Billy Fire LLC

I have been investigating several microphone and recorder options (some probably a little unorthodox) in order to help my clients as they enter the world of podcasting as well as actually recording podcast for some of them. My basic criteria are as high a sound quality as possible, without spending a lot of money. I would also ideally like something that is portable and self contained, more about this later.

So far I have investigated:

• A Beyer M58 microphone (which is the sort of microphone that TV interviews use on outside broadcasts) connected via a Presonus TubePre preamplifier, which provides in input to the line-in of my VAMP MP3 player/recorder. I will describe this set up in a future blog.
• A Logitech USB headset and microphone connected via a USB connection to a laptop.
• A Radio Shack Lavaliere type microphone connected to a Camcorder
• A Samson C01U USB Studio Condenser Microphone connected to my laptop via USB

This post looks at the Samson C01U. I will talk about the other options in future posts and I will also create some audio samples.

The major advantage of the USB microphone is that it plugs directly into a USB port of a PC. No need for an additional preamp or recording device. The image shows the microphone in an optional spider mount which in turn is screwed on to my Radi Shack microphone stand. The spider mount isolates the microphone from vibrations. I also added an optional pop-filter. This is fine netting stretched across a frame. Its purpose is to stop the familiar popping noise that you sometimes hear when people say words beginning in ‘p.’

The microphone I tested came with an USB cable, SONAR LE and Cakewalk software. I loaded the software which is rather complex - and so until I have the time to get to understand it a little better, I have been using the Open Source Audacity.

Audacity, which is very easy to use, enables me to record and edit sound. It also provides a few special effects.

The microphone can be used with a software based pre-amp.

Unfortunately, Samson warn that this cannot be used when you have other USB based microphones installed, and this appears to be the case. I was able to record by modifying the levels in the normal Windows audio settings and was able to record some very acceptable results.

A client asked for tips on what makes a good podcast. I created the following list to include some of the factors that I think makes for good podcasting - and particularly those first few podcasts:

1. Keep it short. I suggest going for about 5 minutes. A shorter podcast may encourage people to give it a try. If they have to listed to 30 minutes, they might not be so keen to invest the time. You can always increase the length of the podcast as your audience grows.
2. Focus. Focus on a particular area of interest and talk in depth on that subject.
3. Project your personality through the podcast. It’s not just the information that the listening audience will be interested in - it is your style of presentation and YOU.
4. Include anecdotes. Just like in any form of public speaking, from Jesus to the present day, story telling really livens up any aural presentation and captures the listener’s attention.
5. Don’t read a script. Unless you have a gift for enlivening things written down as a script, it is far better to create a framework and speak from the framework using your own words. Generally I would prefer to hear a few ‘umms,’ ‘likes’ and ‘arghs’ and have a presentation made spontaneously, than a perfectly read but stultifying presentation from a script.
6. Use a good microphone. I am always amazed at how audibly illiterate some people are when they use an inadequate microphone (or worse a microphone ‘built in’ to their computer or MP3 player) to record a podcast. In the worse cases you have to actually strain your ears to hear the words, in the best, background noise and ambient sound can be clearly heard.
7. Get to the subject at hand as quickly as possible. There seems to be a trend towards adding all sorts of unnecessary clutter (such as a theme tune) at the beginning of a podcast. This may be okay for podcasts that you are listening to passively (e.g. on a car journey), but for those listening purposefully at their desks, unnecessary content can be an annoyance.
8. Listen to other people’s podcasts in your subject area. This can be a great eye opener (or ‘ear’ opener!) as to what works and what doesn’t.
9. Consider asking a colleague or subject mater expert to join you and take part in the podcast. The interchange between two people can make more interesting listening than just one presenter.
10. Solicit questions and suggestions from the audience. By incorporating information that listeners have shown an interest in will automatically ensure that the podcasts are relevant to the audience.
11. Publicize the podcast. If no-one downloads the podcast then, however good it is, it will be a waste of time. Make sure that you include a link on your web site. Send existing clients a link and consider issuing a press release. Also, bear in mind that many of your customers may not know what a podcast is. Make sure that you educate them and provide clear instructions as to how they could ’subscribe’ to the podcast so that they will be assured of getting the next episode.