

Hivelogic Podcasting Equipment Guide - hivelogic
http://hivelogic.com/articles/podcasting-equipment-software-guide-2011/
In December of 2009 I took a leap of faith, launched 5by5 Studios, and started broadcasting and podcasting full-time. In this article I share what I've learned about podcasting, videocasting, and audio recording gear.
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swivelmaster
I was surprised to see the mention that dynamic mics are more expensive.
Perhaps when looking at mics specifically designed for podcasting this is
true, but not in general.

If you want a general purpose, gold-standard inexpensive mic, go with a Shure
SM-58 or SM-57. They're designed for live performance, so they're really
durable. They sound pretty good for the price, which is under a hundred bucks.

Also, it's weird that the article talks about "XLR mics" as if they're
something special - XLR is just a type of connector, and it's the type that
99% of all mics use anyway. USB and anything else is the exception, and you're
paying a big premium for a USB mic.

IMO if you ever plan on using your mic or the rest of your recording equipment
for anything besides podcasting, you're better off NOT getting gear
specifically designed for podcasting. No matter what you're recording, the
fundamentals of a good sound are the same - a good mic, good preamp (which
excludes most preamps built into live mixers, though the Mackie Onyx pres are
pretty good), and a good analog to digital converter (which the Onyx doubles
as too). If you get a condensor mic, you need to make sure your preamp has an
option for "phantom power", which is what your mic will need in order to work.

Actually, the most important consideration here is YOUR VOICE. There's a
reason that professional recording studios always have multiple vocal mics -
different mics are best for different voices. If you've got a nasal or high-
pitched voice, make sure you get a mic that can counter that and make you
sound more soothing. If you have a deep voice (like me!), make sure you get a
mic that can bring out the higher frequencies enough that you don't sound like
a movie preview all the time.

Lastly, make sure your recording location is QUIET and has minimal
echo/reverb. If you have to record halfway in a closet, so be it - your
listeners will thank you.

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_pius
_Also, it's weird that the article talks about "XLR mics" as if they're
something special ..._

Not really. This is an article geared towards people used to amateur or, at
best, prosumer computer mics. 99% of those are _not_ XLR.

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ichilton
Dan - Excellent guide - very informative!

What isn't mentioned is the video side which would be interesting to
understand but also how the whole link with the guests thing works would be
very interesting to understand too.

PS: Love 5by5 - keep up the great work.

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leviathant
Call it a personal preference, but I'm not terribly impressed by asking for
donations on a page loaded with Amazon affiliate links for fairly high-dollar
items. I say this as someone who runs my own hobby site paid for entirely by
affiliate links to Amazon and eBay.

An example of why I think it detracts from the article: You link to
Monoprice.com for an XLR cable (good!) and then immediately link to a more
expensive cable on Amazon. Why? Not because it's a better choice of cable, but
because with any luck, someone will click through and you'll earn some cash.
If you're going to link to a $13 mic cable for the opportunity to make money
rather than just link to the $6 equivalent, what's to say half the links on
the page are even genuinely good choices, or if you're linking to them because
you'd potentially make an extra buck or two.

I'm not crapping on you loading up a blog post with affiliate links - I know
that even before I signed up to eBay and Amazon affiliate programs, I often
linked to them when telling people where to buy stuff, and now the affiliate
programs simply paid me for doing what I always did. But doing that -and-
asking for extra money if you found this post useful (presumably, finding it
useful meant you bought equipment because of the post)? That changes the
dynamic for me.

Addendum: I'd appreciate it if when you downvote me, you let me know what it
is about my post that you didn't like or agree with.

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ugh
It's his job, not his hobby.

I have a problem with affiliate links that are not marked as such, I certainly
don't ever have a problem with asking for donations.

~~~
hivelogic
Good point, I've added a line explaining that I use affiliate links too.
Thanks!

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timerickson
I don't mean to spam, but if anyone is looking to get the M-Audio Fast Track
Pro referenced in the article, I have one that works perfectly but
unfortunately doesn't get used enough. You can find my email in my profile.

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petercooper
The Rode Podcaster is certainly good. Streets ahead of the Blue Snowball I
had. It's what Andrew Warner uses on Mixergy too.

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jakewalker
I am curious about how Dan gets such great recordings from his co-hosts, who
are remote. I'd have thought they record audio natively then upload him a high
quality audio file with time sync, but then I remembered that he does these
shows live, so that can't possibly be how it works.

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hivelogic
The 5by5 studio, though small, is pretty complicated (and unfortunately kind
of expensive) to setup. We record all but 1 of our shows live, and edit them
all before releasing them.

I'm planning on doing either another post or perhaps a video about the setup
(assuming there's interest).

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ichilton
Excellent - I'd be interested in that!

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ichilton
For the n-1 feeds do you just take a post fade AUX output from mixer and turn
up each channel except theirs for that auxiliary?

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Rickasaurus
Any further recommendations on windows software? I'm not a Mac guy but would
like to play with some podcasting.

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hivelogic
Pro Tools is good for both Windows and Mac and although I haven't used it
much, Adobe Audition is great on the PC (and though it's out for Mac, I still
prefer Logic).

