Podcast Equipment

[NiX]

I'm tossing the notion around of starting a podcast with a few friends given we can find out what the cost of buying decent equipment is. Here lies my problem: I can't find a single resources for this kind of information. I've googled everything I can think of, but can't find a guide to what you need or even a general direction of where to look. All I need to know is what kind of mics are good, how to connect 2-4 of them reliably and software to mix/edit. I know we have quite a few audiophiles and musicians around and figured I might at least get pointed in the right direction, but so far I'm lost on this one.

Halp?

[Hawkbit]

I don't know jack about this stuff, but I know we had this book in the library when I worked there. 
Maybe you can order one from yours, though I don't know how in depth it is. 

http://www.amazon.com/Podcasting-Dummies-Computer-Tech/dp/0471748986

[Chimpy]

I have been out of the loop on pro audio equipment for a long time, but effectively all you need is a microphone that you think sounds good and a way to get the sound into the computer and edit it.

If you are looking for a "radio" microphone, the EV RE-20  Link is pretty much the standard due to it's pattern and the large diaphragm (larger diaphragm = better low frequency pickup). But as you can see from the link, they ain't cheap. You can probably find a decent microphone with a large diaphragm for considerably less, but I don't know specifics of which ones are good.

As far as interfacing it to your computer, there are a number of relatively inexpensive interface devices which can take a microphone input and get it onto your computer. The M-Audio Fast Track looks like it is not a bad one and it comes with a lite version of ProTools which has been pretty much the de-facto recording software for the last 15 years. http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

You could probably do this all with Audacity (free software) and a microphone you bought at radio shack. The key things with recording off of a microphone is to know that Mic-level signals are considerably weaker than line level signals (-50dB vs. -4dB or +10dB). PC sound cards all pretty much have a microphone pre-amp in them now, but your sound quality will be less due to lower quality input connections and everything being inside the same box as your computer.

Getting a good microphone and a good interface to the computer are really the two things that will make it sound "better", even the free software has come a long way to making it easy to record and more importantly process the sound through various EQ/Filters.

[Trippy]

Huh? There are a ton of resources on the "tech" of podcasting.

Google "podcasting mics" and go from there.

What's your budget? If I can remember all the stuff I learned while researching "screencasting" equipment (which has a lot of overlap with podcasting stuff) I can try to give you some basic advice but I never end up buying any equipment myself.

[Sky]

I like shure mics, always have, probably always will. The Shure SM58 is the single best general purpose mic ever created, and you'll have to work hard to destroy it. It's also only a hundred bucks, but don't let anyone sell you the cheaper plasticy one. If you're a technophile there are probably reasons to get some thousand dollar jobbie, but for podcasts, I imagine the sm58 would be fine.

On the interface thing, not sure. Most seem to have 2 XLR inputs. Maybe you could try an XLR-to-USB adapter, not sure how that would work with four mics, in terms of bandwidth/latency.

I use a separate recording unit and then upload the files to pc. It's an older version of this. I monitor with Sennheiser HD280s. I've still not dived into DAWs, so the other guys will have to help there. I know Audacity is the often-mentioned free option unless you have a mac and can use garageband.

What's your budget? My dream interface would be the Digi003. 4 XLR ins, physical programmable faders, Pro Tools software. Basically the industry standard, learn to use that setup and you can work anywhere...but it doesn't come cheap.

[NiX]

I think in total, as a starting point, I'd be looking to spend under $500. 2 inputs, 2 mids and possible pop screens/stands.

I ended up googling "Podcasting equipment guide" and finding this link. Only a year old, so I can't imagine the difference now is THAT much. I can see myself going with the Entry Level setup to start.

As for headphones, is it suggested that everyone have a pair or just the person monitoring the recording?

[Chimpy]

I think in total, as a starting point, I'd be looking to spend under $500. 2 inputs, 2 mids and possible pop screens/stands.

I ended up googling "Podcasting equipment guide" and finding this link. Only a year old, so I can't imagine the difference now is THAT much. I can see myself going with the Entry Level setup to start.

As for headphones, is it suggested that everyone have a pair or just the person monitoring the recording?

Everyone should have a pair and only be hearing what other people are saying through the headphones if you are having more than one person talk at the same time. You would be amazed how much less people will talk over others if they are listening to the conversation on headphones vs general air.

Looking at that setup from your link, that is the interface I linked before, they make a couple slightly more expensive models that have multiple inputs.

I would go with Sky's recommended SM58 over any Audio-Technica mic in that price range. The A-T mics are really not that great of quality on the low end, at least in my experience (which is several years ago). Though it looks like that A-T mic comes with swivel mount and has a larger diaphragm. Hard to say without comparing things side by side, obviously.

[Nonentity]

I had the Snowball recommended to me as a podcasting microphone:

http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/

I believe they sell pop screens for those, too.

[NiX]

Everyone should have a pair and only be hearing what other people are saying through the headphones if you are having more than one person talk at the same time. You would be amazed how much less people will talk over others if they are listening to the conversation on headphones vs general air.

Looking at that setup from your link, that is the interface I linked before, they make a couple slightly more expensive models that have multiple inputs.

I would go with Sky's recommended SM58 over any Audio-Technica mic in that price range. The A-T mics are really not that great of quality on the low end, at least in my experience (which is several years ago). Though it looks like that A-T mic comes with swivel mount and has a larger diaphragm. Hard to say without comparing things side by side, obviously.

For the headphones, I guess you would need a mic for everyone so they could hear everyone elses track.

Scoured some reviews for the microphones and it would seem the SM58 is hailed as the mic to get because it's built like a brick. I hate the ball top, but I can get over that if it means it'll last me a long time.

[Raph]

I have been hearing a lot of good things about the Blue Yeti.

[Chimpy]

For the headphones, I guess you would need a mic for everyone so they could hear everyone elses track.

Scoured some reviews for the microphones and it would seem the SM58 is hailed as the mic to get because it's built like a brick. I hate the ball top, but I can get over that if it means it'll last me a long time.

For any type of speech recording you need a mic for every voice. If you don't, you will have a real bear of a time being able to get people to sound right as you need to have the speaker talking pretty much directly at the face of the diaphragm (the "top" of the ball on an SM58 or the RE-20 I linked). That and everyone talks at different volumes and may need different equalization in the editing process.

The reason the SM58 is built like a brick is because it was designed for live sound reinforcement in venues like rock and roll and needs to take punishment. If you don't like the ball you can buy an SM57 which is the same microphone mechanically and electronically but has a small plastic cage and a thin screen as the only protection for the head. You need to be more careful with the 57s vs the 58s but not by much.

Oh also, make sure that any mic you buy you pay attention to what pattern shape it has. A cardiod mic (which all the ones listed so far are) will pick up sound from directly behind the diaphragm just as well as it does in front of it, so placement of anything that will create noise in a direct line from the "assend" of the microphone is a bad thing.

[NiX]

I guess now it's time to learn what the hell you're talking about. I have a general understanding of mics, but not enough to know placement based on the pattern shape.

I have been hearing a lot of good things about the Blue Yeti.

It sounds like this is an awesome mic, but for the most part all I've heard is that USB can be quite a pain because there's no room to put something in between it and the computer (preamp..etc), so if you ever feel like stepping up, you pretty much have to dump the mic to do so.

[Raph]

All depends how you want to grow. I use phantom-powered XLR mics myself, with a complicated setup (see the guitar thread for the breakdown) but that is probably overkill for podcasting. I have been eyeing the Blue Yeti to try it out on the iPad actually, via the Camera Connection Kit.

If you google "cardioid" (note the spelling) you should get plenty of diagrams. 

[Chimpy]

Fuck, I spelled cardioid wrong.

Most microphones will come with a diagram that shows the pattern and pickup range in the little instruction leaflet that comes with them.

[Sky]

The adapter I linked adds phantom power to an XLR for USB connection, but it does significantly increase the price per mic.

The SM57 is more of an instrument mic. Some people use them for vocals, but I like having the end on the SM58, it's something of a built-in pop filter and keeps you from getting up too much on the diaphragm.

The podcasting for dummies is probably a good idea, those books are decent introductions to most subjects.