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The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it . It ’s a rare sensitive that ’s nearly as promiscuous to make as it is to exhaust . And as such , no two mass do it exactly the same way . There are a wealth of hardware and computer software solutions candid to potential podcasters , so setups escape the gamut from NPR studio apartment to USB Skype rigs ( the latter of which became a kind of nonpayment during the pandemic ) .
This week , Alex Goldman shares his setup . A former producer for WNYC ’s On the Media , Goldman co - founded Reply All in 2014 . The wildly popular Gimlet podcast explore how the internet shapes us — and vice versa . A decade later , Goldman is back with Radiotopia’sHyperfixed , a “ help desk for life ’s most intractable problem , ” which he produce from the comfort of his podcasting basement . Here ’s Goldman in his own give-and-take :
“ Since the beginning of the pandemic , so much of podcasting is in reality done remotely , so you have to make a little space in your house where it ’s well-off to do it . Mine is a small 8×8 room in the basement of my flat , and it ’s amazingly informal . So when you listen tomy young podcast Hyperfixedfull of hope , helpfulness , and risky venture , know it ’s amount from this overrefinement closet .
“ I have in mind , certainly , it look likethe cabin in “ malefic Dead,”but all the gear being on in here keeps it nice and toasty liken to the rest of the basement , and I like to think I ’ve made it my own to a certain degree .
“ railroad engineer act like prepping a way to record is difficult , but really it ’s about making indisputable there is n’t too much open space or operose aerofoil for sound to reflect off of . The more cluttered a room , the better prepped it is to record .
“ That ’s why I have this jumbo Black Sabbath Vol . 4 wall flag . Behind the signal flag is a wool blanket I ’ve hung on some nails to keep the spot sounding well , and I just want something I ’d like looking at . Because that album is so good . “ change ” ? “ Snowblind ” ? Oh my god . To the remaining and proper of my desk are sound baffle that minimize echo , and then all the other filth I ’ve fill my office with helps to keep echo down as well .
“ I started in public radio , which mean that I learned audio editing on Pro Tools , a program that remains the industry standard despite being the most expensive , overwhelm , buggy program available to audio editors . fortuitously they have recently started to offer a $ 10 a month permit instead of buying a license outright for $ 599 like the old days .
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“ My mic is a Shure SM7B , which has been the public radio criterion for 20 yr , and a mic that , once you get it on its profile , you will see everywhere . I even saw Metallica ’s James Hetfield barking into one of late during a rewatch of “ Some Kind of Monster . ” For audio interfaces , I have a Focusrite 2i2 and a Focusrite 18i8 ; the former is fundamentally the short brother of the latter . I like the 18i8 because it is very utile for recording like a shot off your desktop , but the 2i2 does n’t need to be plugged into the wall , which just makes it easier to use .
“ The euphony for the show is made by eitherThe Mysterious Breakmaster Cylinderor myself . I am a very , very amateur player , but it ’s pretty light , and to do that I most often use the Sequential Circuits Prophet 6 Synthesizer . It ’s based on a synth from the former ’ 80s ( named , think it or not , the Prophet 5 ) that was used by folk like Gary Numan , The Cars , and Soft Cell , and it ’s just unacceptable to make a bad sound with it . If I need great self-aggrandising rich synth freshwater bass or passing stocky synth leads , I practice the Moog Matriarch , a more temperamental but still really wonderful and versatile synth .
“ For metal drum audio , I mostly be given to use stock drums from Ableton , but I also have a mates of samplers and drum machines ( the Erica Synths LXR-02 and the SOMA Pulsar-23 ) that I like making little broken beatniks with . I recorded an record album a couple years back under the nameSlow fawn , and I have been have it off to cannibalize those fill in songs for medicine cue on podcasts as well .
“ Also I ’d be remiss if I did n’t address the elephant in the room , or the rubber eraser glove in the room , as it were . When I initiate engage this flat , this room was full of a previous tenant ’s detritus , and I draw it all out and set everything up before I comment the rubber glove on the storey there , just to the right wing of my synthesiser . At this point it ’s so much a part of the room decor , I barely even notice it . ”
- We ’ve previously asked others of our favorite podcast host and producer to spotlight their workflows — the equipment and software they use to get the task done . The list so far include :
