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| Sam in action. |
For those who haven't listened to hear how unprofessional we are, but for some reason are already curious about how we do the show, here is a cluttered write up...
I survive my mundane office job thanks to podcasts. Maybe I love talk shows because my mom has been in radio for 35+ years. (Amazing, she's 29! Gave birth at 3 years old, too). She's not on the air as much as she used to be, so we threw around the idea of doing our own podcast for kicks. Just like everyone...and their mom. But it took so much time and energy on my end to figure out how to make it happen from home. After a lot of experimenting - and saving - here's a list of the equipment we use. Check out my Flickr to see how it's all hooked up.
Zoom R16 - This thing has been the answer to our prayers. Records 8 tracks at once, whereas most external recorders will only do 2. You can use it as an audio interface to record into your computer, but we record directly to its SD card, and then mix it down.
HP Elitebook 8540p - We play drops, music, Skype and various other audio bits through this laptop.
Microphones - Samson Q6 and something left over from a radio station, we have no clue what it is exactly. For guests we have Audio-Technica M8000 mics. We use XLR cables into the Zoom R16.
Behringer MicroAmp HA400 - A cheap and reliable headphone amp, it has 4 outputs for every participant's listening pleasure.
IK Multimedia iRig - Intended for musicians to plug in their instruments and use with an app on their iPhone or iPad, it can also be used for podcasters to take phone calls with any phone that has a headphone jack.
Audacity - A free program I use to import the show's WAV file from the Zoom R16's memory card. Here I can tweak the audio, or (rarely) edit out offensive things that slipped out of my mouth, and then export it as an MP3 file.
Libsyn - Here is where we (and nearly every other podcast on the internet) upload the show's MP3 file. For a small monthly fee, they will host the show, help you get it into iTunes, or people can directly download the show's MP3 file from them. Their player is what is on our website so you can easily stream the show. But we would prefer it if you would kindly download it, so it shows up in our statistics. We like to know how many people are listening. Y'know. To boost our self esteem.
