Best Home Gear for Podcasting in 2020
2 min readWhat do you need to run a podcast? What is the best equipment for recording your voice? Today I’m going to show you a selection of things which you’ll need to get started with podcasting.
Podcasting can be quite expensive to start out with if you want to jump into the pro gear, but it doesn’t have to be. I will cover four tiers of budget so you can see exactly what you need in your range.
This project assumes that you have a PC or Mac but if not, you can grab a Raspberry Pi 3 for cheap and run a lightweight audio editing software on it. If you are really dedicated to getting started why not check our list of the best books for podcasters.
1. Cheapest Tier [FREE]
This is a genuine option, at least for getting started. Phone microphones are getting increasingly good. Journalists in many places have replaced big heavy Tascams and audio recording devices in favour of their iPhone mics and the sound quality isn’t bad at all.
This setup is ideal for you to get started in podcasting as all you need is your phone to start recording your voice and an audio editing software to edit it.
In this case I recommend Audacity as the audio editing software of choice.
Pros:
- Basically free if you already have a phone and computer.
- Phone microphones are actually better than some of the budget microphones out there
- Interviews are handy as you can have the phone on the table
Cons:
- The microphone, while good, is not professional
- You may have to edit the audio more to get it clean
- It won’t sound as good as most podcasts out there.
- Audio has to be transferred to computer while recording.
Budget Podcast Setup [£47]
This setup is good to get started if you are a one or two person show. USB mics are really good because they plug into your computer directly without the need for an audio interface and are great for recording straight into the audio editing program.
If you have multiple presenters, it is worth giving everyone a pair of headphones (a headphone splitter is super handy here). You might also want to consider some good quality headphones for editing.
At this stage, Audacity will still suffice for most editing needs.
Pros:
- Records directly into computer software
- Good headphones mean better editing
- Headphone splitter allows multiple presenters
Cons:
- Cheap USB microphones aren’t the best
- Presenters need to be sitting side by side
- Vulnerable to noise
Medium price podcast setup [<£180]
At this stage you are looking at semi-pro USB microphones with much more features. I recommend the Blue Yeti mics because they have a lot of features. They can offer omni, stereo, bi-directional, and cardioid patterns meaning you can have a single presenter, interview setup, or people all round the table.
The stereo feature on it has also meant it is a popular microphone for ASMR. If you want to hear it in action, why not check out Audio Ordeal’s podcast episode on stereo microphone recording which actually used the Blue Yeti itself.
Another option for a microphone in the same price range is the Rode NT-USB.
While it offers fewer options to the Blue Yeti, it offers much higher quality.
This is another favourite for podcasters and YouTubers who see it as a good balance of quality and price.
Choose this microphone if you want the highest quality audio in the price range, and are presenting by yourself.
Here, we are getting more serious, so an investment in slightly better headphones is recommended for the main producer/editor. Guests can just use their cheap earbuds for live monitoring, but for editing you want the best audio.
If you want to keep the software end free, I recommend that you stick with Audacity. But other options are out there such as Reaper ($60 or uncrippled trial period) and Adobe Audition.
Pros:
- This is the best all-round setup which offers a good quality sound balanced with price
- A Blue Yeti microphone is great for a living room “panel” discussion and the stereo features are excellent
- A Rode NT-USB is great bang for your buck if you don’t plan on having guests.
- If recorded right, your audio quality will be on par with most other podcasts and even some commercial radio stations.
- USB mics are not the best option if you want to individually mic everyone up.
- Mics are sensitive enough to pick up noise – needs a quiet recording environment
Professional-level podcast setup [~£1000]
This is for serious podcasters who have multiple presenters or podcasts. This is where sound quality is crucial, especially for the main presenter. There is a RODECaster Pro which allows you to control multiple channels as well as have jingle pads. It is the centrepiece of the studio.
On top of the deep control, it allows you to either mix the sound and record on a micro SD card, or you can use USB to your computer and record multitrack into your editing software. This is good because you can edit really precisely after the show, if need be.
In addition to the RODECaster Pro, there are several other upgrades. You will want at least one good quality condenser mic with a pop filter and stand.
Additional mics can either be the same, for maximum quality, or you can get a few cheaper dynamic mics if the guests don’t talk as much.
You will see that now, instead of a headphone splitter, there is a dedicated headphone amp with individual volume controls. You will find that some presenters like their voice to be loud in their headphones and some don’t. This means everyone on the show can have it how they like it.
Finally, we must look at the room treatment panels. Not only do they make a studio room look professional, they are critical to a high quality sound. If the room has lots of echoes and reflections it sounds bad on the mic. No exceptions.
Think about when you are on the phone to someone, even though the phone call quality is bad, you can always tell if they are in a bathroom or a tiled room because the echoes are so prominent. Treating your room is so important that you are actually better off with a cheap mic in a treated room than an expensive mic in a room with bad acoustics.
Pros:
- Ultimate quality
- A great and simple setup for a professional studio
- You will sound better than a lot of podcasts and on par with most pro broadcasts.
- Expandable – you can use this for many different recording options
Cons:
- Very expensive
- Requires a lot of cables and peripherals
- Sound treatment pricing scales with room size – the bigger the room the more you might need.
- You can’t cheap out on mic stands, the cheap ones break or won’t hold the weight of a good microphone.
- Requires a moderate knowledge of audio equipment and software setup.
The bottom line
There is no cheap workaround for high-quality audio. While a lot of problems can be smoothed out in post-production, you still can’t polish a turd.
Any option you take will sound bad if you have bad recording practices. Don’t go into the red. Don’t record with loud background noise. Try and record in a “soft” room to stop echoes.
Finally, be aware of “podcast kits” and bundles. Some of them will cheap out on components like the mic stand. You are better doing a little bit of extra research and making your own bespoke bundle.
You can polish a turd. Essentially it’s the Japanese art of Dorodango. While primarily the medium is earth (mud) and water, it can be done with detritus.