I want to start a Podcast, What Do I Need?

I'm planning to start a podcast in the next couple weeks and I believe I need some gear, so I'm just wondering from anyone with experience what I need, and where I can find what I need?

You'll need charisma, be interesting and able to articulate well.

A personality, the topic dosn't matter as long as you have a personality.

A microphone, a computer, and a winning charisma or friends you can mooch off of that have better personalities then you =P 
Good luck though =)

Thanks but im looking more towards what equipment i'll need, like microphones, headphones, mixers. And which brands I should look at. I'm new to audio and recording and I need to know the basics, what to look for, what to watch out for. Where can I find good quality for cheap, and so on...?

You need a Norman Chan and a Will Smith. I recommend the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Norman Chan and internationally famous black guy Will Smith.

Like FLStyle said; Tested would be more helpful in this matter.

Don't start a podcast.  Just don't. 

Kidnap Jeff Gerstmann. Instant success.

@SwirlinDervish: The mics you use should be determined by your set up. If you have a bunch of people sitting around a table talking then you'll need something different than if you are alone or talking to someone on webcam.

http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/

That's pretty good, Day9 uses it if you know of/watch his Youtube channel.

You'll need an audience. 

Just use Audacity and get a Blue Yeti. Insta-quality.

Use Audacity for your softward. Its free, easy to use, powerful, and tiny.

Are you doing a one man show? Multiple people? Over the internet on Skype? Or in the same room?

You'll want a pop shield, too. They're cheap to buy and cheap to make.

What a coinky-dink. I also want to start a podcast, but more importantly voice overs in general.

Straight tools you will need is a Microphone, audio editing program and a free service to host it. For Microphones You want something that will pick up your voice with richness and clarity(You better speak very clearly). There are alot of mics out there but you should be fine with the Blue Yeti (has lots of features like bi and omni directional voice capture), The Blue Snowball (very affordable but lacks some features obviously), Audio Technica At2020 (more than Snowball in price but also very good).

There's more like Samson C01U mic and so on. A Quick Amazon, Youtube, Cnet, etc search will put you in the write direction in regards to price. Personally I just purchased the Blue Yeti(Not the Pro version) for my first microphone. I tried it in school and I was really blown at the quality, plus its under $115 with shipping from Amazon.

As for the recording Software theres loads of options but Audacity is great for beginners(I use it actually). There's others like Garage Band(Mac) , Podcast Producer, and so on.

For hosting, Google will be your favorite friend because there are alot of good choices to choose from to start out, then I'd probably host on Itunes or a service similar once you expanded your fanbase!

Great luck!

Other people, I imagine.

@ApeGantz: Thank you for an actual answer

Interesting material.

In all honesty I was at Guitar Center last month and they sell Podcast Start Up Kits.  I am really curious about what kind of podcast you want to do. 

@Twitchey said:

You'll need an audience.

This seems pretty key. Most popular podcasts got that way because they have a built-in audience, either because the people do something else that makes them notable already (create something, commentate on something, or generally be in charge of something professional or non-profit), or because the podcast itself is actually just a popular radio show (This American Life, Radiolab, etc.). Though I have to imagine that by this point, the number of people who actually listen to those on the radio is embarrassingly small compared to the number of people who listen to the podcast.

To the best of my knowledge, not a lot of podcasts attract tons of listeners purely by virtue of the banter itself, though it's certainly possible. So hopefully SwirlinDervish is already a somebody, and not a bum.

By the way, any word on the Vinny Caravella & Mr. Caravella podcast that was mentioned sometime early last year?

It's embarrassing how most of the responders in this thread didn't even read the first post. He wants to know what gear he needs not what he needs to be good at podcasting.

I'm sorry I can't help you, I know nothing of audio but as mentioned earlier the Tested forums should be much more helpful.

Something that hasn't been mentioned, but may be important (especially if you eventually get popular enough): your own blog/website. Just a place where you can post updates and provide a place for you and your fans to communicate.

I know this isn't what you asked, but I hope it's not yet another gaming podcast.

Audience, charisma, courage and something that will make people pick your podcast over the hundreds available elsewhere.

What type of podcast if its a gaming podcast tryout a new formula instead the what youd been playing like the millions of podcast outthere

I have been podcasting for over 3 years

www.undercoverunitards.com

when the show started it sounded like garbage.. I used a rock band mic and my laptop

I have since spent close to if not over 2 grand on equipment.. and the show has changed so much from when it started it is totally not the same

I have gone thru 3 co hosts and cost friendships..

You must have great material, great topics.. great editing skills, and lots of time

would I start it knowing all this.. probably not

my best advice.. if you are serious.. get some friends together.. do not do a skype show!

make sure your friends are not pussies cause feelings will get hurt!

a fast computer, a nice DYNAMIC Mic... up to 4

good software.. and trust me.. Audacity is crap

a good mixer is a must... a Tube Pre amp or 2!

good headphones

a good space to record.. must be sound dead!.. do not have echo

Mic stands.. preferably boom stands

a headphone splitter amp

about 200 bux worth of cables

and an audience.. if you make a show like every other show.. who is going to listen?

avoid uhms.. don't have people on who can't speak.. aka mush mouths

have intelligent people who don't clam up when they speak

avoid people who talk over each other.. and for the love of god.. have everyone in the same room.. aka no skype!

best advice.. unless you have a lot of money and time.. just don't it is a cut throat heart breaking affair!

Kevin

An interest in your craft, to be interesting in general and able to articulate for thoughts. Also a Mic. And Skype, or something.

Edit: Snowball Mic, Goldwave (Free Audio Recording Equipment). You're pretty much done. Snowball Mic shouldn't cost more than 80 dollars.

This thread is over a year old...

I like 3 yr olds

@GS_Dan said:

http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/

That's pretty good, Day9 uses it if you know of/watch his Youtube channel.

100% agree. I don't think there's another microphone I'd suggest over this for amateur podcasting/ music recordings.

You'll need people to work off of, I wouldn't suggest going it alone. It's very difficult. So you'll need multiple microphones, if you want to do it right. You'll also probably need some sort of cheap mixer to pull those inputs in, unless you plan on something like Skyping the podcast which, I do not suggest, honestly. Unless you want to get everyone recording at their end and just use skype to make it a conversation, and then record locally and send everything to one local spot to sync everything up.

And for software, just look around at different options to see what you like. Audacity is the easiest to get, but honestly it's not a very friendly experience. It's ok, but it's not very good. Garage band would be a good bet for a beginner, but that's a Mac thing which could be an issue. It's also not fantastic, but it's more friendly to a new user in my opinion. Google is your friend! Try whatever has a trial, look at the features of those that don't, and make an educated decision.

There are a ton of hosting options, and again, I'd just google for "podcast hosting" and then check out and see which you like best. Better to find what seems like a good choice to you than just take some random stranger's word on the internet :3

I don't like to read... so if someone already gave you this idea... just give me the credit for it... I'm more awesome. Trust me.

Ok, time to help you out. Gear is easy. Webcam and microphone is a good start. A "good" computer is also a good start. Don't go crazy as far as the costs. If you give up or just don't reach the amount of people that you wanted you might end up spending all that money on nothing. Once you get the "hits" THEN think about upgrades. I don't know what the podcast will be about but if you are asking a gaming site then... I will say its about game. The more places you post it the better. I say a webcam for the idea of starting it on Twitch or YouTube. You don't need a lot of cam time but it can help. If you are only going to do "audio" (it is called a podcast... I know I know) then the recorded you use means more than the mic most of the time. High audio takes more space but might be a must. Oh and yes... Friends and guests. People that you work off well. A solo Podcast is called a "rant". (most of the time) I know I didn't give a lot of details... I'm tired of typing... If you "NEED" more help... let me know... Bestofluck.(Fthespacebaritslame)

@GS_Dan said:

http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/

That's pretty good, Day9 uses it if you know of/watch his Youtube channel.

I have one of these. Sound quality is excellent and the price is good too.

Don't forget to do a normalization pass on the podcast before you post it. Audacity has a really easy way to accomplish this and it will make sure the audio levels are even throughout the entire podcast.

EDIT:

@Chavtheworld said:

This thread is over a year old...

Oh fuck. How did I miss that? Did the OP ever make a podcast?

Something original to talk about. Nobody wants "Videogame Podcast #588" at this point.

Edit: Ah shit, should have looked at the second page.

@SwirlinDervish said:

I'm planning to start a podcast in the next couple weeks and I believe I need some gear, so I'm just wondering from anyone with experience what I need, and where I can find what I need?

I recommend using Podbean for hosting. You can still get a domain name, and even have a whole other website for your podcast, but I personally used Podbean to host.

Also, listen to other podcasts and try to figure out their structure. I personally preferred a structured approach where we had a series of sections (Gaming news, whatcha been playing, etc. Similar to the bombcast and talkradar). Also, you might record a 20 minute "warm up" podcast for your first show, so you can get used to the idea of recording/editing.

Listen to that recording, edit it, add an intro/outro. Whatever. Just listen to it, see if you'd improve anything, then do a real one. Also, I had a sound board where I would play our intro IN the studio, so that I could give everyone a starting off point. It's actually REALLY hard to just go "HELLO YOU'RE LISTENING TO RECYCLEBIN RADIO" without a song or something leading you in.

Cut the audio to the song when you start, and Edit the real thing in later.

EDIT: Just noticed someone Necro'd a thread. God dammit...

Well now that this have been brought up from the depths, i'm curious ... did you end up doing a podcast or not?

And that was the last we ever heard of OP. His head full of dreams and wishes, he ran off to start his podcast.....and never returned.

You'll need a good microphone, something interesting to say and people to say it with. One man shows tend to be boring. Be VERY selective with the people you choose, don't pick your best bro steven if he's unreliable and isn't entertaining at all. I suggest doing a test run or two and planning a formula before recording your first podcast. I once did a podcast and it only lasted 4 episodes because I made it with 4 friends, 1 of which didn't know ANYTHING about games so he was useless and another who dominated the conversation even though he was really bad at speaking (As in, he would take a minute to get a point across that it would take the average person 10 seconds to say.. very infuriating)

I couldn't kick them out because they were my friends so I just abandoned the whole project.

One man podcast? dont know how i feel about that.

Hi, my name is Captain Always-Over-A-Year-Late-With-Good-Advice. 
 
I'm.. "special"

NECRO PM TIME

Thanks guys. :P

Wait, you're back?! How did the podcast thing go?

Your equipment doesn't matter, much, when you're just starting out. Later on, you'll need to do some actual research (meaning, not going to a video game community and randomly asking) and get yourself one or more decent mics (preferably a Heil PR-40) and a mixing board. If you plan to handle calls or live call-ins and live streaming, it will become significantly more complex and expensive. Otherwise, you'll want to plan on a lot of time in post-editing and production. Doing live streaming will require decent upward bandwidth and finding a quality streaming provider that won't break the bank and will offer you as many possible simultaneous streams as you need can be difficult. This area is filled with shady fuckers that promise more than they deliver -- however, it's often better than the option of setting up an icecast server of your own and running everything locally (which also then demands outbound bandwidth in multiples of the number of maximum simultaneous streaming listeners you might plan on). Live365 is decently affordable and they also have a facility for paying your ASCAP and BMI royalties (every podcaster that plans on using music in any form is going to need to perform ASCAP/BMI auditing and accounting). The call-ins will be best handled by Skype, but how you tie that into your stream and recording will depend on what OS you're going to be working on. There are a number of streamcasting applications on the production side that you can check out to see which is most preferable for your price and situation. This is what will tie all your sources together as well as produce the upstream feed that goes to your streaming relay service (such as Live365).

However, the single most important thing to get off the ground is FIND A NICHE. For fuck's sake, no more video game podcasts. No more "durp durp I'm a comedian for a living, so I'mma do me a podcast!" and no more "I'm the 9,047th guy to start a movie review podcast!". Find something that has a demand, but nobody servicing it.

Then again, finding that niche is the key to absolutely any endeavor you set out on. Doing what everyone else is doing (with more money, experience, and resources, usually) is futile.

If you want to do it right, a few mics, pop screens, an audio interface of some kind, and some type of program to record multiple tracks with. A mixer wouldn't be a bad idea either, but most DAWs have everything you would need right in the software.

The real question is, how much do you want to spend on this? Even the most basic setup is probably going to cost a few hundred bucks assuming you don't already have some of that stuff already.

Dont use Podbean.. it is 10 bux a month

and you will never get your feed back

Talkshoe is free as long as your show is under 100mb per episode

so that is 2 hours and 25 mins per show max.. at 96kps

a mixer is a must... must must

also you can get a nice mic off amazon for 30 bux.. GLS ES 58 a knock off of the Shure SM58.. but a great mic