I’m not an engineer, so creating my DVD, “Depression What You Must Know,” and my Podcast, “Psychiatric Secrets Revealed with Dr. Mike” involved a lot a research and learning.  The information listed below is a compilation of that work.  I hope you find it helpful.  Mike Kuna

I have talked a lot about software and I even looked at some useful filters but I haven’t talked about all of the things that software can do:

1. You can edit your sound files.  For instance you can remove flubs or dead air and you can even move around segments of the sound file.

2. You can layer (or composite) your sounds to make a final production.  For instance you could have your Podcast recording on one track, a laugh tract on another and a sound effects track on a third.  Since everything is on a separate track it is very easy to move things around.  When everything is perfect you simply render it into one file.

3. You can sweeten your recordings in a variety of ways.

4. You can render you original files into a different format, for instance taking a wav recording and converting it into a MP3 file.

There are amazing numbers of specialized program that record audio and it is likely that you already have some of them on your computer.  I’ll list a bunch by type, but there are many, many others.

Audacity
This is a great and FREE program that rivals commercial products. It has decent editing functions, nice Fx’s (filters), compositing abilities and a direct connecting to LAME an excellent MP3 encoder.  Audacity is often the Podcaster’s choice in software.
Disadvantages: As a free program there is no support and even on-line help is limited.  Most functions are very good but not at the caliber of a top-of-the line program.  There are reports of crashes, especially with long recordings.

Audition
Audition is considered the ultimate do-it-all when it comes to Podcasting.  Expensive and expansive, everything is top-drawer.  I must confess that I have never used this program.  Interestingly, I do have a copy that came with the Adobe Video Editing Suite.  When I get some time, I’ll crack open the box.
Disadvantage: expensive

Other Software
These are programs that you may have around for other purposes that can offer utility when creating a Podcast.

Sound Recorder
This applet has been incorporated into Windows as long as I can remember.
Disadvantages:  Very limited in functionality, difficult (but possible) to record more than a short 60 second spot.

Multi-track/Music Creation software
This type of software can do many different things from laying down live tracts that can be mixed to make a complete song, to creating songs using sound loops.  Beyond their fantastic ability to layer sounds (compositing) they often offer some effects (like EQ and compression) although they typically will lack clean up effects like noise removal.  Often this software comes in a high-end professional version and a lower end (and much less expensive) hobby version.  Some popular names include Sony’s Acid, Cakewalk’s Music Creator and Magix’s Music Maker 10.  Magix’s Music Maker program offers a lot of bang for the buck at around $50.  It is a loop music creation program that offers a really beautiful and impressive interface (even my wife thought it was cool looking) and tons of canned effects that range from mimicking various rooms to adding compression.  In addition you can adjust many of these parameters.  What makes this program so special is a (somewhat hidden) powerful and useful “Wave Editor II” that also brings in filters for noise reduction and other useful things.  I think most people would agree that the overall algorithms used in MMM are not quite the caliber of a Sony Acid, but with good functionality, low price and good performance it is hard to beat.

In addition to loop creation programs there are multi-track programs designed with the musician in mind.  One common and popular one is a shareware program called n-Track.

Audio Cleaning/Restoration/Mastering Software
There are a number of products that do similar things but categorize themselves differently. Many of these products are fairly low priced (well under $100) although some like Sony’s excellent Sound Foundry can also be found in a much more expensive professional version.

Magix Audio Cleaning Lab.  Another great, inexpensive program from Magix.  Like Music Maker, ACL features a beautiful and simple to use interface.  It is designed to clean up LP’s and cassettes for conversion to CDs but those same capabilities can also be used to record sweeten and clean up your

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