If You’d Prefer to NOT Sound Terrible Every Time You’re a Remote Guest on a Podcast, Please Invest ~$150 in the Right Gear so You Can Sound Good for the Rest of Your Life!

Wouldn’t it be great for listeners to hear your voice on a podcast and think, “Wow, he/she sounds really good.”

Well, if you think you can just wing it and sound OK by jumping on a podcast using crappy earbuds on a crappy computer connecting through crappy slow WiFi while laying on your couch with all kinds of noise in the background, you can’t.

When you invest in some good equipment for yourself you’ll be perceived as the professional you really are, instead of sounding terrible and being perceived as less. Science actually backs this up; a recent scientific study found that audio quality influences whether people believe what they hear — and whether they trust the source of information.

You’ll sound great on every podcast for the rest of your life with these 4 items costing around $150 total:

(And FYI these are NOT affiliate links, and I’m not selling this gear, only recommending)

1. Microphone ($70-100) — Here are 3 inexpensive dynamic USB microphones to choose from:
   • Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone: https://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT2005USB-Handheld-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/
   • Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100x-USB-Cardioid-Microphone-ATR/dp/B07ZPBFVKK/
   • Samson Q2U USB/XLR Dynamic Microphone Recording and Podcasting Pack (Includes Mic Clip, Desktop Stand, Windscreen and Cables): https://www.amazon.com/Samson-Handheld-Microphone-Recording-Podcasting/dp/B001R747SG/
2. Microphone Stand ($39): Gator Frameworks Short Weighted Base Microphone Stand
3. Foam Windscreen ($4): On-Stage Foam Ball-Type Microphone Windscreen, Black
4. Mic clip ($10): On-Stage MY320 Shock-Mount Dynamic Microphone Clip

A few other important best practices:

• You must wear earbuds or headphones when your microphone is being recorded. Always.
• You should consistently speak into the microphone with your mouth always being about 1-3” away from the mic when you’re speaking. The closer the better, but please make sure you don’t breathe heavily right into the microphone when you’re NOT speaking 😉
• Restart your computer before the recording session
• Make sure your WiFi signal is strong (or connect via ethernet cable)
• Minimize all background noise like fans and air conditioners, and don’t make any distracting noises like moving things around your desk, clicking a pen, or tapping your foot, etc. — be quiet, except for talking 😉

And now, speaking for all podcast listeners, producers, editors, and hosts:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for sounding your best and providing a good listening experience for all of us so we can keep listening and keep enjoying you!!!

If you have any questions contact me.

Sound good, feel good, do good.

Enjoy this webinar where I taught a bit about using EQ.

Big thanks to Steve Stewart and his Podcast Editor’s Club for the opportunity to teach.

Note: The information in this webinar is only a small fraction of what I teach in Podcast Engineering School.

 

…And don’t forget to Listen and Subscribe to The Podcast Engineering Show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts (on Android), TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, Android, RSS.

Question:

This is a whopper of a price tag. What makes the contents of the course worth more than a few months of similarly themed Udemy or Lynda courses?

And full disclosure: I want you to sway me Chris. As a producer in this space I always looking for people who know more than I do so that I can learn from them and be better.

Answer:

OK, first off, regarding “swaying you,” that’s not possible. All I’m able to do is answer questions and convey details. 

PES is different than any other podcasting course available. It’s not for podcasters; it’s for individuals who want to become a professional and earn really good money engineering/producing podcasts. Some people look at PES and automatically believe that it’s just another course about how to plug in a mic and publish to iTunes, etc…..another John Lee Dumas course or Cliff Ravenscraft A-to-Z course or Shawn Smith course or whoever else.

I have built a podcast production business engineering/producing shows for mid/large companies who want to work with professionals – not someone who learned a few things by watching some YouTube videos. These companies want to pay good money to a professional.

Now, most individuals who are producing/editing podcasts, or want to, don’t have enough confidence/guts to charge something like $750 per episode instead of $75 per. What you charge depends on the value you deliver, and a big part of the value for mid/large companies is having a dependable professional on their team who can handle any audio situation professionally.

Bulletproof confidence is essential – that you absolutely know what you’re doing, you know the fundamentals, you have the right tools, equipment, software, you know how to communicate with guests and clients, you know how to communicate your value, and you have access to an accomplished mentor and a community to step in and help at any moment.

PES delivers all these things, including 1-on-1 mentoring from me, ridiculous academic discounts on amazing software, a vibrant community of 20+ (and growing) alumni all helping each other, unlimited Q&A, a course project, and 7 in-depth lectures on audio fundamentals, hardware, studio configurations, software & plugins, recording, connecting and recording guests, listening exercises, mixing, editing, mastering, publishing, the business aspect, and more, all in great detail.

Another unique value: As the instructor I am combining my audio experience from the music business with tons of advanced podcast production experience and boiling it all down – I’m able to teach students what they need to know to immediately avoid many pitfalls and problems, and of course allow them to immediately perform tasks at a professional level.

Can you get all that from a Udemy course, or 5?

You see, students don’t know what they don’t know. So how could they possibly go out and find all the training they need to handle all possible situations at a professional level? Ralph M. Rivera and I had a wonderful discussion about this on this session of The Podcast Engineering Show. 

It’s been quite an interesting experience helping so many individuals become audio professionals and grow their careers, or just earn good money on the side part-time. As the podcast industry grows I feel PES will serve an increasing important role. It’s my vision for companies to seek out graduates of PES in the future, once they know the quality of the graduates. I’ve already had several production companies ask for introductions to PES graduates.

*Note: The correspondence below occurred when PES launched and was offering a 5-day in-person course. Soon after that we switched to an online course. All the points made below still apply, though.

A note Chris received:

I’m wondering what about this program constitutes a $3000 or $5000 dollar price tag?

I’ve been podcasting for 2 years, I’m an editor on some very high profile shows, and I’ve never had any formal training. It’s all stuff you can easily learn from YouTube.

Sure people can get a crash-course in 5 days, but podcasting is a very open community and if you reached out to pretty much any podcaster they’d show you the ropes.

To clarify: This is all amazing stuff that podcasters should learn. Audio quality is so important but it’s just a lot of money.

Chris’s response:

Hi _____,

I appreciate your post and questions.

The Podcast Engineering School program is for individuals who want to have a professional career or business as a podcast engineer/producer. Or die-hard audio geeks who really want to learn the audio engineering side of podcasting.

The program is NOT for casual podcasters or casual podcast producers/editors. Casual/amateur folks, as you mentioned, can easily obtain general knowledge as well as find answers to specific questions via YouTube.

The podcasting industry is growing up. There is a legitimate need for a professional school. There are job openings and business opportunities. The paradigm that “podcasting is a hobby industry” and therefore no one needs professional training is changing. Professional companies want to work with professionals. And I’m saying this because I’ve been hired by Forbes, Dun & Bradstreet and many others to produce their podcasts.

I saw a post this morning asking, “What do hate most about podcasts?” Bad audio quality was the number one response. Any legitimate audio engineer who evaluates a large sample of existing podcasts will conclude that the overall sound quality of podcasts is pretty bad. As the industry continues to grow and more companies and professionals continue creating podcasts, they want professional quality – not the amateur quality that is so prevalent now.

I know podcast producers (some have been on my show) who never touch an EQ or compressor when producing episodes. As podcasting grows up, these types of producers/editors will gradually be leap-frogged or replaced by professionals.

These days it’s not hard to get by as an amateur podcast producer/editor, but many individuals want to do MORE than that AND GET PAID more than that. They like the idea of being a respected professional in their field, receiving professional training as well as having a respected Certification on their resume.

With regards to self-learning on YouTube:

As I mentioned above, it’s a good tool for finding general knowledge or answers to quick questions. I do this often.

However, when it comes to deeper learning, few are the people who know WHAT they need to learn, can go find it, learn from it, AND implement it. And of course there’s all the time wasted searching and evaluating and learning all kinds of unnecessary or wrong things. Professionals recognize the wise use of their time. For instance, 30 minutes of quality conversation between teacher and student can easily be more productive than months on Youtube. This is what ALWAYS happens when I consult individual producers.

In the world of professional training, nothing compares to being taught 1-on-1 in-person by a highly accomplished professional. It’s not only top quality knowledge that the student receives – it’s attitude, confidence, and context – and these are critically important to becoming happy and successful in your field.

Time: Individuals who want to become respected professionals in their field realize that it’s going to require a lot more than watching YouTube videos. Attending a real school program with a highly accomplished instructor cannot be compared to surfing YouTube.

Calibre of instructor: Many would argue that the teacher is more important than the content, providing he or she is a highly accomplished individual with regards to knowledge, skills, experience and practical success.

You wrote: “I’m wondering what about this program constitutes a $3000 or $5000 dollar price tag?” Anyone who wants serious professional training in preparation for a lucrative career (or business) will find this price a steal! Everything the student needs – all the relevant and important knowledge, skills, workflow, hands-on training, solutions and confidence will be neatly delivered to them by an instructor who has already accomplished what they want to accomplish. As I said above, casual hobbyists won’t be interested in my program because it’s overkill for them.

You wrote: “I’ve been podcasting for 2 years, I’m an editor on some very high profile shows, and I’ve never had any formal training. It’s all stuff you can easily learn from YouTube.” I’ve already addressed this above, and now that you hopefully understand that this program is professional training, you hopefully realize that YouTube is good for many things and it’s very handy, but watching YouTube videos cannot be compared to the Podcast Engineering School program.

You wrote: “Sure people can get a crash-course in 5 days, but podcasting is a very open community and if you reached out to pretty much any podcaster they’d show you the ropes.” It seems like you’re talking about reaching out to others when you have a question or two. A couple of quick questions is vastly different from in-person professional training. Would I be able to reach out to you (or anyone) and ask you to train me in-person for 5 full days and 4 webinars and mentoring sessions and software/plugins discounts – all for free?

You wrote: “To clarify: This is all amazing stuff that podcasters should learn. Audio quality is so important but it’s just a lot of money.” As I mentioned above, for individuals who truly value professional training, this program is a bargain. It’s an investment in themselves which no one can take away, and it’s a springboard for a successful lucrative career or business.

Hopefully this makes sense to you, _____. Your questions were actually a good excuse for me to articulate many points, which, btw, I’m going to post on my website in the form of videos of me explaining some of these points in addition to the actual program details. That should be helpful to others 😉

Keep Shining,
~Chris Curran

A listener emailed me with some thoughts about my conversation with Todd Cochrane in episode 8. I thought my clarifications may be of some use:

1. Regarding the idea of reducing episode file size by reducing the sample rate from 44.1kHz to possible 32kHz, the listener wrote that this was an option, “…since you have a hard low-pass filter set in the neighborhood of 15K, …” My response: Not correct. I do use filters often but not as a rule, and not a HARD filter, and not always the same amount or the same frequency. And I only use filters on individual voices – not on the whole mix. So, I would never use a sample rate lower than 44.1kHz.

2. Regarding the stereo vs. mono conversation the listener wrote, “…Certainly, recording stereo output of a mono mic is pretty pointless and it sounds like you’d recognized that in the show…” I never recommended to record one microphone onto a stereo file – that’s ridiculous. The “stereo” we were talking about was the entire episode mix, where music can sound as it was made to sound (a carefully constructed presentation across the stereo spectrum) and individual elements/voices can be panned for more separation, clarity, etc.

3. Again regarding reducing file size, the listener suggested possible using VBR (Variable bitrate) MP3 compression. NOTE: Both Libsyn and Blubrry strongly suggest NOT using VBR for podcast episodes. Read what they say about it: Libsyn and Blubrry

4. The listener wrote, “However, you did misspeak at one point where you mentioned that stereo files are twice as big as mono files. …A joint stereo file might be just 30% larger than its mono counterpart, if there’s minimal stereo content…” I did some testing on Joint Stereo vs Mono file sizes and I’ve included my findings below. Please test this yourself and correct me if my findings are wrong.

FILE SIZE TEST – 60 Seconds of audio

Size comparison between file types and resolutions using Soundforge Pro 10.0 as well as Audacity 2.1.2. Each file contains the identical 60 seconds of audio.

• Stereo 16 bit, 44.1 kHz .WAV file = 10.0 MB (MONO = 5.04 MB)
• 128 Kbps Stereo MP3 (both Soundforge and Audacity) = 939 KB
• 128 Kbps Joint Stereo MP3 (Audacity) = 939 KB
• 128 Kbps Joint Stereo MP3 (Soundforge, Intensity encoding) = 939 KB
• 128 Kbps Joint Stereo MP3 (Soundforge, Mid-Side encoding) = 939 KB
• 64 Kbps Mono MP3 (Soundforge) = 470 KB

What are your thoughts?

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