Category: Daily Goody

Have you heard of Podcast Gym? Our good friend Andy Wang, host of Inspired Money, has created a website and podcast containing advanced insights for improving your podcast — check out the Podcast Gym website and podcast!

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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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Have you ever heard podcast producers (or their companies) being credited at the end of their clients’ episodes?

Some clients on their own choose to read these types of credits at the end of each and every episode, while others do not.

I believe some podcast producers/editors/engineers actually ask their clients to credit them at the end of episodes. Fair enough. Personally I don’t ask for credit, but if the client decides to do it I’m appreciative.

If you or your company are credited at the end of client episodes will that help bring you more clients and more business? One of my previous clients who had HUGE download numbers credited my production company at the end of every episode (2 per week for 3+ years) and I didn’t receive a single inquiry about my services due to those shoutouts (which is not odd or weird in my opinion because listeners are there to listen to that show, not to learn about podcast production companies).

What are your thoughts?

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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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Crossfading is easy and important.

Here’s a good description of crossfading from this article at Sweetwater:

Amateur recordings are chock-full of abrupt volume changes, audible clicks, and unnatural transitions. These unwanted effects are caused by discontinuous waveforms — a common consequence of splicing audio clips together. So how do you prevent these? You could make all your cuts at zero-crossing points (during moments of silence), but that’s not always practical or possible, and it’s definitely time-consuming. So how do you make smooth edits? That’s where crossfading comes in.

Crossfading creates a seamless transition from one audio clip to another using a quick overlapping fade-out and fade-in. And it’s easy — start by overlapping the end of the earlier audio clip with the beginning of the later one. Apply a crossfade of about 10ms (this is program dependent, so it varies depending on whether you’re editing drums or vocals, for instance) so that the earlier item fades out at the exact same time that the later item fades in. Then adjust the crossfade duration until it sounds right. This will create a clean transition rather than a jarring one and avoid unpleasant sonic artifacts. Many DAWs include a function that automatically creates crossfades when you overlap audio clips.

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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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How to use a multiband compressor to remove plosives?

1. Simply use one band from 0 Hz up to around 110 Hz. Sometimes you’ll have to go a bit higher (140-150 Hz) or not as high (80-90 Hz) depending on the frequency range of the plosives themselves.
2. Use a high threshold so that only the plosives are compressed.
3. Use a high ratio to push down the plosives considerably when the compressor does catch them.

Voilà.

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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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Have you ever started “recording” an episode but after a few minutes realize that you actually NEVER clicked or pressed record?!?!

Most podcasters experience this at least once and it’s actually a good learning experience.

Here’s an episode where I forgot to press record and after 5 minutes of talking we had to start over, which we mention and laugh about in the first minute here.

How about you — have you done this?

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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 bought the relatively expensive El Rey compressor from Acustica almost a year ago and have tried on many podcasting voices. But I still haven’t been very impressed with it and I’m not currently using it at all. I haven’t given up, though. Maybe someday I’ll put it on someone’s voice and love it. But for podcasting I believe there are many other plugins I would recommend buying before this one.

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.”

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Studio monitor placement is very important because it affects the sound a lot.

Here’s a nice article from PreSonus: https://www.presonus.com/learn/technical-articles/studio-monitor-placement

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.”

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I saw and heard this ribbon microphone on this episode Bandrew Says Podcast and NOW I WANT ONE SO BAD!!!

It’s the AEA KU5A Hypercardioid Ribbon Microphone.

It’s so smooth and I would love to hear my own voice smoothed out that way.

It’s on sale now through September 30th, 2020 at Sweetwater for $999.00 (normally it’s $1,199)

Should I treat myself or save my money?!?!

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.”

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Listen to your own podcast, or any podcast you produce, in all these places because any audio-quality shortcomings will reveal themselves:

• Earbuds
• Car speakers
• Built-in computer speakers
• Your phone speakers
• Boombox
• Bluetooth speaker
• Home stereo system
• Your TV’s speakers
• External computer speakers

All of these speakers reproduce sound differently.

THE ONLY GOAL HERE is to use your observations to tweak your production so that your episodes sound better everywhere.

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.”

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Enjoy watching me do post-production on episode 186 of The Podcast Engineering Show featuring guest Dan Hughley of Focusrite! Total running time is 1 hour 28 minutes

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/1ZqZnSOXOhM

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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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Here’s an article from a few years back titled A top audio engineer explains NPR’s signature sound.

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.”

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I haven’t used this plugin because I set my final loudness of episodes using RX7, but others seem to find the Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter very handy.

From their website:

The Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter plugin provides precision loudness measurement, metering, correction and adjustment tools for broadcast, movie trailers, games, packaged media and more. Fully compliant with all current ITU, EBU and ATSC specifications, the WLM Plus offers comprehensive Momentary, Short Term, Long Term and True Peak readouts, as well as a unique warning and logging system that keeps track of your levels, alerting you when you’ve exceeded them – or fallen short. WLM Plus also features Gain and Trim controls for correction of loudness levels and a True Peak Limiter, which save you the need to utilize additional equipment or software. Ideal for content creators, post production houses and cable head-end facilities, WLM Plus is an affordable, all-in-one cross-platform, multi-format loudness metering software solution.

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.”

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Do you leave any blank space at the end of episodes? Or do you end episodes immediately after the last word is spoken?

Most of my episodes and client episodes end with music, so I fade out the music and then end it without any extra blank space.

What do you do?

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.”

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If you’ve had a long day producing audio and you’re ears are becoming fatigued, consider finishing the episode(s) the next day when your ears have recovered.

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.”

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When you’re a participant on a podcast avoid constantly saying “Mm-hmm” or “Uh-huh” while another participant is talking.

Uttering these sounds spontaneously in moments when it’s a genuine expression of your understanding or epiphany is totally natural, but constantly uttering those sounds every ten seconds can be distracting and/or annoying to the listeners.

In fact, this is usually just another verbal crutch that some people are in the habit of using. To overcome this, challenge yourself: Be silent and listen intently.

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.”

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Riverside.fm is a new platform I just learned about but haven’t tried yet. I want to try this one as well as the upcoming release of Zencastr’s new version.

Our friend Mathew Passy has tried Riverside.fm and likes it, but admits they are still working out some kinks.

Description from their website:

• Record your podcast’s audio AND video locally.
• Separate audio and video tracks for each guest.
• Livestream it to YouTube/Facebook/Twitter.
• Let your listeners call in via video.
• Start a free trial with no credit card required.

Have you tried it? What has your experience been so far?

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.”

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When anyone uses a desk-based microphone (like a Blue Yeti) or even a handheld microphone on a desk-based stand, they should be aware that the mic will probably pick up the low frequency thumping noise of their typing on their keyboard.

To avoid this you can use a shock mount, get the mic off the surface of the desk using a boom arm, or avoid typing on the keyboard.

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.”

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I wish to state up front that I really like Squadcast and I especially like their owners and staff – VERY good people. And my opinion is that Squadcast is currently the best available option for virtual recording sessions for podcasts. I use Squadcast regularly and pay for it monthly.

The purpose of this post is to SAVE YOU from major production headaches by teaching you how to avoid a nonsensical and annoying “feature” of Squadcast. And if this “feature” hasn’t yet bitten you in the butt you may not think this “feature” is a big deal, and you may also think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but when this “feature” DOES bite you in the butt you will fully understand how nonsensical it is.

OK, so…

Beware of Squadcast if a participant drops off the session because THE MOMENT THEY DROP OFF Squadcast STOPS RECORDING EVERYONE!!!

Really?!?!?!

What you HAVE to do EVERY TIME ANYONE drops off is:

1. STOP the conversation dead in its tracks, even if the person who dropped off was just listening to the others talk
2. WAIT until the dropped person reconnects
3. PRESS RECORD AGAIN

Really?!?!?!

In my professional opinion I think this “feature” is terrible because Squadcast is a tool that RECORDS PEOPLE, so for it to STOP recording at ANY time is completely unacceptable.

Now, Squadcast will tell you that they record backups of all sessions so that the “missing audio” can be recovered, which is usually true, but the quality of that “recovered” audio is significantly worse than the normal Squadcast quality, and it may contain glitches because it is recorded AFTER the audio has travelled over the internet, plus Squadcast admits that it MAY be out of sync with the other tracks. Plus, you will have to do SIGNIFICANTLY more post-production work to piece together and sync-up various files, etc. Wonderful.

I hope Squadcast will fix this ASAP, but their management has given me several irrelevant/weird reasons why they are going to stick with their current practice of stopping recording when someone drops off. In their defense, I suspect fixing this “feature” is not simple or easy, so therefor Squadcast may be taking the easier/cheaper route of not correcting this, which is kind of understandable in a business sense, but very unfortunate for Squadcast users.

Again, I really like Squadcast and I especially like their owners and staff – VERY good people. And my opinion is that Squadcast is currently the best available option for virtual recording sessions. For now, I will continue to use and pay for Squadcast.

But this is pure madness.

What do you think?

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.”

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One viable way to get new potential clients into your local physical podcast studio:

Start a local business podcast and invite local business people to be a guest on your show. When they come into your studio to be a guest and after they have a great experience being a guest, mention that you produce podcasts for local business people and if they ever want to talk about how that works you’re willing to explain things.

FYI, I’ve had success with this strategy in the past.

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.”

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