Best budget Hardware & Software for podcasting.

[Rushfreak2112]

Rene,

Your time and expertise is much appreciated. I enjoy and trust your advice. I'm starting a podcast and would like to know the best setup to make it sound good. I will have a few guests, but not more than three per podcast. Would you give me a run-down of the equipment needed and software options. Thanks for your help, RushFreak2112

 

[RedSoxFan07]

A good budget audio editor is Audacity. It has a lot of great features, and it’s free. It’s also open-source which is really nice because it allows you to add features and fix bugs, as well as allowing for a longer lifespan since the original developer can drop the project and another can take his place.

As for equipment, the Blue Microphones Snowball Ice is a good budget microphone. It’s $50, but that’s not too bad as far as microphones go, especially digital ones. In terms of mixers and things like that, I’m not sure.

 

[Luke Filipowicz]

Depending on what you consider budget, this may or may not be useful to you; however, as a novice podcaster myself, I find the best microphone for the money is the Blue Microphones Yeti. I run a podcast with usually three speakers, and I just put the Yeti on Omnidirectional mode, put it in the middle of the table, and it captures everyone loud and clear. Plus, it has three other capturing modes, which are ideal for different scenarios.

As for software, Audacity is going to be your best and cheapest choice, if you wanted to spend a little money, you could always get a one-program subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud and snag Audition, but it's hard to comepte with free.

 

[Rene Ritchie]

Budget podcast on a Mac:

1. Blue Yeti mic (get a pop filter with it).
2. EarPods or a headset that won't leak audio back to your mic.
3. QuickTime to record your audio.
4. GarageBand to edit it.
5. Libsyn to host the files.

For safety's sake, though, I'd recommend also buying Call Recorder or Audio Hijack so you can capture the full audio of the conversation in case one of the local recordings fails.

 

[Rushfreak2112]

RedSoxFan07, thanks for the quick response. My initial question was filled with holes. I needed to be more specific. Thanks.

 

[Rushfreak2112]

Luke Filipowicz, thank you too for the response. I do have a Blue Yeti and like it. I also use logic pro, audition, premier, and fcpx. Thanks again for answering my really poorly constructed question.

 

[Rushfreak2112]

Rene, thanks. Do I need an interface and mixer? My guests for the podcast will be from all parts of the country. Looks like Call Recorder is very good for my use with Skype. Can you use your call recorder for a track in logic or GarageBand? Thanks again for your expertise.

 

[Rene Ritchie]

No, Yeti is a USB mic. Just plug it in and record