10.22.07

Podcasting kit - the setup and how it works.

Posted in Podcasting blog, Silesti Podcasts at 7:07 pm by JohnB

 

 My Podcast kit - Enhanced version [6:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 My Podcast kit [6:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I thought I’d make this ‘Silesti Podcast’ an introduction and overview of the podcasting kit I’m currently using.
When I first developed an interest in podcasting I really didn’t know what I was doing but as time has gone on I’m learning more and more and developing a keen interest in getting the best results out of decent but not too costly equipment.

To that end I’m going to give you a run through of my current setup, provide my thoughts on each of the bits of kit and look forward to how things will move forward (I hope) in the future.

Starting at the top of the stack with the mic. I’m currently recording using a Samson C01 condenser which I think provides a very good sound given its low price point. Now… I know that it’s not perfect, I know that there are audiophiles out there who will talk about various shortcomings, but the bottom line for me is, how does it sound? And for podcasts I think it sounds fine.

Also attached to the spider mount for the C01 is a Logitech Desktop PC mic, this has been stripped of its desktop base and is now held in place by the elastic shock mount straps which I’ve re-positioned so that the C01 remains central in its cradle. The Logitech mic is there to allow for the recording of phone conversations using either Skype or my Voiptalk softphone, my voice gets captured by the C01 for local recording and taken by the Logitech for transmission onwards for the caller.

The C01 is connected to an Alesis Multimix8 USB mixer which is a really nice bit of kit. I’m no connoisseur of mixing desks but, again, for the price this seems to do everything I want. When I started I was using the USB as the output and recording using Propaganda on the PC, but now I’ve moved on and I’m using Garageband on a new iMac.

Now, I know that the Mac has USB too and I did try this method of connectivity but for some reason when I plug the mixer in to the Mac, the Line Out in the Mac stop working. It’s as if, regardless of my desktop settings, the USB interface takes precedence. It’s no biggy really, as I now use the Main Mix out to the Mac’s Line In and record from there. The Mac’s Line Out is used to playback and connects to the 2-track In on the mixer, which I’ve switched to the headphones, not the mix. My only regret is that I didn’t have 3 months for-thought and buy the (albeit more expensive) Firewire version of the Multimix and I would ideally like to record each channel separately, but maybe I’ll upgrade at some point!

Hang on though.. multi channel! I’ve only talked about one mic so far… that’s hardly even deserving of a mixer at all! But no… remember the phone conversations? Well the output from my PC, carrying the voice of my caller is routed to one of the input channels of the mixer too. In practice that means that the far end of the conversation appears in my headphones and comes through the mix and my end of the conversation is dropped straight into the mix as well as going via the PC. Pretty neat I think!

So we’ve done Mic – check. Mixer – check. Recording platform – check. Telephony interaction – check. Aha.. headphones!
I’m using a pair of Sennheiser HD 201 headphones for monitoring and playback. They’re the circum-aural type, which I prefer and they are also quite cheap. (remember we’re doing this on a reasonably affordable budget if possible!). I would love to try a really decent set of studio headphones, just to see what the difference is, but for now, I’m actually very happy with the reproduction I’m getting with the 201’s so that’s something very much for the future.

There are a couple of other elements I’m considering, I would LOVE to try a vocal strip. My dream is to have a Symetrix 528E to play around with, the Aphex 230 or DBX 286a would be my second choice (and a more reasonable cost). I’ve spoken with a couple of folks who prefer to record straight and do the smoothing work with software and plug ins and I think that a pretty good approach to so I’m kind of torn.. I do like buttons and switches though and, again, it makes it LOOK like a studio! YES I know I’m shallow!
So that’s everything covered I think. If you’ve any ideas or comments on what I’ve got so far, please feel free to comment on this post. Until next time then.. Cheers!

J.

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