Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

Post Reply
kslight
mixes from purgatory
Posts: 2968
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:40 pm

Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by kslight » Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:46 am

My business partner wants to start a podcast, which most of it will be recorded in town or when he is on the road (not usually in his studio, unless he has someone call/Skype in).

Sound quality is real important, pro quality only. I realize not working in a controlled studio environment will offer its own challenges. But, good mics, field recorder, etc..

Looking for something idiot proof...he can use Pro Tools okay but he always gets tripped up on routing and whatever. He would probably be self recording this podcast, no on location sound person. So my idea was to use a field recorder instead.

Most of the time probably would only be interviewing one person, but sometimes two or more is possible.


Looking at the Sound Devices range of recorders...this looks like it would be adequate (would need to add a battery pack) https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... o-recorder
Though not brand partial, open to suggestions but he wants the best quality so if there is a cheaper option but doesn’t sound as good he would rather get the more expensive model. But if there is another brand that is comparable to SD and cheaper that would be okay. I’ve certainly seen all the cheap Zoom recorders and know a lot of no budget sound recordists use them, but I’ve never had the opportunity to compare them sonically...but I’ve always known Zoom as the cheap off brand guitar effects type company so not sure how significant of a difference there is between them and others.

For mics he was thinking about handhelds (that would also negate the requirement of carrying stands with him)...something obviously that would be resistant to handling noise, minimize bad mouth sounds (pops/etc)...tight polar pattern.. Beyer M88? If carrying a couple desk stands was acceptable to him though perhaps I could talk him into a couple of RE20s? Lavaliers also a possibility though don’t have much experience with them.



These podcasts would not be streamed live or anything, recordings would then go to me for post, and I have RX6 so could clean up almost anything, but again trying to maximum quality and idiot-proofness...I would generally prefer we take care of as much on the front end rather than have to rely on “fixing it in the mix”.


Total initial budget probably $2-3k reasonable for a good field recorder and a couple good mics?

User avatar
Nick Sevilla
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5555
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:34 pm
Location: Lake Arrowhead California USA
Contact:

Re: Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by Nick Sevilla » Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:44 am

I'd go for something handheld like a Zoom or something. Then just teach him how to upload the audio from the device straight to computer then to you.

He can either put it between himself and another person, or point it at the person being interviewed.

If you end up making it more than this, it will become problematic. I.E. individual microphones, cables, etc.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... y-recorder
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

User avatar
A.David.MacKinnon
ears didn't survive the freeze
Posts: 3819
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 5:57 am
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Re: Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:51 am

If the road locations aren't full of background noise you might do well with an omni for the guest mics. It's hard to get some people to stay on the mic and anything with a tight pattern is going to have significant tonal changes as they move off axis.
An RE20 for him and 635a maybe? Or what's the other EV omni dynamic? Re50?

Beyond that I can't advise on the recorder. I'm in the market for a 24 track stand alone for live recording and podcast work but that's a whole other can of worms.
If he's not super intuitive when it comes to the tech end I'd look for something with a simple interface. Using 2 or 3 buttons to scroll through a million menu options can derail a session quick.

User avatar
losthighway
resurrected
Posts: 2347
Joined: Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:02 pm
Contact:

Re: Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by losthighway » Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:10 pm

Shure SM7 is also an obvious good choice.

I'm a pretty loyal listener to Marc Maron's podcast. He's not a real tech guy but he knows he likes his SM7's and he brings them on the road. Sometimes he talks about how his monologue must sound SO different because he's in a hotel room recording on his laptop, instead of in his garage/studio. I can pretty much never tell the difference in my casual listening environment (usually my car, or listening to ear buds doing yard work).

In fact I think the thing about both an RE20, or an SM7, is they just don't seem to hear all that far. You just kind of get right up on top of them to speak (or sing in my case) and they seem to ignore the ambiance more than most other mics. Probably because they're a big old magnetic diaphragm that has less sensitivity than a condenser, or even a regular dynamic mic.

User avatar
I'm Painting Again
zen recordist
Posts: 7086
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 2:15 am
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Re: Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by I'm Painting Again » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:31 pm

I haven't used that newer sound devices recorder but the older ones are superb - the pres are great - if it's anything like the old ones I'm sure anyone will be happy with the quality - i like the feature of recording to the internal HD and simultaneously to a card - that's an idiotproofing thing right there

if you want to negate the use of stands you could use lavalier mics like the DPA ones etc.

lavs can rub up against clothing and cause some problems in that way so they're not as idiot proof as anyone likes

they will give a close decent usable sound but not like a big NPR sound - for that you need an LDD or LDC and the right dead space to record in

to get that sound in the field is not super easy

you might also consider a shotgun - it can be configured in many ways and if you're looking to collect ambient sounds to intermix into the show it might be the best all around option for you

the Schoeps CMIT 5U with a Rycote windshield is one of the modern standards but very $$$

I've recently met a few people using the Sennheiser MKH50 on feature films and they like the small size as it doesn't get in the shot and the sound is good

I've used other Senns and even the cheap ones are decent sounding to me

all these types of mics (and different patters) together with comp and de-essing will suit different situations and locations in their own way and using one type is always a compromise if you're really looking for the best that's possible

User avatar
I'm Painting Again
zen recordist
Posts: 7086
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 2:15 am
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Re: Pro Quality Podcast Setup

Post by I'm Painting Again » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:54 pm

also yea totally re-20 and sm7b definitely have the quality of taking the environment out of the picture

they're used on all sorts of radio and podcasts for that reason and (at least with the re-20 prob sm7 too) it doesn't get boomy when you move closer - a huge nightmare if you got someone who moves around a lot - some idiot proofing there at the expense of openness perhaps - LDD does have the size to sound big too so they're a good option for sure - can't really hold them easily though i suppose more stand oriented mics

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 64 guests