I get asked a lot about what equipment I use to record and produce my podcasts. So I figured it’s about time I buckle down and make it a blog post where I can direct anyone who asks.
First of all, let me just give this disclaimer. These are my personal preferences. And take into account the fact that I take podcasting very seriously. I’ve invested a pretty penny into my tools, way too much if you ask anyone but me. To start a podcast you DO NOT NEED to buy everything I have, not even close. There are much cheaper, if not free, alternatives to everything I list below.
For a bare-bones starter kit, I like what Pat Flynn has done with his videos.
The list below is the gear that i use to produce both of my shows: Or So I Thought, and Rendition.
Hardware for Recording At Home:
Shure SM7B microphone: This is a dynamic microphone that is popular among radio broadcasters, podcasters, and even musicians. It’s very sturdy and sounds great. This model is famous for being the same type of microphone that Michael Jackson used to record his entire Thriller album.
Heil PL2T microphone boom mount: I like to be able to record whenever an idea strikes, without having to connect wires or make space on my desk. For this reason I bought a boom arm that i keep attached to my desk. No need to drill holes, it comes with a handy clamp. All I have to do is pull the microphone towards me and press Record.
XLR cables one (12ft) and one (3ft): The long 12ft XLR cable connects to the microphone, swoops under one side of my desk, and comes back up on the other side to connect to the next piece of equipment: the Cloudlifter. The short 3ft XLR cable connects my Cloudlifter to my USB audio interface.
Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator: The Shure SM7B microphone is very quiet, so it’s recommended to use some type of pre-amp before feeding it into your interface. The Cloudlifter is a little blue box that uses power from the interface to strengthen the signal that the mic provides…
***
Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Audio Interface: This is a popular audio interface among podcasters. It lets you plug in two mics and it’ll feed that signal into your computer so you can record directly into your software of choice. It costs $179 currently.
Macbook Pro Retina 13-inch laptop (early 2015 version): this is my baby. I got it in November 2015 with the hard-drive upgrade to 256 Gigabites. This is the version that still has actual USB ports, so I don’t need those wonky USB-C adapters to hook up my Focusrite interface or regular things like, say, a thumb drive. Apple jumped the gun with the Macbook updates starting in 2016, so this makes me value my 2015 Macbook Pro that much more.
Sony MDR 7506 headphones: These are the “industry standard” for radio broadcasters and podcasters. Compared to the “hip” consumer headphones out in the market these are actually a great value, and sound better. The main thing that makes them great for editing podcasts is that they have a flat sound, so they don’t exaggerate the bass like some other headphone brands do. So you get a truer sound. No matter what type of headphones you end up going with, make sure to listen back to your podcast in all types of listening devices (in-ear buds, laptop speakers, car speakers, Bluetooth speakers, etc) so that you can craft a mix that works for all environments.
Hardware for Recording In The Field:
Notice the setup with AT 8035, Heil PR-40, and SM58
Heil PR-40 (On-Site Recording mic #1): This is the mic I started podcasting with. It sounds great, but it’s total overkill if you’re gonna lug it around to on-site interviews like I do.
Audio Technica AT 8035 (On-Site Recording mic #2 / Mobile Mic): I bought this after reading that Alex Blumberg uses it for recording in the field. It’s a “shotgun” microphone which means that it’ll only accept audio coming directly at its skinny top and reject most other noise around it. So, for example, if you’re in the field at a noisy park, you’ll get less of the background noise and more of the intended audio.
Shure SM58 (On-Site Recording mic #3): This is another sturdy mic made by Shure. Most of the use I’ve given it has been on the rare occasion where there are two guests I’m interviewing at the same time and I need a third mic.
Desktop microphone stands: I have a few different stands, like these, these, and these. But the premise is the same: a wide base to keep the microphone from tipping over.
Zoom H5 recorder: When I travel to record an interview this device acts as the central hub for all the equipment. With its standard features you can plug two microphones into it using XLR cables. If you buy the extra attachment–which I purchased–you’ll be able to feed four separate mics into one unit. It records the signal from all the microphones into a removable SD card. This is a versatile device with tons of cool features. In your home studio you can even use it as an audio interface which bridges the connection between your XLR microphone and your computer via USB. Out of all the items recommended here, this piece delivers the most bang for your buck.
Software for Mixing Audio:
Logic Pro X: This is the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that I use to edit, mix, and export the recordings into an mp3 file. When I first started podcasting I was using Adobe Audition. Then, after about eight episodes my good friend–and podcast producer extraordinaire– Cody Boyce convinced me to switch over to Logic Pro X. He told me there would be a learning curve by switching, but that Logic Pro X is more powerful and flexible, and that I would thank him down the line. Cody, this is for you: THANK YOU! Most other DAWs have everything you need to make a great-sounding podcast, but I like Logic because it has clean graphics, an adjustable workspace, and is super-responsive when you’re editing quickly.
Audio Plugins: Logic Pro X comes with all the built-in plugins you’ll need to make a great-sounding podcast. I started with the native ones in Logic Pro X, but as of a few months ago I decided to try premium ones. These are the ones that I settled on:
- Waves X-Noise plugin: This is a De-Noiser plugin that helps remove unwanted background noise from your recording. I upgraded to this just because it’s so simple and intuitive to use. The De-noiser included in Logic has controls that take some work to figure out. I’ll gladly pay for ease of use.
- Fabfilter Pro-Q 3 plugin: This plugin has a beautiful user interface. What sealed the deal for me is the EQ-match function that lets you input another recording and then with a touch of a button it’ll adjust your frequencies to make it sound similar to the other recording. Super cool!
Other Software & Apps:
Libsyn: this is the company I use to host the files in the cloud. They are one of the more popular file hosts and are super-reliable. My plan is $15 a month and they allow me to upload 250 MB a month, which is roughly four hour of audio.
Bluehost: they host my WordPress site, the one you’re reading this post on right now. I pay around $12 a month. I’ve been using them since 2013 and haven’t had any issues with them. The times when I’ve messed something up or needed help making changes, their customer support has always been top-notch. I use them for my clients as well. Totally recommend them.
WordPress: I use the WordPress content management system to design my site, make pages, and write posts. To be clear, this is different from WordPress.com which is a company that will host your site for you and maintain it. I use the software that anyone can get for free from WordPress.org and then install it on my site myself. I use this version because it’s more flexible and I can tweak everything to my taste. It’s not difficult to get started with it, but the fun part is once you get experience you can customize your site by editing the actual code or installing plugins that add functionality to your website. This is what I use for all my clients when I design websites for them. If you’re curious, you can see an example of a website I manage for a client here.
Canva: I’m not a graphic designer. I don’t know how to use Photoshop or Illustrator. But I am constantly getting new ideas of how to improve my show’s branding, and because good graphic designers are expensive, I decided that I will design everything myself. So if you think my show’s artwork is ugly or amateurish, you can blame that on this guy! I love Canva because it has tons of templates that give me ideas on where to start. It’s also easy to re-size a design you make, so you can make all the versions of artwork that you need. I pay $12.95 monthly for their Canva Pro version, and I think it’s a great deal.
Google Drive / Google One: I do a chunk of my writing away from home, often when I don’t have my laptop with me. The simplest way I’ve found to keep all my documents updated and available is by using Google Docs. With Docs I can start an idea on my phone, pick it up on my iPad, and when I have my laptop it’s also there. I keep ALL my files backed up in Google Drive, including all my interview recordings, photos, and Logic Pro X sessions, so if anything happens to my laptop I’m covered. The plan I have is $1.99 for the 100GB of storage. I also back up to two separate physical hard drives because I’m paranoid like that (cue shrugging emoji).
That covers my equipment. Do you have any questions? Any suggestions on stuff I might be missing and that you would recommend? Feel free to reach out to me over email alex@alexcespedes.com
This is the first post in a series about my podcasting process. As new posts are released they will be linked below. Keep checking back as this equipment list will also be kept updated. Or to stay updated, just subscribe to our weekly newsletter through the box below.
