FEATURE Podcasting genius
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Spend wisely but also get some cool stuff for free
A decent audio interface can handle recording of several mics. Models like IK Multimedia’s iRig Quattro work equally well with Macs or iOS devices.
Creatinga podcast is rather like making a radio show or indeed a basic music recording using microphones. At its simplest, a podcast studio can be your desk or a spare room, preferably one that’s away from unwanted background noise, such as a noisy road. If there’s only going to be one person speaking, or two people sitting close together, you only really need one microphone. There are plenty of good quality USB mics around the £80-£120 range, such as those from Blue Microphones, Zoom, Røde and Shure. Some stand on your desk, while others need to be attached to a boom stand which will give you more flexibility but adds to the cost. Most microphones tend to have integrated pop filters which help you achieve a cleaner voice recording. In fact, some companies offer podcast hardware bundles comprising mic, headphones and audio interface, which are often sold for a fair bit less than their component parts.