International Podcast Day is September 30th, find out what you can do to support and grow the medium of podcasting.
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i4* audio interface is a great little device for plugging analog gear (microphones, mixers, etc.) into your computer and getting clean sounding, high-quality audio. [Read more…] about TPS094: International Podcast Day and the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4
I bought the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4* (2i4 on B&H | 2i4 on Amazon) after my beloved Griffin iMic died on me after a few years of hearty service. The iMic is a simple, small audio interface that accepts both line and mic. level sources with a 3.5mm connector and it does its job really well. So why not just buy another one? I was going to but I’m a gear junky so upgrading is common place.
The iMic is a little pricey for what it does ($35-$40) but again it’s well worth it. The price of the iMic led me to see what I could get if I invested a little more and I’ve been wanting to try the Focusrite series of audio interfaces for a very long time. This was my chance and a better justification for finally getting one. If I tripled my investment in a new iMic (give or take), I could get a lot more capability and power from the 2i4.
In the audio (above) you heard my very first recordings using the 2i4. I plugged in my ATR2100 and recorded using Adobe Audition. The first same is raw (as recorded) and the second was lightly processed and loudness normalized. [Read more…] about Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 Audio Interface Review and Demo
How do you get audio from your phone (iPhone, Android, etc.) into your mixer? The simple answer is you plug it in. You can use a basic stereo cable (I prefer this “Y” cable*), plug one end into your phone’s headphone output 
and place the other end into an available channel on your mixer and now you can take audio from the phone into your recordings. But what if you want to also send all the audio from the mixer (your mic, your co-host, sound FX, etc.) back to the person on the phone without them hearing themselves? That’s called a mix-minus and you can use a couple different devices to achieve this setup. [Read more…] about TPS093: Get a Mix-minus into a Smartphone and overview of the Mackie 402VLZ4
The Mackie 402VLZ ultra-compact mixer* is an excellent audio mixer for first time podcasters. “Built like a tank” the 402 is encased in steel with quality feeling knobs, sealed to prevent dust from invading the insides of the mixer. The first thing you’ll notice when you pull this mixer from the box is how well it’s built and its small size. This thing feels like a road warrior, built to be taken with you when necessary.
What’s the value of a new podcast subscriber? Would you trade 20, 50, 100 dollars an episode for a new subscriber? Two new subscribers?
A podcast sponsorship can be a hard deal to negotiate and for many smaller shows it’s not likely worth the tradeoff; having to put ads in your content for a small monetary return. But what if the exchange was not money but instead something likely more important to a podcast… new listeners.
Word of mouth is still the best form of marketing for any podcast. Trading ad space on your show for an introduction to a targeted, relevant, interested group of potential new subscribers may have bigger returns and is almost certainly a much easier form of sponsorship to obtain.
Social sponsorship is sponsorship deal for the rest of us. The average podcaster does not carry the number of subscribers that most ad buyers would want to see for CPM based deals. Yes you can cultivate a one on one sponsorship with someone who has a relevant business but when it comes to asking for money it’s often a much harder sale. [Read more…] about TPS092: Social Sponsorships and the Behringer Q802USB Mixer
The Behringer Q802USB mixer* is a great choice if you are looking for a mixer that can handle most podcasting applications for less than $100.
A good preamp is where a good mixer starts. The Q802USB has Behringer’s Xenyx preamps and they perform very well in this mixer. With plus 60DB of gain, the preamps in this mixer are enough to power most dynamic microphones including the Heil PR40 and the ATR2100, two of my microphones that require the most gain. Even at the top range of this preamp, I was able to get clean audio.