How to record a professional podcast (OR: Best equipment for podcasting)

This is a quick post to share what equipment I use to record Shakers & Doers, my interview-led podcast with world class scientists, entrepreneurs and performers.

I’ve heard some podcasts recorded on iPhones etc., and they suck. It pays to invest in some good audio equipment.

Equipment

Zoom Handy Recorder H4n (£120 – £200)

I use the Zoom Handy Recorder H4n. It has an incredible sound quality and allows you to record in WAV (as well as .MP3). This means raw audio, a continuous sound wave.

In my first podcast I made the mistake of recording in low quality .MP3 (which might be great for dictating). While you can correct much of the distortion in GarageBand, ensure you record in WAV.

16GB SD Card (£8 – £20)

The Zoom Handy Recorder H4n is only compatible with up to 32GB SD cards. I made the mistake of buying a 128GB SD card only for it to not work. Now I use a 16GB SD card, which is enough for 8 hours of WAV audio recording.

I recommend you use the SanDisk Ultra as it has a faster download speed of 80MB/s. When you come to import the audio into your computer, it’ll save some time.

Software

GarageBand (free with OSX)

If you have an Apple Mac (I use an Apple iMac) and use OSX it comes with GarageBand for free. Otherwise download it here. This is all I use for editing the podcast. GarageBand makes it super easy to have multiple audio tracks (intro, jingle, interview), and also to highlight bits of the podcast to cut out.

For instance, in my first couple of podcasts I umm’ed and ahh’ed a lot. GarageBand makes it easy to highlight those sound waves and cut them out giving a smoother listening experience (note – don’t get bogged down in this)!

Windows user? Read this article on how to get GarageBand on Windows

eCamm Call Recorder for Skype ($29.95)

When recording a Skype call for a podcast I use eCamm’s Call Recorder. Super simple, clear and HD. It’s absolutely perfect (for Mac) and also offers a FaceTime recording feature too. If only Skype itself was as perfect!

Image by Zoomar via Flickr