Microphones & Recorders

There are SO many choices of podcasting equipment, we like to keep it simple.

The following BUNDLE of equipment will capture a wonderful recording for up to 2 participants, recording in the same room… and anything less demanding.

 

The Zoom PodTrak P4 Bundle

(find it here)

(from B&H Photo – NOT an affiliate… just the only place that had a good bundle)

I’d also recommend you get two of THESE mic stands to use instead of the desk-top stands that come with the kit.

You’ll thank me.

To add two more participants in the same room…

you’ll need this package.

The PodTrak P4 WILL allow you to connect it to your computer to use with online recording platforms like Riverside and Squadcast (both affiliate links).

 

If you’re looking for JUST a good quality mic…

Get this Samson Q9U.

It plugs in via USB and XLR, which makes it versatile and something you can grow with.

It comes with a cable, but again, get one  of THESE mic stands to use instead of the desk-top stand.

You’ll thank me.

 

What about your guest’s mic? Isn’t that important?

Yep, it sure is. 🙂 

People who are often guests on podcasts sometimes have a good quality mic of their own. If so, insist that they use it. And “insist” is NOT too strong of a word. Contact us if you want advice about how to go about doing such insisting tactfully. 🙂 

We have clients who actually SEND guests a mic — and they typically do it in one of two ways…

1) Send them a mic with a postage-paid return envelope and ask the guest to send the mic back.

Clients who do this typically buy 3 or 4 of them so they always have one in hand to send to newly scheduled guests.

This is a common mic used for this purpose – the Samson Q2U.

    • USB cable included
    • Desk stand included
    • A great sounding mic for a small outlay of cash (typically less than $80 USD)

2)  Send them a mic they can keep – as a “gift” for being on the podcast.

Naturally, this approach is an ongoing investment in your guests, but clients who do it typically say it’s VERY worth doing simply because of the goodwill the gesture expresses.

For this, we typically recommend another USB solution that’s a bit easier to handle for guests.

We’ve tested this mic – the FiFine USB Lavalier Lapel Mic and think it sounds pretty good for the price (typically under $25 USD).

It’s definitely a better sound than you’ll get from in-board computer mics or even earbuds or AirPods.

 

Interview Audio Recording

Skype and Zoom don’t cut it.

Why? Because the audio quality you get is only slightly better than a phone call.

Go ahead, pay close attention to your next phone call and see if you’d be interested in listening to THAT for an hour-long interview?

The technology has come a long way and there are some great options out there that are not all that expensive.

 

SQUADCAST

The guys over at Squadcast have experience in the EXACT things that make it possible for them to create a platform that records pristine audio over a distance.

What experience is that? Zach, one of the co-founders was on the team that helped develop Google Chrome, so he knows a thing or two about integrating audio recording into web technology.

That’s why he and his co-founder Rock decided to build Squadcast (affiliate link).

These guys know their stuff — and have built an AMAZING  recording platform that’s easy to use and has the podcaster in mind.

And video recording is soon to come!

Try it out here (affliate link)

Listen to our interview with the dynamic duo from Squadcast here.

 

RIVERSIDE (for Hi-Def Video recordings)

What Squadcast does for audio, Riverside (affiliate link) does for audio AND video. So if you’re a podcaster who is eager to record both side of the conversation on high quality video, this is the platform for you!

We’ve spent some time on the platform and can tell you, it’s easy to use, simple to understand, and is powerfully effective in capturing high quality audio and video.

Check out Riverside here (affliate link).

 

Media Hosting Services

  • A good media host is the HEART of your podcast distribution system.

When you have a media host that stinks… well, it stinks!

Why is a good MEDIA HOST so important? Because they provide you…

  • Stats that are accurate and clear
  • Integations with social and publishing platforms
  • Embedable players to feature your episodes anywhere
  • A good one keeps up with industry changes

 

LIBSYN (Liberated Syndication)

libsyn

We always recommend Libsyn. It’s the industry leader and has proven to be a reliable platform where your content simply works as it should.

You can check out their podcasting plans here: https://www.libsyn.com/plans-pricing/and if you use our affiliate code “PFT” you can possibly get your first 1 1/2 months for free.

 

CAPTIVATE

We also recommend the folks and platform over at Captivate.

It’s a truly beautiful platform that’s designed with you and your show’s growth in mind. They call themselves the world’s first “growth-oriented” podcast host.

And for good reason.

Captivate offers a free 14-day trial for you to go over and kick the tires. Why not tool over there and try it out now?

Listen to our recording of an interview with one of Captivate’s co-founders, Mark Asquith!

 

Podcast Guest Services

Guests, guests, guests. Do you need more qualified guests for your show?

Why doesn’t somebody come up with a way for qualified guests to make themselves available to podcasters in a database of some kind?

Or better yet, why doesn’t somebody create a way podcast hosts can go find qualified guests for free?

That somebody is the guy in the picture. His name is Andrew Alleman. He’s a PFT client who has felt the pain of guest acquisition himself. So he built a solution.

Andrew created Podcast Guests (affiliate), a website dedicated to bringing together podcasters and guest experts.

And the coolest thing about his service is that it’s mostly free for the basics. Sign up for his newsletter and get notifications each week of guests looking for shows to be on and shows looking for guests to be on them.

And if you sign up for one of the premium services you’ll get a lot more – including the opportunity to put yourself in the data base to be a guest on other shows. (see our founder’s profile here).

And use the code fast10 to get 10% off an annual subscription

Audio Education Services

The best podcasting equipment won’t benefit you at all if you don’t develop the skills…

And we happen to know a guy…

His name is Chris Curran. He’s produced records (you remember those, right?) in New York City for big-name recording artists and has now turned the focus of his attention and skill to podcasting.

That’s a blessing to us. 🙂 You can hear Chris as the featured guest on this episode of Podcastification.

PES - podcasting equipment means nothing without skills

Chris runs The Podcast Engineering School (affiliate link) on a periodic basis to train anyone – from newbie to advanced – how to engineer like the pros. In fact, when you finish his course you will BE a pro audio engineer.

Click through the link to find out more – and enroll in the PES if you are at all interested in upping the game on your podcast production. You could even walk away from the course with everything you need to start a podcast production company of your own!

Web Development Services

WEB DESIGN is a huge thing…

We always recommend that podcasters create a website that can serve as the internet home of their podcast. It doesn’t have to be a site separate from a business or personal website, though it isn’t wrong to do that either.

The main thing is that you want a place you can point your listeners where EVERYTHING you offer and do is available. Don’t send them to Apple Podcasts and your Facebook page and your LinkedIn profile and… you get the point?

Send them to ONE place – your website.

 

CNY WEB DESIGNS

We’ve been working with Larry from CNY Web Designs for some time – both for our website maintenance and for helping a handful of clients build out their sites from scratch.

His prices are reasonable and he’s a great guy to work with. And he knows his WordPress. Click the image or link above to connect with Larry about YOUR website needs. And tell him we sent you. 🙂

 

WISER SITES

We host our site with Wiser Sites (affiliate) and within the first few weeks our site load speed more than doubled and some of our trickiest display issues were a thing of the past.

Jason and the team at Wiser Sites are incredible. We can’t say enough about them.

Check them out here – and tell them Carey from Podcast Fast Track sent you.

 

Contact the PFT Team

Podcast Fast Track - Audio Editing, Podcast Show Notes, Video Editing, and other Podcast Production Services