Behind the Scenes: Home Recording Equipment
As you can see in the photo, there’s more to recording a podcast than just using a microphone. Here’s a list of all the things I use for recording at home. Just to let you know, the pictures have Amazon affiliate links in them, so I may receive a small commission if you end up clicking on any of these products.
Microphone
Obviously, you do need a microphone. I recommend not buying one you plug straight into the microphone jack of your computer, because computers get really noisy inside. So, use a USB microphone like this one instead. The good thing about this one is it has a USB connection so you can plug it into your computer, but it also has an XLR connection so you can plug it into a mixer if you decide to buy one later. It also has an audio jack, so you can plug your headphones in and monitor your microphone directly.
Boom Arm
If you hold your microphone in your hand, it’s going to pick up a lot of noise from your movements. Although some microphones do come with a little tripod desktop stand, putting on your desk means it will be too far away from you to pick up your voice well. What you need is a boom arm, so you can put your microphone near your face when you’re talking. It adjusts to the right height while you’re sitting down and can be folded away when you’re not recording.
Shock Mount
Next, you need a shock mount. This isolates your microphone from any sounds that may travel along the boom arm, so there won’t be any banging sounds if you accidentally hit your desk. As you can see in the picture, it does this by holding your microphone in a kind of web of bungee cords. It’s a shock absorber for podcasters.
Pop Filter
The last thing you attach to your boom arm is a pop filter. This goes between you and the microphone and reduces the impact of any plosive (“p” or “b”) sounds you make, which are very common if you happen to be pleading for people to provide their opinions of your podcast on Apple Podcasts (go on, you know you want to).
Headphones
Finally, you need a good pair of headphones, both for recording and editing. When you’re recording an interview, they prevent sound from your guests being picked up by your microphone, which would make it difficult to separate the tracks later. You also need them for editing, to really listen out for any extraneous noise that might bother your listeners. Look for “monitor” or “studio” headphones like the ones above, which reproduce sounds more faithfully than those that are just for listening to music.
