Work with us: https://www.spekepodcasting.com/

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-mic/id1777171203

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1PQNHuqxIVhkLfjGYuWcxl

You don’t need to be an audio engineer to hire one.

You do, however, need to know what to ask. In this solo riff, Freddy breaks down how to spot the difference between a real producer and someone just pushing “remove filler words” and exporting. You’ll walk away with questions to grill any prospective editor on their workflow, their master chain, and how much they lean on AI so you don’t hand your show to a rookie with presets.

Key Takeaways

1. DIY your first 5–10 episodes so you learn where you shine and where you suffer—Riverside, Descript, and other AI‑assisted tools are your boot camp, not your forever plan.

2. When you’re ready to outsource, your first filter is workflow: a pro can clearly walk you through their process from raw files to final master without hand‑waving.

3. Separate real producers from button‑clickers by asking about their master chain—compression, limiting, and EQ should be intentional choices, not accidental defaults.

4. AI tools that strip silences and remove filler words can make episodes sound choppy, rushed, or robotic, which is a terrible trade‑off if you’re building a premium brand.

5. Pay for judgment, not geography: rates (US or overseas) should match skill, portfolio quality, and how seriously they treat your show, not the magic of a low number in your inbox