Category: Daily Goody

The Black Box Analog Design HG-2 is a saturation plugin that is OUTSTANDING!

I’ve been using it on podcast voices because it brings voices closer and makes them smoother and more analog. And the Air knob adds some nice clarity to darker recordings.

From their website: Dial in the perfect blend of pentode and triode tube sweetness, then adjust the Density control to drive both tubes harder without changing their relative balance, adding more girth and mass. The Air knob lets you control how much high-frequency fairy dust you sprinkle on. Turning down the Mix control adds back dry signal at the plugin’s output, combining HG-2’s beautiful tube softness and luster with the original signal.

Have you tried this plugin?

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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.”

Made by Universal Audio, all the interfaces in the Apollo series are very high quality.

The Apollo Solo has two XLR inputs and is used by many podcasters.

From their website:

The Apollo Solo is a 2×4 desktop recording audio interface for Mac and Windows — delivering class‑leading A/D and D/A audio conversion, two Unison™ mic preamps, and a suite of onboard UAD plug-ins. Record with near-zero latency through mic preamp emulations from Neve, API, and more using Unison™ technology. 

Includes: 

• Realtime Analog Classics plug-in bundle, you get legendary compressors like the Teletronix LA-2A and EQs like the Pultec EQP-1A, stunning guitar and bass amp emulations from Softube, as well as UA’s landmark 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ plug-in.
• LUNA Recording System — a fully-integrated and inspiring music production application (Mac only)

Have you used an Apollo series interface before?

Also, have you tried the Luna DAW?

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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.”

When it comes to using EQ, there’s a huge difference between knowing what each control does vs. being able to skillfully dial in a great sound.

Understanding the controls is a vital first step, of course, but training your ears to manipulate audio so that it sounds great is an entirely different skill.

How do you evaluate yourself with regards to skill using an EQ?

And what EQ’s do you normally use in production?

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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.”

A career in podcast production can be amazing, if done properly. And by properly I mean PROFITABLY.

It helps if you have:

• The right tools (to be able to produce professional grade audio)
• A great mentor (to greatly speed up your progress, avoid mistakes and build a profitable business)
• An edge in the market (some angle that separates you from “average” editors)

FYI, if you’re already editing/producing podcasts and want more clients, check out my new course Getting New Clients at Higher Rates.

And check out the Podcast Editors Club on Facebook.

If you have any specific questions please comment below.

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”

I have not yet tried the FG-X Mastering Processor but I’ve heard good things about it, and the loudness enhancer looks very promising.

From their website: “The FG-X Mastering Processor is Slate Digital’s award-winning mastering plugin that combines an ultra-transparent compressor, the industry’s most coveted loudness enhancer, and a comprehensive metering panel. FG-X can make your mixes louder without altering the dynamics, removing punch, or skewing your mix balances.”

15-day free trial available.

Have you used this plugin? What has your experience been with it?

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”

Do speaking mistakes (and the resulting self-corrections) “interrupt the pattern” of listeners and bring their full attention back to the audio and increase their focus on the content? 

Do mistakes draw the listeners in, or are they just annoying?

When a podcast editor thoroughly removes all speaking mistakes, does the resulting imperfection-free audio make it more likely that listeners will zone out and lose attention? 

I’ve been pondering this for a while because it seems when the host messes up, my attention is immediately drawn to them BECAUSE they messed up!

Does that happen to you when listening to podcasts?

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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.”

Many old school call-center type headsets will output a nasty hum which is loud and terrible. And many podcast guests still use these types of headsets because they have them handy because they bought it like 15 years ago or something.

Use a de-hum processor to remove the hum or hums (yes, there may be several hums, not just one).

Many DAW’s have built in hum removal processors, and of course iZotope RX 8 has an excellent De-hum module.

What do you use to remove nasty hums?

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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.”

I was recently asked why someone’s podcast audio sounded unusually terrible and the reason was because their computer was recording the WRONG MICROPHONE! This is unfortunately something that happens way more than it should.

After hearing the person’s audio, I responded:

“Sounds like the computer is recording her computers on-board mic and NOT the ATR-2100. This is fairly common because most non-tech-savvy folks just plug in their USB mic and ASSUME that that USB mic is being recorded, when what they really need to do is check that their USB mic is chosen and active in two places: 1. At the computer level their USB mic should be their chosen input device, and 2. In Zencastr/Squadcast their USB mic should be their chosen input device. Make sure all 3 ladies verify both those settings before each and every recording session and that should solve the issue.”

Do you check those two settings every time you record?

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”

I recently published this big list of podcast audio plugins categorized by EQ’s, compressors, channel strips, etc.

Most of them I have used personally, though I included others that have great reputations, too.

Please realize that I haven’t tried every single plugin in the world.

Check out the Big List!

Can you recommend any plugins that I should add to this list??

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”

A note to more advanced podcast editors/producers: 

They way you monitor (or listen to) the audio you’re producing matters a lot. Whether you use headphones, earbuds or studio monitors, the quality and frequency response of those monitors makes a huge difference.

Monitoring your audio with no coloration from your headphones/speakers will ensure that your final mixes sound good to everyone everywhere. 

Every pair of headphones or speakers “colors” the sound to some degree by playing back the audio at a less-than-flat frequency response.

Reference 4 from Sonarworks removes unwanted coloration from your headphones/monitors and allows you to trust what you’re hearing so you can produce audio with confidence with your current setup. I use this for my monitors and headphones.

Morphit from ToneBoosters does a similar thing — headphones correction, simulation and personalization. 

Do you use an app to flatten out the frequency response of your monitors?

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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 Shure MV7 microphone is a brand new microphone made for podcasters, gaming and home recording.

Ralph M. Rivera already bought one.

From Shure’s website: “Inspired by the legendary SM7B, the MV7 is a dynamic microphone with both USB and XLR outputs for use with computers and professional interfaces alike. Connect via USB and explore additional set-up features and Auto Level Mode within our ShurePlus™ MOTIV app, to control your vocal tone, and distance from the microphone. With Auto Level Mode, you can let the microphone do the work for you.”

Here’s a short overview video from Sweetwater.

And here’s an interesting video of some guys trying it out and comparing to other microphones.

The controls on the mic itself seem pretty cool: a mute button and headphone volume controls for the mic and computer audio (and a mix control to balance the two).

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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.”

This microphone, the Townsend Labs Sphere L22, models several vintage microphones and cost around $1,499.

One student of PES has this mic and loves it. Personally I’ve never tried it.

Also, Bandrew is currently using it on his show, the Bandrew Says Podcast.

Have you tried this mic, or any vintage modeling mic?

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”

When a client or potential client asks you to reduce your regular price, how do you handle that?

It can be easy to drop your price to secure/maintain that client, but in the long run it may frustrate you deeply that you’re not earning what you should be earning.

One of the benefits of sticking to your guns, which I discuss at length in Getting New Clients at Higher Rates, is that you will earn more, work less and be happier overall.

Beware of negotiating your price down and the long term effects that can have because there definitely ARE clients out there who are willing to pay you your chosen rate.

Want to receive the Daily Goody in your email, daily or weekly? Subscribe free here.

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.”