Podcasting is a growing market which companies, organizations, and individuals are considering to grow their brands. As of 2016, 21% of Americans age 12 or older say they have listened to a podcast in the past month. This means an estimated a 57 million people have listened to a podcast this month!
If you have considered podcasting, but have not jumped in just yet, you might be wondering what equipment would be best to use. Here are some of my favorite resources.
1. Cheap and Quick
If you are looking for a cheap and quick way to record some of your best thoughts, just grab your iPhone or iPad These are the resources for you. This is the best option for a single person podcast.
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Record with the Shure MVL Lavalier Microphone. This plugs straight into your phone and you can record with a much better result than your regular mic on your phone.
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Download the file to your computer and use a free program like GarageBand or Audacity to add some music for an intro and outro.
- Publish your program to iTunes.
2. Middle of the Road
There are a few different ways to record a “middle of the road” podcast. Depending on the number of people you want to have on the show, if you are doing interviews, how much equipment you want to purchase and what type of quality. You can mix and match these options below.
- Hardware: You will need some sort of hardware to capture the audio coming from the microphone. If you own a computer already set up to record with a DAW like GarageBand or Audacity, you could use a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 via USB. Or if you need something a little more portable, without lugging your computer around, you could use a Tascam DR-40. With the Tascam, you can just upload the file via a card reader, and edit on your computer. (Check out this mega list of audio interfaces)
- Software: if you want something more in-depth than the free GarageBand or Audacity. You should take a look at Logic X or ProTools.
- Microphones: here’s the deal, there are a lot of options and a lot of price ranges. Also, different microphones sound better with different voices. Do a little research and maybe borrow a friends mic to see how it sounds. Here are some options: ATR2100-USB, SM58, SM7B, NT1A (this is what I use), RE-20 (what I wish I had).
- Headphones: for some recording, and definitely editing, you will need a good set of headphones. The Audio-Technica M50x are classic. If you don’t like the price, the M30x should do just fine.
3. Expensive, but Sounding Great
If I had a booming podcast with lots of guests and my own studio, I would have this set of equipment:
- Hardware: MacBook Pro, with some upgrades + Universal Audio Apollo 8.
- Software: ProTools
- Headphones: Audio-Technica M50x for me and my guests
- Microphones: RE-20 for me and my guests
Podcasting is a big adventure. I would love to know what you are working on! Tweet at me, and let me know your upcoming project or let me know questions you have about equipment.
I’m getting ready to launch a podcast this summer, check it out here:
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