gear

Behringer Xenyx Q802USB Mixer Overview

May 27, 2015 by Ray Ortega 17 Comments

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.

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How to Setup Any Mixer – Gain Staging without PFL or Solo Buttons

April 27, 2015 by Ray Ortega 14 Comments

For many podcasters, mixers do not include Pre Fader Listen (PFL) or Solo buttons which are commonly used on more expensive mixers for properly setting audio levels.

Gain staging is the process of setting proper audio levels through your entire audio chain. On a mixer this starts with the gain knob (located at the top of each channel strip) which controls the sensitivity of your microphone or input and finishes at the output, your main mix. [Read more…] about How to Setup Any Mixer – Gain Staging without PFL or Solo Buttons

Aspen Mics HQ-S Stereo Lavalier Microphone

November 9, 2014 by Ray Ortega 6 Comments

Aspen Mics* has a new series of lavalier microphones called HQ (High Quality). I first saw these mics tweeted out by @cheesycam who often reviews lower priced gear for DSLR video shooters. For a mic called HQ, these mics had an interesting price point around $50 but what made that attractive was their quality. Upon first listen, the mics seem to produce nice clean audio without having to run your recorders preamp at full gain.

Webcam Lighting Setup

November 7, 2014 by Ray Ortega 16 Comments

One of the best ways to make your webcam video look its best is to make sure you have good lighting. Really, any lighting that you put a little effort and budget into, will do wonders. The key is to get adequate amounts of light in front of your face so the audience can easily see you and the camera will look it’s best.

You can accomplish this with any lights you have in the house, office or wherever you are recording from. Often I just use a nice large window (see below) with plenty of daylight coming in. This looks wonderful but can be hard to control. When the clouds pass in front of the sun, your lighting will change dramatically and while I love the look of natural light, the best way to ensure you have consistent, great looking light is by using lights that you can control.

In the image below you’ll see a more advanced lighting setup that I recently used on my live-streamed podcast, Podcasters’ Roundtable. [Read more…] about Webcam Lighting Setup

Recording Skype with No Mixer or Software

February 12, 2014 by Ray Ortega 43 Comments

Recording a Skype interview can be a tricky process. There are “easy” ways to do this with software like Audio Hijack Pro for Mac and Pamela for Windows but they can still be hard to setup and of course anytime you’re using software you are at risk of it crashing and losing the entire interview. My other complaint about using software is that it’s not as easy to monitor the audio that you are recording to ensure that everything sounds right throughout the recording.

Here’s a very specific setup that while it uses a particular piece gear (ATR2100 or AT2005)* it gives you lots of flexibility with the final audio file(s) as well as a more reliable system for capturing your Skype interviews and achieving latency free monitoring.

In the video I say that you have to have an ATR2100 style microphone. For this exact setup that is true however you can achieve a Skype recording with your audio recorder with any XLR connected microphone (see section below).

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Purchased: Triton Audio FetHead

April 12, 2013 by Ray Ortega 6 Comments

I ordered a Triton Audio FetHead in-line preamp and it’s here. So what does it do?

You can click the above link for specs but the short of it is, it provides +20db of “ultra clean gain.”

Why would you want this? The simple answer is cleaner audio at higher levels.

If you follow my microphone for podcasting advice, you’re likely using a dynamic microphone (Heil PR40, Shure SM58, ATR2100, etc). Often, these mics need a lot of gain in order to achieve proper audio levels which means cranking the preamp (gain knob) on your mixer or recorder close to its max. In general, I like to keep any preamp I’m using below 70% of full when possible. (Audio sample below). [Read more…] about Purchased: Triton Audio FetHead