someone who is outside while using a speakerphone to talk to you, you know the extent of this problem. 

We will take a look at what you can do with an external microphone in the next section.

Using an MP3 recorder
Many podcasters end up investing in an MP3 recorder. These are typically designed for the special purpose of recording long hours of speech in a high quality with excellent built in microphones, a long battery life and external memory cards so you don’t run out of storage space.

Like all professional audio equipment these recorders are not cheap. The price range starts at 100 euros - and it just goes upwards. One of the most popular ones - the Zoom H4 is around 250 euros.

If you want to start mass producing podcasts, you might want to consider investing in some audio equipment, or maybe you can borrow an MP3 recorder and try it out to feel the difference.

What apps should you use?

Microphones

Like all other recording equipment, microphones come in all different shapes and sizes and most importantly prices!

But you need to consider two types of microphones when producing your podcast. An external microphone for your phone and a studio microphone for the voice-over parts.

External microphone for the phone
Like we discussed earlier, if you use your phone as a recording device you need to make sure that you can record outside even if it’s windy. An external microphone, even just a wired one, might help a lot. The main feature you need to have is a “Deadcat” or a windjammer. Your wired mic may come with a small foam hood for reducing the “Pop” sounds you make when you speak directly into it, but for dealing with wind noise you need a proper windjammer with lots of long furry hairs to break the wind before it reaches the microphone. You can make one yourself with some fur or long haired cloth and a rubber band. A “Deadcat” is named after its appearance when you put it on a big Broomstick microphone. It sort of looks like a dead cat on a stick I guess.

Try out different arrangements to your microphone setup and make sure that you are able to record outside.

The wired microphone has to be of good quality. There are a lot of cheap ones out there and they are not good. Brands like “Røde” are well established and will be good for this purpose, but consider the length of the wire. If you are to record yourself, or a close interview with someone, a shorter wire is enough. But if you are going to use it for recording video the wire should be long enough to reach while you record video. Also notice that longer wires might affect the quality of the recording.

Studio microphone
An important part of the podcast is your narrative, the way you frame the story that you are telling. You will have to explain the things we hear, and you will also have to tell the story, and maybe even use a script, or at least your notes.
For this part you need to be comfortable with access to all of your notes and a good microphone in front of you. This way you can re-record and edit and make new recordings as you please.
Your studio microphone does not have to break the bank, however you should consider getting at least a medium quality one, since it's an investment that you will use all the time and you will notice the quality of the audio every time you record.
You can buy a decent podcast microphone from 50 euros and up - waaay up.
It's a good idea to get a microphone with a stand, and a Pop-filter, so your P-sounds don't register as noise with the microphone. 
Buy a USB microphone that plugs directly into your computer. There is no need to invest in pre-amplifiers and professional gear for this project.
Here are some good choices from the large online music shop thomann.de 
https://www.thomann.de/intl/usb_microphones.html

Recording environment

But all of these efforts are in vain, if you can’t find a quiet place to record. You need to find a place where there is no background noise from the neighbours or the street or humming from the air conditioner or the washing machine.

Also, think about creating a recording corner by applying some sound-absorbing panels to the wall or around the microphone.
Even a room that seems totally quiet to you might feature a weird hum when you record, and be sure that your laptop will not start wheezing when you start up the big audio editing software packages.
So what can you do to get rid of these problems?
If your biggest problem is the hissing of the computer that you use, you might be able to remove the worst of the noise in the edit using a noise filter, but it would be a lot better if you don't need to do that.
Sometimes an old stationary desktop PC is much quieter than a laptop. It might be an idea to find one of those and turn it into a recording studio. On a desktop PC you can have a door closed between the computer and the microphone and only have the monitor and keyboard and mouse inside the sound booth. If you are going to record a lot of audio it might be with it to put a bit of effort into this.

If everything else fails you can still use your phone or a tablet to do your recordings on. You will then have to upload each audio file and do the editing on the computer or edit directly in an app like Garageband.