Audio equipment for podcasts

Hi all

I recently spent quite some time and effort researching recording equipment, which I knew absolutely nothing about before, for doing podcasts etc.

I thought I'd post a quick summary, a very non technical summary, for any others who might be on the same quest.

I ended up going for a desktop mic, a condensor mic. It turned up today and I am over the moon!!! I usually have all sorts of problems with what (I found) are termed "plosives", that P sound that can often trip up the little mics ... well, they are now a thing of the past for me.

My only surprise was that this setup is a lot larger than I thought from the pics, and heavyier, not that it matters, but it does give a really nice solid feel to things. I feel like a radio host now. I'd better keep that hidden or people will be expecting that level of banter, which I am certainly not up to.

There were also two directions in mic format (probably not the right term) in that I could go for a USB mic, or a standard input type mic that you ran through a control box, with all sorts of knobs to turn to do mixing and stuff like that. My findings for that were that the ones with the little mixing panels would be great if you are trying to record your voice at the same time as an instrument but if you just want to record your voice then the USB was better.

Why? Well, I decided better as with all those knobs, and me not knowing about sound mixing, I was doubtless going to get things messed up as there were too many choices (no comments about playing with knobs, thank you).

KISS - Keep It Simple

So, I ended up with a USB mic, on a desk stand, with a screen thing to protect it from the plosives and a shockmount (see photo up the top). I couldn't find what I wanted locally so ended up purchasing on eBay from The Pro Audio Guys. Amazing service, as a friend and I both wanted this setup they gave me a discount for the double purchase and also combined shipping, they even had to put up a special eBay auction for it just for me with a special price. Yes, it's a small plug for them, I have no association with them at all, I am just saying I found them excellent to deal with in case someone finds themselves in the same position I was.

Oops, didn't mention the Mic .... it is a Samson C03U. One important thing about it, and doubtless other mics in this class, is it has 3 recording modes (which apparently make heaps of difference but I haven't actually tested it out ... 1) Recording from directly in front so it just catches your voice and ignores as much of the surrounding sounds as it can (perfect for a podcast) 2) It records from all directions around it (perfect for recording a room full of people) and 3) in a sort of figure-8 pattern (for recording you and a person you are interviewing).

So, if you are looking to buy an audio setup which will give you really great audio quality, at a price I admit but it is not horrendous compared to what you can spend, then I honestly could not recommend this mic any higher.

Just thought I'd maybe save some people some research, or at least add my thoughts to their research, if they go mic hunting.

Simon