Andrew Gelina – PES 155

I discuss podcast audio production in-depth with Andrew Gelina – host of Underserved.

Andrew Gelina – PES 155

My guest is Andrew Gelina – host of Underserved (a podcast aimed at the tech industry) and CEO of the software consulting firm Syrinx.

We discussed so much:

  • Shure SM7b (love/hate relationship)
  • Shure SM58’s
  • All his mics go through Cloudlifters, SM7B also goes through a dbx 286s
  • Behringer Xenyx 1832 mostly just for mix minus to two dedicated Skype machines
  • Zoom-Zoom setup (H6 as primary recorder of all vox on separate channels, H5 as a backup off the mixer/backup mode -12db as well)
  • Copy 48K/24 bit WAVs off Zooms to a Dell Windows 10 PC (desktop, 4 monitors), import into Reaper
  • WAVs rendered, converted to MP3, upload to Libsyn for distribution to everywhere, and use Libsyn for podcast website, too.
  • Backblaze for backups, Microsoft OneDrive for syncing, and a Macbook Pro laptop for working on editing mobile and experimenting with video.
  • Started with Audacity for an episode, then learned Reaper
  • Normalize each track separately to -23 LUFS with SWS Extension (free)
  • Auto Trim / Split Silence 250 ms -32db (Reaper built-in) on all tracks
  • Andrew built a custom LUA script by Raymond Radet (https://www.extremraym.com/) to do a Truncate Silence like Audacity, similar to Overcast’s Smart Speed
  • Each track has iZotope RX 7 voice denoise, breath control, de-ess, mouth click, plosive, adjusted as needed
  • Sonible Smart EQ – learn each track’s voice separately.
  • AWESOME Dugan-style automixer script (free) https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=173289
  • Master channel: Ozone 8 to add a little air, Tri-Leveler 2 (free) to get to -16 LUFS, Limiter, Loudness meter
  • Render to 48K/24 bit mono wav, watch peaks.
  • Custom Python script watches /renders directory, converts WAVs to MP3 using ffmpeg (yes, LAME encoder, I know) and copies out to Andrew’s private www server for QA.
  • Second pass of editing he works backwards using timestamped notes to avoid shifting things out from under himself.
  • Multi-platform Reaper editing is interesting – use OneDrive to allow bouncing back and forth between Windows and Mac editing the same episode/files. Relative paths turned on, copy to /Media. VST paths set for both Win/Mac. Export complete configuration from Reaper (Win) to Reaper (Mac).
  • Andrew’s Favorite PES episodes/guests: Mike Delgaudio, Dan Dugan, Dan Gonzalez
  • His kids can now recite Barry lines when they hear them drop in the car!

Thanks for being a great guest, Andrew!

Comment below with any questions or comments.

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7 Responses

  1. Dave Jackson is wrong. I always look forward to the outro and music. It’s just part of the show/experience. It’s like a mini celebration to close it all out. The end of this was meh…

    1. Yes, I found that and forgot to mention it, thank you Mike! Squadcast gives you 2 hours free to experiment with before you pay the $5/hr. I have not yet found a way to remotely adjust audio levels on there though. In my first experiment, my remote guest had levels going into the red on the Squadcast meter and the WAV was a little overdriven. I think I would have to screen share to help adjust the input level downward each time or count on savvy guests to adjust their own input levels.

      1. I find the best way is to tell them directly. If they are on a Mac or PC, the process is similar.

        The video link is handy to see what they are doing, but I usually switch if off when recording.

  2. Update: I figured out my Mac audio problem, I was trying to be too slick and installed Loopback and turned on monitoring, which causes Chrome output to go to speakers no matter where audio output is routed in Sound Preferences. And Chris was right, -16 LUFS stereo in Reaper output to a mono WAV creates -19 LUFS. Thanks, Chris! -Andrew

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