You don't need a 1000 dollar condenser mic to sound good on your podcast. What you DO need though, is to take a few minutes to make sure you're getting the best audio you can.


With any mic, be sure to use a windscreen. You can find decent ones cheap at any music store. This keeps your p's and t's from popping so much.
Don't eat the mic. Typically the rule to follow for minimal distortion is to stay at least the distance between your thumb and pinkie finger away from the mic.
Test for hiss. There are lots of things that can lead to hiss, like crappy sound cards, bad mic wire or plug, or generally living in a noisy house. One of the best places in your HOME to record, believe it or not, is a closet. That might not be practical for everyone, but a small tight room with lots of clothes hanging up for sound absorption... it's basically a small studio.
TRY to have everyoneon your show use the same gear or software.
MOST IMPORTANT: Use a compresor plugin! there are tons of really useful compressor plugins that work with many different audio programs. Compressors are what give you that "studio" sound quality to your voices. Compressors basically help boost the timber of your voice, and also helps keep your volume consistent.

http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=5

Look nobody is expecting you or your podcast to sound like something off of NPR, but by tweaking your sound quality as much as possible, you make your show easier to listen to, regardless of content.

Make it sounds GOOD. Once you get your system down, it's not anything you have worry about anymore.

Good tips, thanks... might be looking to rant about the US Government (bailout, financials, etc)....

So what setup do you guys use, Doc? (headset wise)

dN

So that's what the screen over the microphone is! A windscreen, I finally understand *cue 2001: A space odyssey theme*

WHat program do you use?
I know its some High end expensive one but what is it?

So that's what the screen over the microphone is! A windscreen, I finally understand *cue 2001: A space odyssey theme*

Here's a cheap windscreen you can make for next to nothing.

Get a pair of mylon pantyhose, and stretch them around a ring.... use a coathanger. make them tight, like a drum.

Then have that between you and your mic.

Here's an industrial versionof the same thing...

also called a pop filter.

http://www.deansabatino.com/2005/08/21/67/

WHat program do you use?
I know its some High end expensive one but what is it?

We use a professional protools setup, that's probably got about $5000 worth of crap in the audio chain HOWEVER using plugins you can simulate the same thing.

Cheapest way into protools is the Mbox Mini (THough i reccomend the mbox 2)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MBox2Mini/

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Digidesign-Mbox-2-USB-Audio-Interface?sku=240479

The 2 gives you actual mic jacks instead of a little bitty one.

Protools takes a learning curve, but once you GET IT, you're unstoppable.

Here's a cheap windscreen you can make for next to nothing.

Get a pair of mylon pantyhose, and stretch them around a ring.... use a coathanger. make them tight, like a drum.

Then have that between you and your mic.

Here's an industrial versionof the same thing...

also called a pop filter.

http://www.deansabatino.com/2005/08/21/67/
doc that is ingenious

$5000 worth of crap

Holy damn no wonder your podcast is so high quality! Besides Dave being a fantastic editor I mean.

I have a whistle at the end of my "ss" sounds. I know that there is something called a de-ss-er or something like that. What is it? Nothing annoys me more than listening to a podcast with a high pitched sound every 4 seconds.

Just a couple of quick questions Doc, do you know of any chepish microphones that have above average sound quality? Is there any stand alone freeware (or audacity plugin) de-s'er? And finally, the compressors you provided, where can I get the software to which they are plugins?

Thanks for your time :thumbsup:

Another thing to add that might help out:

When rendering your podcast make sure the sound quality is 64kb/sec or more to prevent you sounding terrible, even then I don't really reccomend 64kb/sec. 96kb/sec or 128kb/sec is probably your best bet. I'd rather download a podcast that has good voice quality and is 10mb more than a podcast which is a low filesize but sounds terrible.

Just bought a Mike,
Not sure if its good enough so I'm posting the specs'.
Type: Dynamic Microphone,
Direction: Uni
Frequency Response: 60 - 12,000 Hz
Output Impedance: 600 ohms at 1 kHz, unbalanced
Sensitivity: 53.0 DB

Just bought a Mike,
Not sure if its good enough so I'm posting the specs'.
Type: Dynamic Microphone,
Direction: Uni
Frequency Response: 60 - 12,000 Hz
Output Impedance: 600 ohms at 1 kHz, unbalanced
Sensitivity: 53.0 DB

If you post an audio sample with that we might be able to judge better

hey doc. did you listen to the t for teen episode 3 while writing this? if you did not, believe it or not, nopain14 are recording in the closet xD

Does the compressor for Audacity that's built in work well enough?

Just a couple of quick questions Doc, do you know of any chepish microphones that have above average sound quality? Is there any stand alone freeware (or audacity plugin) de-s'er? And finally, the compressors you provided, where can I get the software to which they are plugins?

Well I'm not Doc, but I'll try to answer your questions. That plugin he linked to works with audacity. First do what Audacity says on this (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&i=vst-enabler) page. Then, download the plugin he linked to and follow the instructions on the PDF inside the ZIP file you downloaded. That software comes with a de-sser and a compressor. If you just want the de-esser, or you want just he compressor, they are each different files, so you can choose which one to use. As for the mic, I personally use a Rock Band mic for recordings, and it works surprising well! If you have a PC, just plug it into one of your computer's USB ports and it will work. I don't know about Mac's, but it's worth a shot. Test it out for yourself to see if you like it. You will want a windscreen however, because it picks up wind like crazy. If you don't have rock band, or Guitar Hero World Tour (which uses the same mic, just a different logo on it) then just google good cheap mics, look around on Amazon, or a site that reviews mics. There are some good mics around, you just have to look. I'd personally suggest this (http://www.amazon.com/Samson-SAC03UCW-Multi-pattern-Condenser-Mic/dp/B000EZKZMY/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I26GILULPRGINH&colid=JRIAZ5UX1M8I) one. It has excellent quality, it is a condenser mic, and plugs directly into your computer. For $100 it's probably the best one you can get.

Hope that helped:grin:!

How do you use the fish fillets? I'm a bit confused, and can't find the information with Google.

How do you use the fish fillets? I'm a bit confused, and can't find the information with Google.

Mmm, fish fillets

Anyways, that's quite useful, will keep in mind when I have money to buy stuff like that. I use my built in mic on my MacBook, works pretty well, not perfect but does the job methinks, the closeness rule is a biggy tho

Mmm, fish fillets

Anyways, that's quite useful, will keep in mind when I have money to buy stuff like that. I use my built in mic on my MacBook, works pretty well, not perfect but does the job methinks, the closeness rule is a biggy tho

I think you misread my post. Or doc's post. Or both.

im trying to make my 15 seconds of fame with audacity but when i do it my volumes way low but i think when im in a skype convo its fine andy help on how to fix it?

Slide this (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/silentsouless/untitled-18.jpg) to the right to increase volume, or go to Effect - Amplify.

I'd like to have people send me voicemail so I could use it in a podcast. What's the best way to do that?

Probably just set up a Yahoo or Gmail (I perfer Yahoo) email account for it. That's what I did.

what a great info, thanks.
Great little topic.
And Nice work--thank you for sharing- for me this makes perfect sense though.