Author: Chris Curran

I know some people argue that tagging MP3 files is not necessary anymore but I completely disagree with that.

I recently stumbled upon this app called Metadatics – an advanced audio metadata editor for Mac OS X.

From their website:

• Metadatics is a powerful audio metadata editor with many features. It supports batch editing of most audio file types including MP3, M4A, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, WMA, and more.
• Features include Batch Editing, Online Sources, Rename Your Files, Functions, Album Artwork, various Metadata Formats and more.

FYI, I still use ID3 Editor or Fission to tag my MP3 and M4A files.

What do you use? And will you try Metadatics?

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Podcast participants who are exciting and energetic versus those who are more slow and boring — should you edit them differently?

My thinking: If the participant is slow, boring, and not energetic, their audio should be edited tighter to keep the pace flowing forward at a more reasonable pace. But if a participant is very energetic, then editing a bit more loosely would maintain their flow and avoid making it sound too fast.

For reference:

• Editing “tighter” means removing more blank space, removing more unnecessary filler words, and potentially removing sections where the host repeats themselves or restates something.
• Editing “looser” means leaving in more blank space, leaving in some/all filler words, and potentially leaving in sections where the host repeats themselves or restates something.

So, here’s the question for podcast editors: Does the energy level of a participant affect how tightly you edit their audio?

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

The age old question in audio production — should I EQ first and then use a compressor, or should I compress first and then use an EQ?

First, you should try both and hear the difference yourself. If the source audio does not need lots of EQ, then the difference is very minimal.

In general, in podcast production:

• If there is a voice that needs substantial corrective EQ then I will typically EQ it first and then compress. But of course I may use a second EQ after the compressor as well 😉
• If a voice already sounds good and doesn’t need that much corrective EQ then it probably doesn’t matter which order you use EQ and compression.

Do you have a rule of thumb regarding the processing order of EQ and compression that you live by?

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

Trivia: What compression ratio do I use on my channel strip on the way “to tape?”

• 1.6:1
• 2.3:1
• 3:1
• 4:1
• 6.5:1
• 8:1

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

The Hooke Lav should be available in April of 2021 and its Kickstarter campaign is going strong right now.

The great Allan Tépper, in his recent article, stated:

“…48 kHz audio sampling. Beyond that, it uses 24-bit resolution (ideal in production, even if you later distribute in a lower resolution) and zero latency to avoid lip-sync issues. Hooke Lav also records locally just in case.”

I actually supported this Kickstarter campaign so I will receive a Hooke Lav in April 2021 (hopefully)!

The thing I like most about it: It records onboard at 24 bit, 48 kHz (and has 8GB onboard storage).

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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The Zoom PodTrak P8 is essentially Zoom’s answer to the RØDECaster Pro.

From the great Daniel J. Lewis of Podcasters’ Society: The Zoom PodTrak P8 “has several things the RØDECaster Pro doesn’t have, like a de-esser, built-in editing, more inputs and headphone outputs, and AA-battery powering. It outputs to USB only as stereo, but records in multitrack.”

And I’m sure that the RØDECaster Pro has features that the PodTrak P8 does not have, but I don’t own either so I haven’t looked into it that far.

Are you psyched about this new piece of gear? Have you looked into it? Are you going to get one?

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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Someone recently asked me for advice for speaking into a lavalier microphone.

My simple, practical reply:

“Clip it to yourself as close to your mouth as possible, and make sure it doesn’t rub against your clothing causing nasty scratching sounds which you will not be able to remove later. Also, if the mic has a directional pickup pattern, be sure to aim the mic at your mouth.”

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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Before pressing record, be sure to remind guests to stay on after the interview because some guests will literally disconnect immediately after you thank them on the air for being on the show.

The main reason is to allow a bit of time for their Squadcast/Zencastr recording to finish uploading. If you’re not using one of these types of services that records each participant locally while progressively uploading their local recording in the background, then it really doesn’t matter if they disconnect immediately.

In addition to verifying that you have their recording, it’s good to briefly chat with guests after the recording is over because you can personally thank them again off-air, remind them what date the episode will publish, ask them to send you any assets that you need for the shownotes, and more.

Have you ever had someone disconnect immediately and therefor you lost the last bit of their recording?

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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I use RX 8’s Loudness Control module to set the final loudness of every single episode I produce.

In addition to having control over True Peak and Integrated Loudness (like in RX 7), in RX 8 you now also have control over Short Term Loudness, Tolerance, and a program loudness gate.

*IMPORTANT: Be aware that in the Loudness Control module you should click on the gear and check the box for “High-accuracy processing”. I found this because I felt it was acting funny so I started poking around and found it 😉

Have you used this module yet?

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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Where to buy sound absorption blankets and acoustic room treatments?

1. Years ago I purchased my 2-1/2″ Acoustic Eggcrate Foam (very inexpensive and good quality, too) from The Foam Factory.

2. PES alumni and awesome dude Ed Sullivan (of Sonic Cupcake) bought blankets and stands from Vocal Booth To Go.

3. Another legendary PES alumni (Liz Covart of Ben Franklin’s World) bought her custom-designed acoustic treatment from Audimute.

How about you – have you bought any acoustic treatment? Let us know in the comments below 😉

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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If you use any audio hardware that has physical knobs, dials and settings (mixer, channel strip, etc.) you may want to note down your regular settings and where each knob is set to, etc.

Because if somehow your knobs or settings are changed drastically (kids, spouse, or your own experimenting), you will always have your notes to refer to so you can put all your settings back where they were, instead of having to spend time doing lots of soundchecking and testing to get your sound back.

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And please keep in mind, the Daily Goody is only a tiny little tip, fact or lesson everyday. Please don’t expect any of these posts to be long, earth-shattering masterpieces that instantly answer every single question you can think of and completely transform you into a world class podcast engineer. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

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