To purchase any of the following equipment or to get a quote on a custom package, please email me at Cliff@gspn.tv or call 859-620-2644.
Many People have asked me to assemble a list of equipment that I currently use for the various gspn.tv productions. Here’s my list of current equipment.
I would like you to know that I am an authorized reseller for a major online professional audio retailer. If you are interested in making a purchase of audio equipment, please consider contacting me to get a quote for your next purchase. Because my overhead is so low, I’m often able to sell equipment at unbeatable prices! Just contact me via email at Cliff@BitCastMedia.com.
Heil PR-40 Microphone
I’ve been a huge fan of Leo Leporte from way back in the ZDTV days. I had the honor of speaking with Leo personally early on into my podcasting career. At the time, I was in the market for my first major purchase in my equipment upgrade. I had explained to Leo that I had a few hundred dollars to spend toward upgrading my podcasting gear to a professional level and asked him where he would suggest I spend the money first. Without hesitation, Leo told me to immediately go out and get the Heil PR-40 microphone. (Note, Leo’s been in radio broadcasting for more than 30 years)
That’s exactly what I did. I was blown away by the amazing sound that comes out of the Heil PR-40. You may be shocked to learn that it is a dynamic microphone. In fact, in studies, the Heil PR-40 outperforms most condenser microphones. I liked mine so much that I went out shortly after that to purchase Stephanie her own Heil PR-40. Contact me directly if you are interested in purchasing a Heil microphone. I can assure you that you will not pay less anywhere for this microphone.
I did a review of the Heil PR-40 in Episode 46 of the Podcast Answer Man.
Behringer Xenyx 1222FX Audio Mixer
Often people will ask me what I recommend regarding a decent usb microphone for their podcasting efforts. My initial response is simply to tell them not to purchase a usb microphone. One major reason is that it limits your to recording straight into your computer. I find there are a number of issues with recording into your computer directly. However, this is an equipment list, not an audio recording tutorial page.
When I first chose to get an audio mixer, there were two main benefits that I was going for. First, I wanted to be able to record with as many as two to three people in a panel discussion. With this audio mixer, I can easily plug in as many as six microphones with your standard XLR connectors.
The second benefit that I was going for was being able to bring audio from multiple sources into the audio recording to reduce the amount of post production. I currently run audio from two different computers into my live recordings. One computer is used to play audio intros, bumpers, and various other clips such as listener feedback. The second computer is used to bring in co-hosts or folks that I am interviewing via Skype. This leads me to the next benefit another benefit of having a mixer.
If your mixer has an “Aux Out” Channel, it allows you to do a mix-minus on the audio signal from any of the channels that you choose. A mix-minus is a particular setup where the output to a certain device contains everything except the input from that device. This prevents echoes or feedback from reverberating or howling and squealing through the system.
I also have one more source of audio coming into my mixer for telephone calls, but I’ll talk more about that in a future piece of audio equipment. People often ask how I am able to produce as many as ten podcast episodes per week. I’m able to do this because of all the software and equipment that I use, but it is the mixer that brings all this stuff together into one signal that can be recorded live without the need to go in and add anything thing in post production. I believe an audio mixer is an absolute must!
I did a Video Podcast about how I use my mixer and what a Mix Minus is in Episode 39 of the Podcast Answer Man.
If you are in the market for a mixer, get in touch with me and let’s discuss which one might work best for you! My email is Cliff@BitCastMedia.com.
JK Audio Boadcast Host
The JK Audio Broadcast Host is another piece of equipment that I ordered based upon the recommendation of Leo Leporte. I wanted to do live, interactive podcasts and found that there were limitations to the number of people I could bring into my shows with Skype. There were, however, a number of solutions available for free conference calling. With the Broadcast Host, I can use my studio telephone line to dial into one of these free conference calling telephone bridges. When my listeners call into the same conference call, their voice travels down the phone line, into my broadcast host and then into my audio mixer mentioned above.
Using the aux output with a mix-minus setup mentioned in the mixer section above, I’m able to send all the audio from my microphones and audio inputs from my computers back out of my mixer into the broadcast host and back down the telephone line for all those dialed in to hear.
Another benefit of having the broadcast host is that there are times when I will want to interview someone who is not tech savvy enough to figure out skype. Rather than try a skype out solution, I can simply have them call my studio line or I can dial them directly from my studio and record the call this way.
In my career as podcast consultant, I’m doing a bit of consulting for folks who come from traditional radio broadcasting backgrounds. I can tell you that many radio stations use this exact same telephone interface to bring in live callers.
Edirol R-09 Digital Audio Recorder
If there was one piece of recording equipment that I could not live without, it is the Edirol R-09 portable digital recorder. I can not begin to tell you just how much this small device means to me. It is small enough to fit into your pocket, it records directly into either .wav or .mp3 format at various audio quality levels which you can choose through navigating the very easy to use menu.
It is entirely possible that one could produce a podcast with this single piece of audio equipment. I often will take this recorder with me everywhere I go. It’s perfect for sound seeing tours with it’s two on board condenser mics which record in an unbelievable stereo sound that makes you feel as though you are right there with the person who is recording the sound seeing tour. It’s also great for a face to face interview. I’ll often set the edirol r-09 on a desk or table between myself and the person I’m interviewing and record our interview without the need to lug any additional recording gear along with me.
More importantly to me, I use the Edirol R-09 for every single podcast that I record. Rather than using a computer to record my audio, which often times will bring in some noise from the computer itself into the recording, I take the audio output from my mixer and put in directly into the line in input of the Edirol R-09 unit. This produces a crisp, clean, and clear recording every single time. No more hours spent trying to use audio editing software to reduce the noise table of my in studio recordings.
Sony MDR-V150 Dynamic Stereo Headphones
It’s no surprise that I like to hear myself talk. However, I will tell you that finding a pair of comfortable headphones is not as easy as one might thing. It took me three tries before I found these Sony headphones. I’m wearing my headphones for as much as 20 to 30 hours a week. Many of the other brands of over the ear headphones caused a fair amount of pain as if they were bruising my earlobes.
I was shocked to find these headphones at my local bix box retail stores and that they were only $19.99 a piece. They are very comfortable and extremely lightweight, yet at the same time, they provide a very clear and deep range of audio. I strongly suggest that you find a place to pick yourself up a pair of these headphones!
ROLLS HA43 Headphone Amplifier
Originally, I was using a very inexpensive headphones splitter cable like the one picture above and to the right. The only issue with this setup was that I like my audio a bit louder than my wife does. The Rolls HA43 Headphone Amplifier allows me to share the headphone signal with up to four people. The nice thing is that each of the four people get to adjust the volume level to their own preference.
If you are recording with multiple people, I highly suggest this piece of equipment. I must admit to you that after one year’s use of this unit, one of the channel seems to have developed some sort of defect as the audio from it seems to be a bit distorted. I thought I had blown the speakers in my headphones at first, but when I plug into one of the other channels, it works just fine. The unit still does what I need it to do through the other three channels and it inexpensive enough to replace if necessary down the road.
LUXO Heavy Duty Mic Arm LM-1-3
When you have as much equipment in your studio as we do, the last thing you want to do is try to find some way to place a table top mic stand or a try to set up a standard tri-pod mic stand to reach to you without having it tip over and damage your professional quality microphone.
This is why we upgraded to the the microphone arms pictured here. It’s really nice to be able to simply push your microphone off to the side and bring it back just where you want it with as much ease as a mic arm allows. One thing to note when you are purchasing a mic arm is that you will also need to purchase a base mount to attach the arm to. They are sold separately because you can either get a a table mount, a wall mount, or a c-clamp mount. We use the c-clamp mount which is mounted to a piece of wood that is mounted to a foundation wall in our studio. If you purchase the table top mount, you MUST GET A SHOCK MOUNT for your microphone!!!! See next item!
Heil Shock mount SM-2 for the Heil PR-40 Microphone
I can tell you that having a shock mount for your microphone is very important if you are using a table top mic stand or if your microphone is any way supported by something that vibrates or moves in any way shape or form during the recording of your show. Our microphone arms are mounted to the wall in our studio. However, we still find that we like to adjust the position of the mic arm as we record and it is less noticeable in our recordings since we added this shock mount.
VAC-PR40 Popless Screen Filter
This pop-filter was made specifically for the Heil PR-40 microphone WITH the Heil SM-2 Shock Mount. I’ve tried the less expensive pop filters before making the plunge to purchase the one made specifically for my Heil PR-40. The other ones are big and bulky and this pop filter is very low profile and simply looks beautiful.
You simply MUST have a pop-filter of some sort in front of your microphone if you want decent sound without all the popping of your “p’s.” You can find less expensive pop filters out there, but I can attest to the fact that they are big, heavy, clumsy and they simply get in your way.
EXTRA ITEMS!
One of the things I love about being a podcast consultant is that I can take the average learning curve of the new podcaster from three weeks down to approximately three to four hours as far as the initial setup is concerned. I recall buying all my equipment in pieces, waiting for days for each new item to arrive either on the Fed-Ex or UPS truck, only to realize that once I go to pull it out of the box, I need to run to the store to go buy either another cable or adapter for this or that.
Above are two items that I’ve learned to stock up on. I have about ten of the rca to 1/4 inch male audio adapters. These are necessary to plug into my mixer for the audio inputs from the different audio devices I want to plug into the board. I get these adapters because I typically always have the other item showing above laying around somewhere. The other item is a standard 1/8 inch stereo plug that you would plug into the speaker output of your computer’s sound card or the headphones output of another device on one end. The other end has two rca male plugs. You simply plug the rca plugs into the adapters shown and plug those into the left and right channel on one of the channels of your mixer and you are good to go!
I have quite a few other items laying around here in the studio. However, everything I use on a day by day bases is listed here for the most part. I may come back later and add more items as well as include some of the software applications that I use for my audio productions.
If you find yourself in the market for a purchase of audio equipment, please do contact me as I am a reseller for a very popular online pro-audio gear site and I’m able to get discounted prices below what you see advertised on the rest of the web. Besides, this would be yet another way to support what I’m doing here through gspn.tv.
