Budget Podcast Setup?

[Hendricks3]

Currently looking to build a 3 man podcast and i am on a budget but also looking for quality that maybe might need an upgrade in about 2+ yrs. Would really appreciate it if maybe the audio gods in this forum maybe make list 2 or 3 tiers for me since i know next to nothing about audio and audio quality 'specially for mixers. ty

[DiggsMcGee]

I just setup a podcast studio so I'll let you know what I've found:

 

According to a sound guy I know Behringer is a consumer brand concerning audio devices. That being said, I have the Behringer Flow 8 and I really like it. It's around $200-$300 I believe (I bought it a few years ago). When connected to a computer the device has multiple inputs to choose from in software. I have Mic 1/2 input set for one mic track in OBS. Mic 1 gets recorded to the left channel and Mic 2 recorded to the right channel. Similar for Mic 3/4. There's bluetooth connection to a smart device for recording or music playback. I like it. It works well and can even be controlled entirely from my tablet. I am also using a Zoom mixer at church that has like 12 channels on it (even though we're only using the one coming from our main sound system right now) and it's a good one for podcasting. It's around $500 if I'm not mistaken. You can record right to the device onto an SD card. You can also always go with a GoXLR, that's pretty popular. There's lots of mixers out there, but you really just need to pick the one that has the features you want to use. If you just need a device to record to then Tascam and Zoom both make good stuff.

 

The big thing concerning audio quality is going to be your space and your microphones. People say don't use USB mics. Get something that will take XLR inputs and get XLR mics. Get dynamic mics so you don't need phantom power (basically meaning the microphone isn't powerful enough on it's own to produce good sound for your recording device). I originally was going to use Blue Yeti USB mics, but we needed at least 5 mics max so I switched to using the Behringer mixer and bought some Rode PodMics. They're about $100. They sound great and have a pop filter built in. All the YouTubers seem to be using a Shure mic (probably the SM7B) but those are very expensive at around $400. Fifine and Neewer seem to have good mics also, especially if you use some effects like a compressor, expander, limiter, noise reduction, and even an EQ. You can check out videos by The Video Nerd on YouTube. He's got some good advice.

 

Depending on the space you might need to get some sound dampening. You can buy those egg crate style foam squares really cheap. There's also lots of alternatives. Basically anything to limit the echo. YouTube channels like I Make Stuff have built homemade sound dampening out of materials you can pickup at the local hardware stores and even old towels you might have lying around the house.

 

And if you're doing video recordings of each episode that's a whole other set of concerns, requirements, etc. I can tell you about that too if you need to know. Undoubtedly other people here can verify or even correct my advice

 

-Diggs

[Hendricks3]

1 hour ago, DiggsMcGee said:

I just setup a podcast studio so I'll let you know what I've found:

 

According to a sound guy I know Behringer is a consumer brand concerning audio devices. That being said, I have the Behringer Flow 8 and I really like it. It's around $200-$300 I believe (I bought it a few years ago). When connected to a computer the device has multiple inputs to choose from in software. I have Mic 1/2 input set for one mic track in OBS. Mic 1 gets recorded to the left channel and Mic 2 recorded to the right channel. Similar for Mic 3/4. There's bluetooth connection to a smart device for recording or music playback. I like it. It works well and can even be controlled entirely from my tablet. I am also using a Zoom mixer at church that has like 12 channels on it (even though we're only using the one coming from our main sound system right now) and it's a good one for podcasting. It's around $500 if I'm not mistaken. You can record right to the device onto an SD card. You can also always go with a GoXLR, that's pretty popular. There's lots of mixers out there, but you really just need to pick the one that has the features you want to use. If you just need a device to record to then Tascam and Zoom both make good stuff.

 

The big thing concerning audio quality is going to be your space and your microphones. People say don't use USB mics. Get something that will take XLR inputs and get XLR mics. Get dynamic mics so you don't need phantom power (basically meaning the microphone isn't powerful enough on it's own to produce good sound for your recording device). I originally was going to use Blue Yeti USB mics, but we needed at least 5 mics max so I switched to using the Behringer mixer and bought some Rode PodMics. They're about $100. They sound great and have a pop filter built in. All the YouTubers seem to be using a Shure mic (probably the SM7B) but those are very expensive at around $400. Fifine and Neewer seem to have good mics also, especially if you use some effects like a compressor, expander, limiter, noise reduction, and even an EQ. You can check out videos by The Video Nerd on YouTube. He's got some good advice.

 

Depending on the space you might need to get some sound dampening. You can buy those egg crate style foam squares really cheap. There's also lots of alternatives. Basically anything to limit the echo. YouTube channels like I Make Stuff have built homemade sound dampening out of materials you can pickup at the local hardware stores and even old towels you might have lying around the house.

 

And if you're doing video recordings of each episode that's a whole other set of concerns, requirements, etc. I can tell you about that too if you need to know. Undoubtedly other people here can verify or even correct my advice

 

-Diggs

anything else i should take into account?

[DiggsMcGee]

You should check out some podcasting videos on YouTube just to get a better idea of what setups look like and what other people have done.

 

Another thing on the sound side is figuring out how you're going to record. As I mentioned I record to OBS and all my mics end up on separate tracks. Since I record video also I use DaVinci Resolve to edit the podcast.

 

Then you also need to be aware of some audio mixing terminology and techniques:

• Gain is going to be the power of the incoming audio signal. The more gain the more noise.
• Lower gain will also limit the amount of audio spill you get from other speakers. If your gain is too high you may pick up speaker one well, but you might also pickup speaker two on speaker one's mic.
• Your volume slider will change the volume of the audio, but if you are pushing it too high you might need to adjust your gain. It's a balancing act.
• Compressors, expanders, limiters... these will help keep the audio volume consistent. If you speak really loud but then speak really soft these will keep the volume at the same level. Again, check out The Video Nerd on YouTube for a good tutorial on these filters/settings for OBS.
• Headphones will come in handy to monitor your volumes. You could have one headphone set for a sound guy or just yourself if you are doing the mixing. You could also get a heaphone amp/distributor. You'll go out of a monitor port of the mixer into the headphone amp. Then, each person plugs their headphones into the amp and even get their own volume control. This is also nice if you plan on playing audio or video clips, or even games. Everyone will be able to hear.
• Don't forget to normalize your audio. You want each speaker, as well as intro music, sound effects, and audio/video clips to ALL be the same volume. I do this two ways: using the audio meters in OBS, and using a few YouTube videos I have bookmarked. In the audio meters in OBS (and this is similar for the audio meter on your mixer or other audio recording software) I adjust everything so my audio meter is hitting the upper limits of the yellow section of the meter. As far as the YouTube videos, I play them through the mixer along with the mics and adjust my audio so the PC volume slider, mixer, etc. all produce the same audio levels. This way I have reference for audio volume and then I just match it. However, that's just a double check. The volume meters are more reliable, especially when you consider the mixer will have a headphone jack with it's own volume knob, the monitor port will have volume knobs or sliders, and then a headphone amp will also have volume knobs.

That's all I got for now. If you need anything else just let me know.

[DiggsMcGee]

@Hendricks3 How's it going with the podcast? I'd love to hear if I was any help. And even if I wasn't I'd love to hear what you've learned.