Will this setup work for podcasting?

Hi guys, I’m putting together an entry level setup for a 3 person podcast and was wondering…

Besides the use of low-end equipment and the quality loss that comes with it, do you see anything wrong or missing with this setup?

I will also need live headset monitoring for each of the three people. Would it be better to plug into the PC or the mixer and just use a splitter cord to get to the three headsets? Is there volume loss that comes with that? latency? I’ve seen some sort of headphone amplifier when more than one is being used… didn’t really get too deep into that yet.

An image of an Amazon shopping cart is attached.

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any help!
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Everybody always leaves out the room. If you record in a kitchen, it will always sound like this:

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/EchoSample.mp3

Good, directional microphones will pick up mostly the person talking, but all the microphones are going to pick up the room reverb and echoes. That’s three to one in your case.

I need to come back when I can chew on the list.

Koz

Are you sure your PC has a stereo Line input (usually blue) and not just a microphone input? (Most desksides do but most laptops do not.) I only ask because we get lots of inquiries from folks trying to use the “microphone” input on their PC in this manner and the universal answer is “it down not work”.

Assuming it does and it’s quality is acceptable then you’re probably fine. Otherwise you may want to consider either spending $40 more on the 1202USB model, or investing an separate USB audio interface such as the Behringer UCA-202 that very popular.

You will probably be better off feeding the headphones directly from the mixer, the output from the PC will likely be delayed just enough to make it nearly impossible to speak coherently. You might get away with just using Y cables to split the mixers headphone output to three sets of headphones if they are all identical and reasonably high impedance (eg 300 ohm). Otherwise you may want to add a small 4-output headphone amplifier to your shopping list they are not very expensive and will give everyone their own volume control.

As to the room, there are some very lengthy postings (sagas really) on folks trying to make a good setup free of echos and noise. The closer you can get people to the microphone the better off you will be (and I note the pop screens on your list which are normally only needed for very close mics). Putting the mics on boom stands (which I know cost more than the mics) rather than desk stands, will make it a bit easier to keep the mic close. If you search youtube you can find lots of videos of talk-radio hosts in studio, note how they do it.

Besides the use of low-end equipment and the quality loss that comes with it

I don’t agree. What usually happens is someone uses low-end equipment and then screws everything else up, too and blames it on the equipment. I once recorded a temporary voice track for a television commercial… on my laptop microphone. I picked a quiet room and I carefully spaced the voice talent and the computer on a table with a blanket on it. The producer thanked me and went off to produce the commercial.

You have to pay attention.

I’ll get to the list in the minute. Are you expecting to be able to carefully edit each voice and correct for clarity, volume, presence, etc? Then you can’t jam everybody together on a sofa. Regard Charlie Rose and his famous table. The only reason those two are that far apart is to make the sound lady happy. Talent spacing needs to be at least three times the spacing between the microphone and the face. More if you can do it.

I will also need live headset monitoring for each of the three people. Would it be better to plug into the PC or the mixer and just use a splitter cord to get to the three headsets? Is there volume loss that comes with that? latency? I’ve seen some sort of headphone amplifier when more than one is being used… didn’t really get too deep into that yet.

You can’t plug into the computer. Many computers produce a delay/echo when you do that. You can force three headphones into one socket, but each time someone connects or disconnects, the other two will get louder and chances are nobody is going to be happy with the volume. You want all three people to fight for the mixer volume control?

Item 2. Avoid desk stands for microphones. This is a fine point, but it allows microphones to pick up odd sounds from the desk — and you pretty much can’t stop it. Again, this is being compulsive, but look at the table and microphones in this pix.


That’s actually two different voice shoots. It’s a little rough to see what we did. I had to take the picture on a dead run. Note the padding on the table to avoid noises. The two microphones are very, very different, but they’re mounted the same way. They both have blast filters, and they’re both high and pointing slightly downward to the performer. That wasn’t an accident and two different sound people set those up.

Item 5. You only need the foam balls if you’re planning on recording outside when it’s windy. Not used inside.

Item 2. That’s scary. How were you going to plug into your computer to record the show? You can’t use Mic-In.


Ok. I’m done throwing mud. This is a good list and I’m pleased you went through the trouble to compile it. It gives us a firm, clear starting point and also gives us a good idea of your goals.

The equipment usually kills people when they try to do impossibly complicated shows right out of the gate.

“…and then Skype to the guest in Miami to talk to the phone conference in Luxembourg …”

What kills people with normal goals is the environment.

“What’s that buzz that keeps coming and going in the background?”
“Oh, thats the refrigerator, isn’t it?”
“Can you remove a dog barking from a podcast?” Hint: no.

That conference room with the microphones in it? It’s the only soundproofed room in the building. I bribed the conference room manager to let me use it. You have no idea how much chocolate…

The first family that lived in my house had a son that played drums. My third bedroom is soundproofed. I got insanely lucky.

Koz

live headset monitoring

Probably not. This is a headset:


That’s a matched set of headphones and microphone.

You probably need connections for headphones. Left and right ears, full stop.

Koz

Beautiful responses, thank you so much.

The Room: I have a dedicated room with dampening foam and blockage strategically placed… did a bit of research on that and I have been recording vocals for a few years, so I’m familiar with the importance of location.

The Equipment Quality: I really appreciate the not harping on my choice of equipment too much, because yeah, I also think bad sounds usually have to do with a lot of other factors. (I have used $300 mics that sound exactly like a $50 mic), and decided on these cheapos to get started for that exact reason. This is more of a content and flow testing phase, before I build the dream station.

I did not plan on breaking down each input and post producing them. If anything, I would rather just get levels solid via mixer/plugin chain during recording, and if necessary, edit the project as a whole later. I have no experience recording multiple people at the same time (especially without music), so I’m sure I’m an idiot at the moment and this idea will change lol and I appreciate the tips on spacing!

I was skeptical about the tiny tabletop mic stands… I wasn’t sure how much white noise this would produce, and I assumed it would be fairly easy to remove something as constant as a slight hum within the software later without losing any noticeable voice quality. There will most likely be elbows, drinks, and the occasional bump going on as well. Is a decent stand and a shock mount a must for serious recording? These are some of those things that I put on my “will purchase this after I understand all aspects and am ready to go serious” list.

  1. Awesome… ditches foam balls

Item 2: I have a decent sound card with ‘line in’ capability. What scared me is packing all of that information (three mics to mixer to sound card to pc) into that tiny cord. Can it handle all that without quality loss?

I will not be doing any remote interviews, everything will be done in house, in a dedicated sound dampened room, around a 6 x 5 table with a square cut out in the middle for cords/etc.

As far as the headphones go, I think I’ve figured that out.

I REALLY appreciate your extremely detailed analysis, Koz. You made my day, dude! Awesome information. flynwill, thanks so much for the suggestions, checked them out, and being in the early stages of hardware ideas, I’m always debating on which direction to go, much appreciated. :slight_smile:

Thanks again and any other tips are always welcome.

Peace guys.

I’ve used those Behringer mics and was not impressed - a bit too cheap. OK as “spare mics” for live use, or perhaps micing up hand percussion or other non-critical stuff.
If you’re in Europe, have a look at the T-Bone MB85 beta. Still low priced but much better mics in my opinion.

“Do you have foam balls?”
“Not last I looked, no. I do have a dead cat, though”

I was skeptical about the tiny tabletop mic stands… I wasn’t sure how much white noise this would produce, and I assumed it would be fairly easy to remove something as constant as a slight hum within the software later without losing any noticeable voice quality.

It’s not white noise or the hum. The white noise (fffffffff) comes from the Microphone Preamplifier inside the mixer. That’s why the MicPre is such a big deal and is called out by name in some literature. That’s the most well-behaved the show sound is ever going to be. You can make it worse, but not better.

The hum can be cause by a million different things: dirt on the connectors, poor quality cables, leaving the lamp dimmers working during the show, etc. Some of it can’t be removed.

Any show with that in it is pretty much doomed.

The desk stands have stealth problems. Past the obvious fiddling with pencils and scripts on the table problem (you can cure a lot of that with the moving blanket on the table) you also get comb filtering effects. Count to ten out loud while you bring a large wine goblet up to your lips. Listen to what happens to your voice.

But no. Nobody is going to come to your house with a gun if you use desk stands. It’s just poor practice.

Do Not plan on Noise Removal before you’ve even sung the first note.
“This is me planning on doing a bad job.”

I have been recording vocals for a few years

So this is just connecting the dots from that experience to the new one. You almost don’t need us at all except for fine tuning and experiencing problems that only happen during group recording.

Koz

Well you understand that you are taking three voices down to two channels so information is being “lost”. However, for this application I don’t see any really issue with that. You might want to rehearse a bit as “fixing it in post” will be limited, so that you get your levels right and pan the voices so they are not all in the same place (but not isolated to a channel either). But I think you can create an excellent quality production from what you have described.

I have a decent sound card with ‘line in’ capability. What scared me is packing all of that information (three mics to mixer to sound card to pc) into that tiny cord.

There are still no quality awards given to PC Soundcards. They have to live in an insanely hostile environment. It’s too hot and if you install your own card, they warn you in the instructions never to put it next to the video card. Bzzzzzzzz.

There is a USB version of that mixer, right? That may be worth the money just to avoid the soundcard. Sound devices need a home run. No USB hubs. Most USB mixers also have the older analog connections as well. That’s one reason they cost more. Make sure the USB version of the mixer plugs into the wall for power. “The Convenience of USB Power” is not a desirable feature.

Koz

But I think you can create an excellent quality production from what you have described.

+1
Koz