Category: The Podcast Engineering Show

Had a wonderful and insightful conversation with my guest is Corey Marie Green, freelance audio engineer specializing in radio and podcasting. She is also the author of The Podcaster’s Audio Handbook: A Technical Guide for Creative People.

We discussed and demonstrated SO MUCH in this episode including:

• Macbook Pro running Pro Tools
• Izotope RX 8
• Audio interface – Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Microphones – Sennheiser e945
• RODE NTG-2 shotgun mic
• Desk-mounted scissor boom stand
• AKAI MPK Mini Midi keyboard
• Zoom H5 portable recorder
• Headphones – AudioTechnica ATH-M50x
• Marantz PM5004 amplifier
• PSB speakers (Alpha B1)
• Processing: Audio repair, EQ, dynamics, sibilance, plosives, mouth noises
• SPL de-verb (if someone’s in a really live room)
• Waves sibilance plugin
• dyn3 de-esser (comes with pro tools)
• Waves MaxxVolume
• Using gentle dynamics processing to the sub-master to tie it all together
• Adding music underneath speech
• Intelligibility
• Episode I mentioned: Michael Pettersen (PES 062)

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Corey!

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from April 9 through April 28 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Note: In this episode I’m using my vintage RE20 microphone and Apollo x4 interface (with API preamp and LA-2A compressor).

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Instead of Deleting Umms You Could…
• Using a Multiband Compressor on a Track Containing 2+ Participants
• When Your Client Saves Money by Producing Some Episodes Themselves
• A Handy Service: Capitalize My Title
• My Dream Microphone for Recording At Live Events
• Let Your Hardware Breathe
• AMEK EQ 200
• Mailing Microphones to Podcast Guests
• Recording Interviews at an Organizations Annual Conference

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is January 11, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/)

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from March 19 through April 7 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Here are the equipment and plugins I used to produce this episode:

• Sphere L22™ microphone system from Townsend Labs
• Apollo x4 audio interface from Universal Audio
• For the U47 emulation I mentioned in the episode, I ended up using the Ocean Way Mic collection‘s emulation profile. I chose that particular U47 sound for my voice over the U47 sounds in the Townsend Labs Sphere collection and the Putnam Mic collection, but of course this choice was solely dependent on the quality of my particular voice. For other people’s voices the best sounding choice would probably be different.
• Studer A800 tape emulation plugin (Universal Audio)
• Focusrite SC channel strip plugin (Plugin Alliance)
• Pro-L 2 limiter plugin (Fabfilter)

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• The Evolution of Riverside.fm
• SoundID Reference (formerly known as Sonarworks Reference)
• What Are Some Things That You Purposefully Do NOT Edit Out of Podcast Episodes?
• Using a Dual-Stage Compressor on Your Master Buss
• 6 PES Graduates Who Are Now Rocking Their Own Podcast Production Businesses!
• DaVinci Resolve
• Be Aware: Using Echo-Cancellation Degrades Audio Quality
• Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor Class A

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is January 11, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/)

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from Feb. 26 through Mar. 17 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces, the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide. Choose from 6 different interfaces with 1, 2, 4, or 8 microphone inputs. Works with the recording software you’re already using and works with any type of XLR microphone. New unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Voice Recorder Plugin (for WordPress)
• Be Aware: Compression, EQ, Etc. Can Sometimes Exacerbate Sibilance
• Editing Tip: Use Short Fades for Transparency, When Applicable
• Stereo Imaging Enhancers
• PES Monthly Q&A Meeting for Students and Alumni
• Pro Headphone Buyers Guide 2020 [ebook]
• We Want to See Your Equipment Setup! Comment with a Link to a Pic
• Reaper’s Play Frequency Selection
• AirPods Are OK but They Don’t Give Professional Audio Quality

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is September 14, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/)

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

My guests are Vic Tiscareno and Mike Henein from VZR, makers of the VZR Model One – an innovative headset designed for audiophiles, gamers, podcasters, livestreamers, etc.

We discussed Vic and Mike’s impressive audio backgrounds (see their bio’s below), their Model One headset, why they designed it like they did, as well as Spatial, “3D” and Ambisonic audio, and much more!

Hear various audio examples here:

• Binaural + DSP
• RealSpace 3D Audio Demo
• The Incredible Sounds of the Falcon Heavy Launch (BINAURAL AUDIO IMMERSION)
• 3D Audio Machu Picchu Hike (Wear Headphones)

Vic “The Dude” Tiscareno

• Apple’s former lead audio engineer
• Tiscareno’s body of work across more than 30 years includes Mark Levinson Audio and work on many projects at Apple, where he was hired directly by Steve Jobs. Vic holds more than 20 patents on audio and acoustic design, including ones for the
• VZR Model One
• Loves music and audio, designed amps, mics and vacuum tube gear

Mike Henein

• VZR co-founder who worked as a sound designer and supervisor for some of the biggest video games.
• Game audio — spacial sound
• Music editor in Hans Zimmer’s production studio
• Cohost of the Audiophile Gamer Podcast, with Sir Mixalot

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Vic and Mike!

All are welcome to comment below.

I overview 8 recent Daily Goody‘s from Feb. 5 through Feb. 24 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces, the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide. Choose from 6 different interfaces with 1, 2, 4, or 8 microphone inputs. Works with the recording software you’re already using and works with any type of XLR microphone. New unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• When Editing, Are You Able To Quickly Highlight a Single Mouthclick and Delete It?
• High-Mid Frequency Clarity vs. Harshness
• Benefits of Attending LIVE Interactive Classes on Podcast Production
• 32 Bit Floating Point Explained (by Sound Speeds)
• Ultimate Ears – Professional In-Ear Monitors
• Volume Master Extension for Chrome and Brave, etc.
• Using Oxford Inflator To Bring a Guests Voice “Closer”
• Guests: If You Own a Decent Microphone, PLEASE USE IT!

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is September 14, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/)

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

Enjoy my magnificent conversation with Martín Gonzalez, audio engineer at Pushkin Industries! He, of course, does a lot of podcast recording and mixing, and also scoring and sound design. He works on various shows including Broken Record, The Last Archive and Into the Zone.

We discussed SO MUCH in this episode including:

• Neumann U87
• Martín’s background: Berklee College of Music, played in bands, engineered Live sound, and much more.
• Home setup: HP monitor with thunderbolt cable (like a docking station)
• ElectroVoice RE20
• Grace preamps
• Dante network
• Pro Tools
• AKG 701 headphones
• iZotope RX — voice de-noise, etc.
• Fabfilter plugins
• Ableton Live
• Soundtoys plugins
• Audio Thing – spring reverb, and one called Wires
• Audio Ease – Altiverb (convolution reverb), speakerphone,
• Descript
• Oeksound soothe2
• Modular synths

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Martín!

All are welcome to comment below.

I had a top-notch chat with Jason Gambrell, Technical Director for Pushkin Industries. Jason works on several/many Pushkin shows. We covered his podcast audio production in great depth. You’ll learn a lot in this episode.

We discussed SO MUCH in this episode including:

• RE20
• SM7b
• Austrian Audio OC18
• MixPre-3, NoiseAssist
• Pro Tools Carbon Interface
• AVS technology
• MacBook Pro 2.6GHz i7
• ICON Platform M+ Controller (USB, 8 channels, can control faders, arm tracks, transport, zoom in and out, and MOSTLY Jason uses it for writing automation on the score track, sound fx and voices, etc.
• AKG 701 Headphones (open back)
• JBL monitors
• Malcolm’s studio setup in Hudson, NY – 3 hours North of NYC (8 channel Grace preamps, 5 RE20’s, U87 for voiceovers, and wired with Dante – an “audio over IP language” using ethernet cables)
• iZotope RX8 and Ozone
• FabFilter Pro L-2 — *there’s a setting called “podcasting” under “safe”
• Fabfilter Pro Q-3
• TC Electronic Clarity M Loudness Meter — standalone screen and plugin with timed graph, circular graph, etc.
• Gain vs volume
• Master fader: Pro L-2, Clarity M
• Neutron 3 — give a shape to a hosts voice, dynamic compression, sculptor – automated dynamic compression?
• Uses level automation all the time for mumbles, etc. Gain which goes into the plugins instead of adjusting fader levels.
• Pro Tools 2021
• RX Voice De-noise
• Stereo mixes – open up mixes with a bit of panning
• Publishes MP3’s in Stereo at 192kbps
• Uncompressed mixes in stereo at 24 bit 48 kHz
• Megaphone for hosting, dynamic ad insertion, etc.
• Playing in Punk rock bands
• Next purchase? Hardware compressor!

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Jason!

All are welcome to comment below.

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from Dec. 25 – Jan. 13 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Descript’s NEW Transcription Glossary
• The Sound in the Game “Among Us”
• Managing the Expectations of Your Clients
• Special: Your Blunt Pep Talk for 2021
• Zoom PodTrak P4
• Level Magic by Flux Jünger
• Be Aware: Some Earbuds Feed Back Within Themselves
• 32 Bit Floating Point Explained
• Being Close To the Mic but Still Not Sounding “Close Enough”
• Low-mid Fullness vs. Muddiness

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is June 29, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

My guest is Dallas Taylor, host and creator of Twenty Thousand Hertz – an exceptional podcast about sound. He is also the Creative Director of Defacto Sound where he has led thousands of high-profile projects ranging from blockbuster trailers and advertising campaigns to Sundance award-winning films and major television series. Follow on Twitter: Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz, Defacto Sound.

FYI, I really enjoyed the episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz titled Silence where Dallas experiences pure silence for himself thanks to a special room called an anechoic chamber!

We discussed SO MUCH in this episode including:

• His studio has acoustic panels and lots of foam, etc.
• Shure SM7b microphone
• Yellowtec boom arm
• Argosy console desk
• Sound Devices MixPre-6
• He has writers on staff
• Uses Rev.com for transcription
• Sound design starts with the script
• Table reads with his team
• He’s very cognizant of emotional dynamics of episodes
• Start episodes with a small thing that arouses curiosity
• Every 15-30 seconds he tries to have some kind of sonic change to keep the listeners attention
• Early in his career he worked on foley for films
• Tweak sounds during editing? Yes! Tons.
• His sound designer Soren uses Pro Tools with lots of plugins, etc.
• iZotope software
• Has many sound FX libraries and music beds, etc
• Sound Toys plugins
• Limiters
• Compressors
• EQ’s
• Final MP3 files are between 160-320 kbps!
• Megaphone for hosting – dynamic ad insertion, etc.
• He sells his own ads

Thanks for sharing so much with us, Dallas!

All are welcome to comment below.

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from Dec. 4 – Dec. 23 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

*AND you’ll hear my first ever comparison between my vintage RE20 vs my new RE20. They sound ALMOST identical 😉

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Where Do You Edit – in the Multitrack Session, or the Mixdown File, or Both?
• Using Photopea.com To Create Episode Artwork for Free
• Fletcher-Munson Curves
• Zoom F2 Field Recorder
• THS-MDM Microphone Decoupler
• My Recent Plugin Purchases (Black Friday/Holidays)
• The Audio Quality of Apple AirPods’ Microphone
• Major Changes to RINGR
• Low Level Compression

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is June 29, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

My guest is Matt Powell, Senior Audio Engineer for Mission.org (Website, Twitter @missionhq, LinkedIn)

We discussed SO MUCH, including:

• Editing philosophy
• Shure SM58
• PreSonus Eureka Channel Strip
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Macbook Pro
• Adobe Audition (parametric EQ, notch filters, )
• iZotope RX7 (de-noise, EQ, compression, )
• Waves Platinum bundle and SSL G Channel strip plugin
• SM7b > Cloudlifter > Compressor > Ableton
• Blue Yeti
• Hosts recording locally with Quicktime
• Sennheiser e835
• Using Zoom for every interview
• Remove noise first before EQ, compression, etc.

Thanks for being a great guest, Matt!

All are welcome to comment below.

Note: In this episode I switch back and forth between using the Electro-Voice RE320 and the Electro-Voice RE20 microphones.

The RE320 vs. RE20

• I own both these microphones and I like them very much.
• Which one do you think sounded better on my voice?…? Hmmm….?
• The audio in this episode is completely raw (unprocessed) but I did match the microphones’ levels in post-production – *except for the end of the episode when I show you the difference in level between both raw recordings.

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is April 20, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help with anything,
~Chris

Comment below with any questions!

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from Nov. 13 – Dec. 2 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Earning a Lot Being a Professional Podcast Editor, Engineer and Producer
• EQ’ing is a Skill
• Apollo Solo
• Set up Your Microphone To Point Away From Any Sources of Noise
• Black Box Analog Design HG-2
• Podcast Participants Trailing off at the End of Sentences
• The World Thanks You for Caring About Audio Quality!
• Recordings Riddled With Random Clicks?
• Repair Assistant in iZotope RX

Be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces, the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide. Choose from 6 different interfaces with 1, 2, 4, or 8 microphone inputs. Works with the recording software you’re already using and works with any type of XLR microphone. New unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is April 20, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

Comment below with any questions!

I overview 9 recent Daily Goody‘s from Oct. 23 – Nov. 11 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Daily Goody posts that I discussed in this episode:

• Why Pay for Professional Media Hosting Like Libsyn, Blubrry, etc.?
• Townsend Labs Sphere L22 Microphone
• Shure MV7 – New Microphone for Podcasting and Gaming
• The Way You Monitor Affects Your Production a Lot
• Podcast Audio Plugins – The Big List
• The Two Computer Settings Where You Need To Verify That Your Mic Is Active and Recording Properly
• Nasty Microphone Hum Noise From Old School Headsets
• Do Presentation Mistakes by Podcast Hosts Actually Draw Listeners In?
• FG-X Mastering Processor from Slate Digital

Be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces, the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide. Choose from 6 different interfaces with 1, 2, 4, or 8 microphone inputs. Works with the recording software you’re already using and works with any type of XLR microphone. New unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Other Notes:

• If you ever have questions please reach out!
• The start date for the next PES semester is April 20, 2021
• If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

Comment below with any questions!