Thinking Of Starting A Podcast?
With everything going on, we have had a few questions come in about what is needed to start a podcast. We figured this would be the best way to get the information out to everyone who is taking this time to start something new.
Equipment Needed:
First off you don’t need the most expensive equipment around to product a good podcast. Quality of content is always the most important thing. We will break down a few price tier options depending no option is wrong as long as it fits your budget.
Option 1: Free
You can simply use your phone and the voice memos function to record a podcast then upload it right to a hosting service. (we will talk about hosting services at the end)
For some more functionality like trimming the audio you can use:
or
Option 2: $58 or $194
This one is a two-part option. The first option is for one person and the second is for two people.
Rode is a company I will continue to mention through most of this, they make some of the best audio equipment out there (in my opinion).
With option one, it is a simple lav mic. Yes, you can use the headset that came with your phone to help improve audio as well but this lav pics very clean audio and help when working in a room with a lot of echo as well.
If you are looking to record a podcast with two people they make an adaptor that allows for two of their lav mics and works perfectly with the Rode Reporter app listed above.
If you want to get into the finer details of things and you are familiar with more advanced editing software such as Adobe Audition. This set up allows you to separate both audio streams and edit them individually, which is great when you have two people with very different vocal ranges. - Keep in mind this is optional it can record them as a single audio stream as well.
Option 3: $99
This is actually a relatively new product from Rode but will work great for recording right into your computer. There are tons of recording options out there to record your voice for free on your computer. If you already use Adobe you can use Audition or if you have a mac then you should already have Garage Band, which is free to download if you don’t have it already.
The Rode NT-USB Mini is, just as the name says, a USB microphone. The built-in microphone on your computer really isn’t very good. Your better off going with your phone then the built-in webcam mic.
The other great feature of this mic is that it allows you to monitor your own audio with a headphone jack in the back. This is great to help you nail the audio right off the bat and not worry about trying to correct it after.
Option 4: $99
This is actually a relatively new product from Rode but will work great for recording right into your computer. There are tons of recording options out there to record your voice for free on your computer. If you already use Adobe you can use Audition or if you have a mac then you should already have Garage Band, which is free to download if you don’t have it already.
The Rode NT-USB Mini is, just as the name says, a USB microphone. The built-in microphone on your computer really isn’t very good. Your better off going with your phone then the built-in webcam mic.
The other great feature of this mic is that it allows you to monitor your own audio with a headphone jack in the back. This is great to help you nail the audio right off the bat and not worry about trying to correct it after.
Note: You can record multiple people on this mic if you position it in the center but for the best audio you would want
Microphone / Recorder Options
As we move down the list it makes more sense to break up the microphones and recorders then you can mix and match what makes the most sense for what you are trying to produce.
Direct To Computer
Recording directly to your computer is a great option. The one thing to consider is if there is a chance you will be recording a podcast away from your computer at any point in the future you might want to skip to the next section.
Audio Interface Options:
In order to get the higher end mics into your computer you first need to convert the XLR connection into USB or run it through and audio interface.
Option 1: $48
A simple XLR to USB converter will work if you plan to use more of your budget on a higher-end mic and want to save in other areas.
Option 2: Audio Interface
Solo Podcast: $119
Two Person Podcast: $149
If you can spend a little extra I HIGHLY recommend going with an audio interface instead of a simple converter. Most of the time the audio comes through cleaner and also you get a few extra features.
Solo - Rode AI-1
Two Person - Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (3rd Gen)
Record To External Recorder
Put it simply, the nice thing about having a recorder separate from your computer is if you decide you want to record somewhere else its simple. Also, most of these have an ability to feed their audio sources to your computer as well.
Option 1: $170
This option is a simple all in one choice. It’s not 100% meant for podcasts but I keep two on me when traveling for podcasts as a backup in case something on my main setup breaks.
The Zoom F1-LP Lavalier Body-Pack Recorder. This is a small recorder with a lav that you can wire up and capture clean audio at a very high quality for the price and size.
Keep in mind there are adaptors and accessories you can get, however, for the most part, you will only be recording one person with this setup.
Option: 2 $259
For this option, you can use the XY mic that comes with it but I recommend if you are choosing this recorder to also pair it with a mic from the below list along with a few other accessories. Be sure to keep that in mind when making your choice.
The Zoom H5 can recorder can record up to 2 XLR feed and you can add another accessory on top to increase that to 4 XLR (assuming they don’t need *phantom power) or a few other options depending on what you are trying to capture.
This is the recorder I use for podcasts and I can’t recommend it more!
Option 3: $308
The Zoom H6 - Can record up to 4 XLR inputs and with an adaptor can record up to 6 (assuming two don’t need *phantom power)
This is the big brother to the H5 and it is great if you plan to expand your podcast to 3+ people.
Between the H5 and H6 there are a ton of great features and accessories for any podcast.
Option 4: $594
This last interface option is great for “future-proofing” maybe you’ll have a few people on the podcast one day. Or want to pull in audio through a phone call or even have some pre-saved audio such as an intro and outro song
This Rodcaster Pro has all the bells and whistles you could possibly ever want and realistically probably more than most will use.
Microphones
Alright for this one we are going to keep this simple and quick.
Option 1: $99
The Rode PodMic is the one I recommend it’s a great price and can hold it’s own against microphones that are 4x it’s cost.
Note: this is a PODCAST mic - if you or your friend is a musician or singer this isn’t going to be your multi-use mic. It does a great job capturing vocals for talking but I wouldn’t try and push it range on anything else.
Option 2: $218
The Rode Procaster - This is an incredible mic and can have multi - uses as well
Option 3: $399
Shure SM7B Cardioid Dynamic Microphone - This is the ultimate podcast microphone! This is the mic used on the biggest podcast around including Joe Rogans Podcast. You 100% do not need to go to this level unless you are trying to make a career out of this.
Accessories
These are just a few things you will need along with the items above. Keep in mind some items need different accessories than others.
XLR Cables - keep in mind how much room you need for cable length
Micro SD Card - Keep in mind depending on what you pick some recorders won’t accept cards bigger than 32GB also some are Micro SD and some are regular SD. Be sure to read before ordering.
Podcast Hosting
So after you have your podcast recorded what do you do with it? There is A LOT of options out there, the one below is just the one I found to fit my needs best.
Podbean.com