Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2012 14:37:41 GMT -8
I know I never get this right, but I have money this time, so I'm going to try and get some advice on my podcasting equipment.
Here's the scoop.
I currently have my laptop, a Blue Snowball USB mic, and Audacity on my machine. That's it.
I now have exactly $200 to spend on this stuff.
The podcast is me and one other guy. On rare occasion, we have a guest, but very uncommon.
We record in a living room, not a studio.
Ideally, I'd like us each with our own directional mic, each with headphones to hear, and of course, each voice on a separate channel, because he talks quiet, I talk loud.
Questions:
1) What kind of setup do I need? Like, what should I buy?
2) Specifically, what products would you recommend?
3) Can I even do this, for the price point?
Any useful info anyone can give me is much appreciated.
Okay... go!
--Pukka Tukka
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Post by Stu Venable on Dec 30, 2012 18:40:20 GMT -8
Ideally, for your set up, I would get a mixing board and a couple of mics.
Problem: I don't know of a board that will accept a usb microphone, meaning it won't work with a board.
The reason I suggest a board is that you can have multiple mics plugged in to one board, mix the levels for each host separately and have one stereo signal go from the board to the audio in on your laptop.
It's a very common set up for most podcasts with multiple hosts.
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RobMITC
Apprentice Douchebag
Posts: 67
Favorite Species of Monkey: Podcast
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Post by RobMITC on Dec 30, 2012 20:53:52 GMT -8
If you are recording directly into the computer I would recommend using Reaper. Audacity has given me a strange buzz when recording before. You can an evaluation version of Reaper that last indefinitely. And as Stu said, a mixer is a must when you start adding more mics.
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Post by mook on Dec 31, 2012 10:02:49 GMT -8
I'm assuming a digital voice recorder that records in .mp3 is right out.
There is an incredible lack of GURPS Actual Plays, but I'm not really much of a sound-techie guy - I'm afraid I don't see me going much beyond the "plop this in the middle of the table and hope for the best" route.
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Post by Stu Venable on Dec 31, 2012 10:30:34 GMT -8
There's no reason you can't record with a digital voice recorded. That's a very common podcasting setup.
You'd run your audio out of the board and into the recorded (which is probably stereo 1/8".
In fact, that's how I'm planning on recording the G+ GURPS game, as my recording computer is overwhelmed running G+.
Of course it depends how long the recorder will record.
I should mention that you want to approach recording levels with caution: If you're running from a board into an audio input (or the in on a digital recorder), start with your board level as low as possible and slowly bring it up while monitoring the recording level.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2012 10:31:40 GMT -8
OK, so I'd buy a mixing board, and a couple of analog mics, a couple headsets? And does the *board* plug into the computer, then? And I can still use the same software in that set up? Or do I need new software?
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Post by Stu Venable on Dec 31, 2012 11:07:50 GMT -8
Yes. You need a cable that goes from the board out (it might be an RCA plug, a 1/4" TRS or an XLR depending on the board) to the audio input on your computer (which is probably a stereo 1/8")
You'll want to make sure your computer's audio input either stereo or mono (I think most are stereo now).
You might also borrow a microphone from someone and test your computer's audio input to make sure it's not horrifically noisy. Most aren't anymore, but you never know.
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Post by savagedaddy on Dec 31, 2012 12:27:20 GMT -8
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Post by mook on Jan 1, 2013 8:20:30 GMT -8
Ooh, that looks thorough, Savagedaddy. Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2013 9:31:15 GMT -8
I'll check that stuff out, Stu, thanks!
Ooh! Thanks, Savagedaddy! I'll watch the equipment video from that link as soon as I get a chance!
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Post by Stu Venable on Jan 1, 2013 10:19:58 GMT -8
I've been playing with an eval copy of Reaper. I would throw in my vote for that as well.
I'm looking for a more portable recording solution for cons, and Reaper will probably be it. It's a very robust program.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2013 15:56:13 GMT -8
Anyone have a specific suggestion on an affordable mixer?
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Post by Stu Venable on Jan 2, 2013 7:57:02 GMT -8
I don't.
I own two mixers. One was free (Stork found it in his garage). The second is a Behringer 24-track I bought for the band.
I will say this about Behringer: they used to have a TERRIBLE reputation -- noisy, crappy gear, and I have experienced this. Their reputation has improved in recent years, and I own a few pieces of their gear, and don't have problems (though I did in the past).
I would suggest you look at the specs to see what plugs the board uses for outs to make sure you have the right cables/adapters to plug it in.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 8:34:22 GMT -8
I can't speak to any of the hardware questions—we record Saving the Game entirely with Audacity and a G+ Hangout, since we're all in different states, and use cheap headsets or worse. But there's one piece of software I've really learned to like, and which was recommended to me by Dan over at Fear the Boot: The Levelator. It's essentially an automatic leveling tool, which evens out volume across an entire track. I'm lazy, so I usually apply it to the final track (saved as a .wav file) and then attach the show bumpers. That works pretty well. I'm no audio expert, though, and people like Stu and others who work with audio regularly might want to punch me for doing that—I dunno. But Levelator's really helped me out; Audacity's leveling filter produces some awful results sometimes, but I've never had trouble with this tool.
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Post by Stu Venable on Jan 2, 2013 10:37:18 GMT -8
I remember hearing about Levelator years ago when it came out, and I thought to myself, "how is that any different than a properly applied compressor?"
To this day, I still haven't figured out the difference.
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