Essential Equipment for Creating Podcasts

Do you want to create your own podcast? Check the basic equipment you’ll need to get started

There are some fixed rules to creating a podcast, but you don’t have to follow a model to the letter, and you can be quite flexible: you can record one wherever you want and about any topic.

However, for your podcast to be of acceptable quality, you will need to use some basic technical tools. Journalist and podcast producer David Mulé Rebecchi (@davimulepodcast) runs through the essential kit you need to produce a good podcast.

Mixer

In his courses, David explains that he uses a Yamaha mixer for recording in an office environment or other places as requested by his clients. This is not the lightest of mixers but it has features that are not available in his smaller, more portable one.

On a daily basis, David uses an Alesis Multimix 4 mixer. Why is that? It takes less space, making it ideal for small spaces, and has all the basic features needed to record a podcast.

You must select your equipment according to the space available in our home studio. For this reason, the Alesis mixer is an excellent choice due to its small size. It has an integrated sound card allowing us to stream podcasts live and keep a copy of them on our computer. This console has a USB port for easily connecting to our computer.

Microphones

There are two types of microphones you can choose from for podcasts: dynamic microphones or condenser microphones.

Dynamic mics tend to be more robust but don’t offer the same high quality as condenser ones.

However, they are very reliable in outdoor recordings because they don’t pick up the ambient noise. Condenser microphones only work if attached to a mixer with a phantom power connection because they require a 48v power input to function.

When you choose your mixer, make sure this connection is available if you wish to use a condenser mic.

Dynamic microphones are usually cheaper than their condenser counterparts. Also, dynamic mics have the bonus of not needing to be powered to work. For this reason, dynamic microphones are ideal for podcasting.

Headphones

Headphones are an essential part of our equipment for monitoring everything we are recording.

There are open-back and closed-back headphones, and both types allow us to listen to ourselves. Some people prefer to be completely isolated from the outside noise. Others prefer to hear some ambient noise to calibrate their voice.

Open headphones are generally more comfortable than closed ones. For long recording sessions, it’s important to use comfortable gear.

Computer

Lastly, of course, we need a computer to record our voices and connect the mixer. The more powerful the computer, the faster the sound will be processed.

Those are the tools needed to explore the world of podcasting. If you want to know more, you can learn how to create a podcast in the course Podcast Creation for Beginners, in which David Mulé Rebecchi will teach you about other useful tools and tricks.

English version by @acesarato

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