Dr. Mike’s Top Eleven Pearls of Wisdom

 

1. A recording made with average quality equipment in a quiet environment will sound better that a recording made with great equipment in a noisy environment.

 

2. Try to use a structured format when creating a Podcast.  Listeners don’t like bizarre surprises.

 

3. Keep your microphone 6-9” away from your mouth and slightly off to one side and you probably won’t need to use a pop-filter.  However, if you are using a studio-type condenser microphone you will probably need a pop-filter.

 

4. Recording wav files at greater than a 16-bit depth is a waste of disk drive space. Remember that your show will eventually will be a compressed MP3 file.

 

5. Everyone knows that high quality microphone cables are best.  However, consider trying the lost cost house brands.  You may find that they work well enough and you will save a chunk of money in the process.

 

6. Compressing your Podcast to 64 Kbps, joint stereo offers the best compromise between file size and sound quality.

 

7. Theme music will make your Podcast sound more professional but don’t forget to only use royalty free music.

 

8. Professional broadcasters always edit their pre-recorded shows.  If you want to sound professional, do the same.

 

9. Whenever possible, use a microphone stand or boom to hold your microphone.

 

10. Edit your program using headphones, ear buds or monitor type speakers. Computer speakers are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to sound reproduction.

 

11. Compelling content trumps fancy equipment every time.

 

 

 

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