Chapter 4
THE BEST GEAR
MONEY CAN BUY
You’ll hear pundits, and often people new to podcasting tout that it’s so easy to get into. That’s completely ridiculous in some ways (you still need a lot of practice, skill and help!), but when it comes to equipment, it’s definitely true. You don’t need much more than what you probably already have-- your phone and garageband-- to get started. Distribution is also easier than ever.
Podcasting is notorious for its low barrier to entry.
But, as you get better, and as your ear grows more discerning,
you’ll find that more professional equipment goes a long way.
I see buying equipment as, once you reach a certain tier in your skill level, you earn yourself that tier in equipment. Obviously, you can be a complete novice and buy the most expensive, professional stuff. But not everyone can afford that luxury, and sometimes as you gain skills, you not only appreciate how and why to use that equipment, but it also is more likely to pay for itself.
Think about gear in multiple tiers. There’s the stuff that you need to get started, like an iPhone and garageband. You probably hear those two guys in a garage when you think of this tier. And then there’s the stuff you need to make the highest quality podcast, like ProTools and studio monitor headphones. That’s if you want to create Emmy-worthy audio television. Think S-Town.
Recommendations, for all wallets and skills
You can nerd out about the differences in equipment on Transom.org. But, to boil down the task of getting gear, here are recommendations in tiers of skill and money:
Recorder
Your phone
Microphones
Your phone
Headphones
The pair you have
Wires
None
What is all this stuff anyway?
Before you buy anything, it’s important to understand the role of each piece of equipment recommended above.
Recorder
A recorder allows you to interpret the audio from your microphone and to store it, so that you can later feed it into your computer. So why not just get one of those mics that feed directly into your computer using a USB cable? Because a recorder lets you control the audio as it’s coming in. You can have it in come in through two different channels, you can change the format in which its stored (learn more: stereo or mono), and you can control the levels (loudness of the audio, not how loud you hear it). The better the recorder, the more you get to control and manipulate these and other aspects of the audio before you put it into an editing software.
Microphone
You need one to capture the audio. Phones have microphones built in, so for utility alone, you have something that can capture sound. The reason you would buy a professional microphone is “sensitivity of sound.” Your phone doesn’t capture your breathing, you scratching your face, the layers of the timbre of your voice. The same way a really good camera captures the pores on your skin and the texture of each hair on your head, a really good microphone captures details in sound. The mic that I recommend is a shotgun microphone, which means it collects sound in one direction. It must be pointed at its target to pick up sound. The Audio Technica shotgun is also a condenser microphone-- which means that it converts acoustic energy into electrical energy using an outside powersource, like a battery or an outlet. Condenser mics are more sensitive than the alternative, dynamic mics. This makes them perfect for recording lettuce chopping, breathing, stepping on leaves, and other granular ambient sounds. They are not as good for recording already loud sounds, like a heavy metal concert.
Editing Software
You use editing software to take the raw audio that you’ve recorded, to chop it up into bits, and to mush it and layer it with other audio and music. The same way you put an instagram filter on a photo, you can put filters (like compression) on your voice. Or you can put crazy effects that make the sounds you’ve recorded do things like echo. The more advanced editing software, like the more advanced recorder, gives you more power to manipulate the sound. But, unlike a microphone or recorder, you can make a great show in basic software as long as you understand how to break up and layer sounds. In terms of recommendations, I prioritize buying a better microphone and recorder over buying better editing software. If you’re using clean, fresh, local ingredients for a recipe, it doesn’t matter if you use a knife or an axe to cut them, or a wooden spoon or metal spatula to stir. Not at the beginning at least. Knife technique and high quality cutting boards come into play after you get good ingredients. A pure wood, well oiled cutting board won’t turn a rotting bell pepper into delicious food no matter how hard you try.
Headphones
I recommend studio monitor headphones to hear sound as it comes in (there’s a jack for your headphones in your recorder). This way you can change the settings of the audio as you hear it recording. I also recommend them for editing, because they mostly cancel noise, are incredibly comfortable on your ear and most of all, do not add any affect to the sound while you’re editing. For example, Beats headphones often add more bass to the sound coming in. This makes them really boomy and fun to listen through, but it also does not show you the sound as it is. Any headphones that say “studio monitor” promise to not alter sound. Even if you use your studio monitors to edit, I would listen on a number of other headphones when you’re mixing to figure out how your show sounds on normal headphones and speakers.
Pistol Grip
When you hold a microphone with your bare hands and the wires are all tangled up and pull on each other, you get something called, “handling noise.” Handling noise is the sound of your hand or wires touching the microphone. Remember, a shotgun is extremely sensitive and captures sounds closest to it. Using a pistol grip eliminates these sounds because your hands are holding a handle further from the microphone and not directly touching it.