Author: Chris Curran

My guest is Doug Kaye, audio engineer, self-proclaimed recovering veteran podcaster (hehe), and full-time amateur photographer. Doug was also one of the primary people responsible for the development of the popular software called Levelator as Executive Director of The Conversations Network.

We covered a lot including some awesome history of podcasting, digital audio and more, including mono vs joint stereo MP3’s, how much compression to use, what a compellor is (!), and ISDN lines.

Equipment he currently uses:

• Steinberg CI2 audio interface
• Heil PR40
• Mac computer
• and that’s it!

Thanks for a wonderful session, Doug!

My guest is VaShaun Jones, audiophile, host of The Delivering Access Podcast, and owner of Fedora Outlier, LLC. He’s been podcasting for 5 years and LOVES great audio gear.

Here’s a partial list of the gear that VaShaun owns and uses:

• Mictek CV3 microphone
• Aphex Master Channel Strip
• PreSonus StudioLive AR12 USB Mixer and Audio Interface
• iMac
• Yamaha HS5 monitors with subwoofer
• JBL 8″ monitors
• MXL CR89 microphone
• Shure Beta 58 wireless
• RE20 microphone
• Sennheiser ew 100 wireless system with Lavalier microphone
• Yamaha AG-06
• Garage Band
• PreSonus BlueTube (with 2 preamps)
• X-Touch control surface

Thanks for hanging with me and sharing so much, VaShaun!

My guest is Steve O’Neill, host and producer of Sharp (podcast).

We discussed SO much, including:

• Creative Commons and Freesound.org
• Rode Procaster
• Rode NT1 (for Voiceovers)
• Shure SM58
• AT 3350 lav
• dbx286 channel strip (little compression, gate, de-esser)
• Scarlett Focusrite 2i4
• Adobe Audition
• Zoom H5n
• Windows laptop
• PreSonus Eris E5 5″ Powered Studio Monitors
• Sennheiser 280 Pro
• Studio in the corner he built himself with a gobo around the side
• Noise gate
• Multiband compressor
• EQ
• Levelling to – 16 LUFS

*Also, here’s Steve’s post we mentioned titled Making an acoustic ‘gobo.’

Thanks for sharing so much, Steve!

My guest is Kyle P. Snyder, Lecturer at Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies, freelance engineer and consultant for White Coat Audio, and Chair of education for the Audio Engineering Society (AES).

Kyle and I got deep into many audio engineering subjects that are key to producing podcasts. Enjoy listening to the full session.

We also talked about:

• “Painting a sonic portrait” – which is what Kyle teaches his students at Ohio University
• Sound Walks
• Fixing bad audio
• A Media in Medicine Podcast called Rotations

Partial list of his gear and software:

• TLM 103 mic
• Yamaha Nuage – digital desk
• Neve preamp
• Nuendo DAW (Steinberg)
• Sound Devices USBPre 2
• Neumann U87
• Grace preamps
• Auralex Microphone Isolation Shield for Vocals and Voiceover
• Lavalier mics
• DPA d:vice™ Digital Audio Interface

Btw, Kyle also hosts and produces the AES Journal Podcast.

Thanks for hangin’ with me and delivering the goods, Kyle!

My guest is Curtis Judd, creator of Light and Sound Media. Especially check out his YouTube channel where he publishes a new video every week covering lighting, sound, and camera gear to help folks produce better video and film.

Audio is a vital component of video and Curtis really takes his audio seriously.

We discussed:

• RE20
• Orion Studio audio interface (Antelope Audio)
• Focal Solo6 Be 6.5″ Powered Studio Monitors
• Adobe Audition
• ProTools
• Analog vs Digital limiters in recorders
• Using multiple passes with less noise reduction in iZotope RX 6
• iZotope Ozone 7
• iZotope Nectar
• Linear phase EQ

Listen to the full episode for all the goods 😉

Thank you for being a great guest, Curtis!

My guest is Steve Stewart, owner-operator at Steve Stewart Podcast Productions and creator of Podcast Editor’s Club (Facebook group). Steve also offers an Audacity workshop.

We talked a lot about editing including advanced techniques like using very short fades to make edits feel natural, finding zero crossings, off-mic noise, keyboard shortcuts, breathing, joining half words, random noises, etc.

*Note: Here’s the link I mentioned to an older episode of Social Media Unscrambled where I initially forgot to press record and so we had to restart the episode, which was sooooo awkward. Listen to that craziness HERE.

Here’s a partial list of Steve’s equipment and software:

• ATR2100-USB mic
• Audacity
• Backup recorder
• Ecamm call recorder
• Levelator
• iZotope RX 6 (de-breath, de-mouthclick, etc.)

Thanks for sharing so much valuable info with us, Steve!

My guest is Michael Pettersen, Director of Corporate History at Shure Inc., and btw over the years he’s held many other positions at Shure.

We discussed microphones in great depth from every angle, I think. 

Listen to the full episode for all the amazing stories Michael told 😉

Thanks for being a wonderful guest, Michael!

My guest is Travis Hill – host of Navigate Life Radio as well as microphone tester/reviewer at PodcastMic.com. We had a really fun session – enjoy listening.

Here are some things we discussed:

• Audio Technica AT875R
• Rode Broadcaster
• Audio-Technica BP40
• Audio Hijack
• Screenflow
• Logic Pro 10
• An Exciter in Logic Pro called Silver
• Shure SM7B
• dbx 286s
• Scarlett 2i2
• Video recording with iPhone 6S+

Listen to the full episode to get the full effect 😉

Thank you, Travis, for a wonderful session!

My guest is Jason Sanderson, podcast producer and audio engineer. He works on several extremely popular shows including The Art of Charm. His website is PodcastTech.com

Here’s the mammoth list of what we discussed in this session:

• Neve preamp
• Amek preamp/compressor
• Using the Abbey Road Test Disc for reference (specifically Alan Parson’s voice)
• RX 6: de-clip, spectral de-noise, de-reverb, leveling, dialogue isolate, deconstruct (removes distortion)
• AKG 701 headphones (Quincy Jones model)
• Plugins: EQ in ProTools, Waves Renaissance De-esser, Waves 1176 (Blue Stripe), Scheps 73, SSL Mix Buss Compressor, Pultec EQ, ProTools Limiter, Master Fader Loudness monitor
• Cutting the high-mid whistle around 3.10, 3.11 or 3.12kHz
• ProTools HD
• Auphonic cross-gating function, sometimes
• RE20
• Zoom H4
• This session Jason is using an SM58

Listen to the full episode for all the goods 😉

Thanks for sharing SO MANY awesome tips, Jason!

My guest is Steve Cherubino, long time podcaster and producer.

Some of the topics we discussed:

• MXL 990 mic
• Mogami cables
• Avid M-box 3 interface
• How your computer sample rate can cause a problem with some audio VoIP services by not matching up. (see below for how to check your computer and adjust your machine’s sample rate)
• Studio One software, version 3
• KRK Rokit Powered 5 Generation 2 Powered Studio Monitor
• Shure SRH440 headphones
• Routing a guest out and back into Steve’s computer
• 24 bit WAV mixdown file
• Final MP3 at 192kbps Mono
• dbx 266 XL compressor/gate
• Plugins:
  • Pro EQ
  • Waves NS1
  • Studio One Limiter on stereo buss

Here are the instructions I mentioned on the show – how to check and change your computers sample rate:

1. On a Mac you can do it via the Audio Midi Setup application: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202968
2. For windows, in the audio settings for recording devices (Win 7 example but I believe this hasn’t changed): https://forums.adobe.com/thread/973133

Listen to the full episode for all the oozing of audio wisdom and wisecracks 😉

Thanks for sharing so much great info, Steve!

My guest is Alex Knight, producer/engineer at Hologram Radio, podcaster, and product manager at FeedPress.

Here’s the partial list of the topics we discussed and the wisdom that flowed in this session:

• Shure SM7B, into a Warm Audio WA-12 mic pre (which models an old API), into a dbx 266 (for a little bit of compression)
• Aphex 204 aural exciter
• Mackie VLZ1604, analog mixer with 8 direct outs
• Avid M-box 3 (interface)
• Pro Tools, sometimes Audition
• Studio in living room with L-shaped IKEA desk, some acoustic panels, mic boom arms
• 6 channel headphone amp
• A 14U rack of gear and a patch bay! wow
• dbx 286 channel strip
• FabFilter Pro-Q 2 (for some low cut filtering)
• Using Compressors, de-essers, expanders
• Normalize each track to -19 LUFS
• Music pre-loaded in a template
• LM-Correct 2 (Loudness plugin)

Listen to the full episode for all the juicy production tips 😉

Thanks for hangin’ with me and delivering the goods, Alex!

My guest is Billy O – podcast host and producer, audio engineer and mixer. His show is The Billy O Show!

Some of the schtuff we talked about:

• Recording multiple people in one room
• EQ’ing voices – cut wide band, boost narrow band
• Sapphire Pro 40 interface
• Macbook Pro with external Thunderbolt hard drive
• His DAW: Logic Pro X
• Sennheiser HD280 headphones
• Mixing on Sennheiser HD700 headphones
• SM7B

Listen to the full episode to hear all the fun and stellar info.

Thanks for being a great guest, Billy O!

Mr. Ralph M. Rivera joins me once again and we cover a lot in this session! He’s the man behind Podcaster’s Toolbox (btw there’s a woman behind there with him). They both host the Carbon Based Business Units podcast, too.

We discussed:

The Microphone Test Drive Booth at the upcoming Podcast Movement conference (which I will be running).

The launch of Podcaster’s Toolbox! It’s a suite of tools that removes podcasters’ headaches associated with coordinating guest bookings, organizing images and show notes, regularly sharing previous episodes, and much more. You’ll need an invitation to start using it for free, so stop by their booth at Podcast Movement or ask me for an invite 😉

Recap of Podcast Engineering School class of 17A, and a preview of the next PES course which starts Sep. 26th. 

Ralph’s new headset setup using the Audio-Technica BPHS1 Broadcast Stereo Headset with Dynamic Boom Mic.

My new Sonarworks headphone and speaker calibration software.

Ralph and Carol Lynn’s groovy podcast: Carbon Based Business Units

My new plugins:

• Manny Marroquin Triple D (De-boxy, De-harsher, De-esser)
• Parallel Particles (Air, Sub, Bite, Thick)
• Fabfilter Pro-Q 2 (awesome!)
• CLA-76 (Blue stripe and Black face)
• CLA-2A
• SSL E-Channel strip
• PuigTec EQP1A and MEQ5
• PuigChild 660 and 670
• CLA Mixdown

Listen to the full episode for all the fun and info.

Thank you, Mr. Ralph M. Rivera XVIII!

Note* FYI, I now use and recommend Zencastr instead of CAST. As you listen to previous sessions you’ll hear me mention CAST from time to time but their service has gone downhill badly and Zencastr is now the best in that space, in my opinion.

TOPICS this session:

1. Recording with my Zoom H6 at the Pause Your Life retreat. AT 8035 shotgun mic. Also resumed my gawking at the Sennheiser MKH 416 – and sad that I didn’t buy it when it was on sale for $600 (normally $1,000).
2. Arik Levy (last session, #54) “The Rode Broadcaster is the best mic ever!  Out of the box amazing. With no EQ I sound rich and smooth.  NT1 going back…”
3. Describe my PES class recording and production process
   • Zoom – record with this but don’t use it unless Camtasia fails
   • Camtasia – the system audio is recorded very low
   • PPT, Reaper, Sound Forge, Ozone, RX 6
4. RX 6 Advanced (I upgraded from 5) — 50% discount for PES Students
   • Voice De-noise
   • Phase
   • Loudness
   • EQ
   • De-click
   • De-hum

First, I reflect on this show – A Walk Down Memory Lane!

• Session 1 – March 10, 2016
• 2016 break from Thanksgiving to the New Year
• 2017 start – Session 38 with Garth Humphreys – January 5, 2017

Thanks/Shoutouts:

I am continually delighted by so many emails, tweets, and friendships that this show inspires. I appreciate all of you!

Lexington friends – The Podcasting Course (Emergency Medicine): 

• Anton Helman
• Rob Rogers
• Salim R. Rezaie
• Scott Weingart
• Jess Mason
• Anand Swaminathan
• Will Sanderson
• Gita Pensa
• Julie Derringer

2017 Previous Guests: 

• Arik Levy
• Stephen
• Ric Viers
• Roy Stegman
• Kirk Bowman
• Mary Mazurek
• Mike Murphy
• Rob Greenlee
• Patrick Keller
• Jason DeFillippo
• Adron Buske
• Zack Hanni
• The Return of Max Flight
• Garth Humphreys – host and producer of Audio.Pizza

Current PES Students: 

• Ben
• Bryan
• Erika
• Hunter
• Jim
• Josh
• Landen
• Luke
• Ralph and Carol Lynn (also my mastermind partners!)

As I mentioned in the audio, here’s my affiliate discount link for Podcasters’ Society: https://podcasterssociety.com/pes/. It’s a wonderful community for podcasters and producers who have already launched their show(s) and are ready to improve their show(s) big time. It’s WAY more helpful than your average Facebook group, and I’m not knocking any podcasting Facebook groups because they are awesome, it’s just that Podcasters’ Society goes way deeper and wider in so many ways.

Thanks for listening!

My guest is Arik Levy – Law Enforcement Officer, Host of Firearms Nation Podcast, Creator of Shooter’s Summit and the Firearms Nation YouTube channel.

We had a fun discussion.

Here’s some of the equipment that Arik uses:

• Rode PSA1 Boom Arm
• dbx 286s
• Focusrite 2i2
• Macbook Pro
• Logic Pro
• Zoom H6
• Rode NT-1
• He wants to try the Rode Broadcaster microphone
• Also interested in the upcoming release of Sound Devices MixPre 3 and MixPre 6

Listen to the full episode to hear all the fun and great info.

Thanks for hangin’ with me and Barry, Arik!

I’m solo this week…. well of course Barry is still with me! YEAH OH YEAH

Some of my meanderings:

• Appreciation to previous guests and podcasting friends – Thank you all! 
• Dave Jackson (School of Podcasting) rules. 
• Pod to Pod weekly email rules. 
• Music I’ve been listening to lately – Dopes to Infinity by Monster Magnet, Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple, Plans by Death Cab for Cutie, OU812 by Van Halen, and Mozart on Pandora.
• Rabbits podcast – my impressions after listening to 3 episodes.
• If you know someone who would be a good guest on this show, please introduce them to me. Email: info@podcastengineeringschool.com
• Tomorrow morning I leave for Lexington! (The Podcasting Course)
• Podcasting trending up means more business to be had for podcast engineers. 
• Zencastr vs. CAST vs. Ringr…
• Update on the current batch of Podcast Engineering School!
• Podcasters’ Society: A community of experts and podcasters focused on helping you improve all aspects of your podcast after it’s launched.

Thanks for listening!

My guest is Stephen, a mix engineer working on mostly hip hop, rock, and alternative music.

We talked about many aspects of audio engineering that will definitely help podcast engineers/producers, including:

• Processing the human voice
• Rode NT-1
• Neumann TLM-103
• ProTools 12.5
• EQ’ing first
• Pultec EQ
• De-esser before and/or after EQ
• Multiple compressors in series:
  • The first one having slow attack and fast release
  • The second one having fast attack and slow release (around 3 full seconds!)
• Listening on different speakers in different environments
• FGX mastering software by Slate (he used to use Ozone 7)
• Constant Gain Monitoring

Thanks for having fun with us on the show, Stephen!

My guest is Ric Viers – Sound Designer, Sound Effects Producer, Author of The Sound FX Bible and The Location Sound Bible, Full Sail University Hall of Fame Inductee, and Creator of The Detroit Chop Shop web series!

Ric is the Master of Sound FX. And I gave him the most over-the-top introduction EVER. (Can you tell what movie it’s from??)

We discussed so much about recording sound effects and audio on-location:

• Using Multiple mic’s simultaneously
• Shotgun mic’s, including one of Ric’s favorites, the Rode NTG3
• Ambience mic’s, including the stereo mic Rode NT4
• Large diaphragm mic’s including Rode NT2A, NT2000, NT1
• Blimps
• Dead cats and wookie condoms
• Ric’s trusty Fostex FR-2 recorder
• 24 bit, 96 kHz recording resolution
• Post-production using Soundforge Pro
• Editing
• Normalizing
• Other software Ric uses, including Vegas and Acid
• Subtractive EQ

Thanks for being an awesome guest, Ric!

My guest is Roy Stegman – Audio Engineer, Podcast and Audiobook producer, and Host of The Complete Audio Producer podcast.

We had a blast discussing the following items and more:

• SM57 with a wind screen
• Original PreSonus Blue Tube
• FastTrack Ultra
• TC Electronics Loudness Meter
• SSl E Channel Plugin
• Legacy LA2A plugin
• Nigel Amp simulator plugin
• UAD1 and UAD2 – signal processing units from Universal Audio
• Marking edit spots in Adobe Audition
• What is 32 bit float and where is it used?

Thanks for having fun with us, Roy!