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All About Microphones
Thank you for listening to the forth episode of Your Pod Guy! I'm Scott Curtis, Your Pod Guy.
Let's talk about microphones. It's one of the first questions aspiring podcasters ask me. It makes a lot of sense that you might need some direction in choosing a microphone because there is so much conflicting information and opinions out there.
There are two basic types of microphones. Condenser & Dynamic. Let’s talk about condenser mics first.
Condenser mics are commonly used in studios to pick up sounds with great detail and accuracy. For that reason, they are great for recording music vocals. The plus side of condenser mics is that they have a very rich and warm sound. your voice will sound great when you're using a condenser mic. You also don't have to be super close to a condenser mic as it has a wide listening area. The downside is that condenser mics are very sensitive and will pick up all the noise around you along with your great voice recording. If your computer is loud it will pick that up. If there are conversations in the other room, it will pick that up. If you can hear it, a condenser mic will hear it. With that in mind, a condenser mic is a great fit for a true podcast studio environment. That means your recording area is soundproof and treated with acoustic panels so your voice doesn't bounce off the walls back into the mic.
A dynamic mic is the most common mic used for podcasting. The reason is that a dynamic mic has a narrower listening area. Simply put, it only hears sounds that are vary close to the mic. Dynamic mics are much more forgiving in louder environments. As a matter of fact, I'm using a dynamic mic right now with a loud computer and the dryer running right outside my room. The downside of a dynamic mic is that you lose some of the warmth you get from a condenser mic. But you're recording a podcast not and opera so a dynamic mic is still a great choice. Another small downside is a dynamic mic has to be much closer to your mouth to pick up your voice clearly. Usually between 3 and 6 inches is best.
Taking into consideration the advantages and limitations of condenser and dynamic mics, my recommendation is to use a dynamic mic for podcasting. A dynamic mic is just designed better for recording a podcast and you don't have to worry about sound bleedover if you have 2 or more people in the room using different mics. You can also record just about anywhere and get a decent voice track.
Now, what should you expect to pay for a podcast mic? Well, microphones vary widely in price. You can spend 20 bucks or 2,000 bucks on a mic. A 2,000 mic is not going to sound 1,800 bucks better than a 20 dollar mic. Also, your editing software can make an inexpensive mic sound great. Heck, you can record on your phone and make it sound pretty good.
My recommendation for a mic that will be suitable for starting a podcast is an inexpensive dynamic mic that connects to your computer by USB. You can record directly into your editing software and have your show sounding great and ready to go pretty quick. Just remember to make a backup or two backups of the recorded file right away. I'll talk about some disasters I've had over the years in another episode.
I'll also talk about podcast editing software in the next episode. It's a lot to digest and I think I gave you enough to think about with all the mic talk.
I expect you'll have questions and I'm hear to answer them. you can shoot me an email to [email protected] and I'll answer them right here on the podcast. You can also use a cool toll I'm beta testing called Ask Answer. you just grab your phone and record a video asking me a question and I'll answer it. Pretty cool, huh?
In producing 4 podcasts, I have become obsessed with great podcasts and want to help make yours great too! That's what Your Pod Guy is all about.
Make sure to follow Your Pod Guy on all the socials by clicking the links in the show notes or searching your pod guy in each platform.
If you like what you hear, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave a review to help me reach more podcasters and aspiring podcasters like you!
Head over to yourpodguy.com if you'd like to book a free consultation and while you're there, join the mailing list for more great podcast info delivered to your email.
In the next episode, I'll talk about podcast editing software. I'll cover free and paid tools that will make editing easy and make your podcast sound great. Thanks for listening and have a great pod day.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask, shoot me an email to [email protected]
You can also reach me through Ask Answer using your mobile device (I think it’s pretty cool)
Ask Answer
Follow Your Pod Guy on the socials here:
TikTok
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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By Scott CurtisThank you for listening to the forth episode of Your Pod Guy! I'm Scott Curtis, Your Pod Guy.
Let's talk about microphones. It's one of the first questions aspiring podcasters ask me. It makes a lot of sense that you might need some direction in choosing a microphone because there is so much conflicting information and opinions out there.
There are two basic types of microphones. Condenser & Dynamic. Let’s talk about condenser mics first.
Condenser mics are commonly used in studios to pick up sounds with great detail and accuracy. For that reason, they are great for recording music vocals. The plus side of condenser mics is that they have a very rich and warm sound. your voice will sound great when you're using a condenser mic. You also don't have to be super close to a condenser mic as it has a wide listening area. The downside is that condenser mics are very sensitive and will pick up all the noise around you along with your great voice recording. If your computer is loud it will pick that up. If there are conversations in the other room, it will pick that up. If you can hear it, a condenser mic will hear it. With that in mind, a condenser mic is a great fit for a true podcast studio environment. That means your recording area is soundproof and treated with acoustic panels so your voice doesn't bounce off the walls back into the mic.
A dynamic mic is the most common mic used for podcasting. The reason is that a dynamic mic has a narrower listening area. Simply put, it only hears sounds that are vary close to the mic. Dynamic mics are much more forgiving in louder environments. As a matter of fact, I'm using a dynamic mic right now with a loud computer and the dryer running right outside my room. The downside of a dynamic mic is that you lose some of the warmth you get from a condenser mic. But you're recording a podcast not and opera so a dynamic mic is still a great choice. Another small downside is a dynamic mic has to be much closer to your mouth to pick up your voice clearly. Usually between 3 and 6 inches is best.
Taking into consideration the advantages and limitations of condenser and dynamic mics, my recommendation is to use a dynamic mic for podcasting. A dynamic mic is just designed better for recording a podcast and you don't have to worry about sound bleedover if you have 2 or more people in the room using different mics. You can also record just about anywhere and get a decent voice track.
Now, what should you expect to pay for a podcast mic? Well, microphones vary widely in price. You can spend 20 bucks or 2,000 bucks on a mic. A 2,000 mic is not going to sound 1,800 bucks better than a 20 dollar mic. Also, your editing software can make an inexpensive mic sound great. Heck, you can record on your phone and make it sound pretty good.
My recommendation for a mic that will be suitable for starting a podcast is an inexpensive dynamic mic that connects to your computer by USB. You can record directly into your editing software and have your show sounding great and ready to go pretty quick. Just remember to make a backup or two backups of the recorded file right away. I'll talk about some disasters I've had over the years in another episode.
I'll also talk about podcast editing software in the next episode. It's a lot to digest and I think I gave you enough to think about with all the mic talk.
I expect you'll have questions and I'm hear to answer them. you can shoot me an email to [email protected] and I'll answer them right here on the podcast. You can also use a cool toll I'm beta testing called Ask Answer. you just grab your phone and record a video asking me a question and I'll answer it. Pretty cool, huh?
In producing 4 podcasts, I have become obsessed with great podcasts and want to help make yours great too! That's what Your Pod Guy is all about.
Make sure to follow Your Pod Guy on all the socials by clicking the links in the show notes or searching your pod guy in each platform.
If you like what you hear, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave a review to help me reach more podcasters and aspiring podcasters like you!
Head over to yourpodguy.com if you'd like to book a free consultation and while you're there, join the mailing list for more great podcast info delivered to your email.
In the next episode, I'll talk about podcast editing software. I'll cover free and paid tools that will make editing easy and make your podcast sound great. Thanks for listening and have a great pod day.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask, shoot me an email to [email protected]
You can also reach me through Ask Answer using your mobile device (I think it’s pretty cool)
Ask Answer
Follow Your Pod Guy on the socials here:
TikTok
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.