It's Thursday, darn it, and today is podcast day. Yeah, I said on Thursdays we were going to talk about how to make a podcast. So that's what we're going to talk about today, is how to make a podcast. Now, I can't teach you everything in a 7-10 minute podcast.
I just can't. But we're going to pick up on a little thing, and today it's going to be microphone selection. And I'm going to kind of even get a little bit closer on that. Let's see what we do.
Welcome to The Daily Grateful. I'm Michael Kroos, and I'm getting used to all of this new equipment. I'm using something called a Rodecaster Pro, what do they call this thing? A Rodecaster Duo, which is a baby Rodecaster Pro.
It has all of the same stuff that a Rodecaster Pro has in it, except it has two less places for microphones. It does all this other stuff. You know, I can push a button here, and I can get sounds. That's crickets.
What's this one? I don't even know. Let's see. Oh, that's a scratching record.
What's this one? Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, and then you go on forever.
But anyway, today we're going to talk about microphones. And what is a good microphone to make your podcast with? Well, here's what I learned. I've been doing this for a while now, all right?
I've been working in audio for, oh gosh, close to 40 years. That's a damn long time. And I've learned so much. Probably my favorite microphone ever is the one that I'm talking into now.
I used to have a really big, you know, really big broadcast microphone that I loved. I used it for years and years and years. I still have it. It's in the other room.
It's a Shure RE20. It's the same one that Rush Limbaugh used to use. And a bunch of everything. It's the standard of radio.
And I went to a convention, I don't know, four or five years ago. And they had every microphone in the world there with headphones. And you could test them all out. And I said, I want to do that.
And I found this microphone made by Rode. And it's called the Rode Procaster microphone. And I like it a lot. They then came out with a, not terribly long after that.
And I bought it. I think it was like $220. But by the time you buy all the stuff that goes with it, you're spending about $300. And so I did that.
And I've fallen in love with this microphone. I've been using it ever since. They've come out with another one not long after that called the PodMic. And it was only $99.
I could have that one sitting on the desk right over there. I could not believe how good that microphone is for $99. And this company, Rode, makes it. Well, here's what I've learned.
You know, Apple is Apple. You know, if you want a phone, you want to go to Apple. You want a computer, you want to go to Apple. Well, the Apple of audio equipment is Rode.
And it's an Australian company. And I was talking about the PodMic, the $99 PodMic. And this one here that I've got, they've got a bunch of other microphones, different types. Well, they got a new one out.
And it's the new PodMic USB. Now, why is this important? If you're going to start a podcast, you're probably going to start a podcast without an audio interface. You're probably going to want to go directly into your computer.
It's going to save you a lot of money. You can buy the $99. Well, you can't buy the $99 PodMic because that is what we call an XLR microphone. You've got to plug it into something like I have sitting on my desk.
You can't plug it directly into your computer. And the other microphones that are out there that are available to plug directly into your computer, I don't recommend very many of them. And the one that I used to recommend, it's kind of dated now. It still sounds pretty good.
It's only like $70. But if you're going to be a podcaster, might I suggest that you put your foot forward and do it right to start with and get the PodMic USB. And by the way, this is not sponsored. I'm not getting any money for this.
There's nothing happening there, okay? But this microphone is $199. And it comes with everything. Now, here's what's good about it.
You see how good this microphone sounds? This microphone sounds pretty good. That microphone, I played with one in January over in Orlando. I think that $199 microphone sounds better than this $220, $300 microphone by the time to get done buying everything.
And the $199, that's all I got to spend. You get that and you got that microphone. And I think it sounds better than this one. Now, I've only played with it for about 20 minutes and I fell in love with the sound.
And then I noticed I was watching Dave Jackson, very popular, super-duper podcaster, the school of podcasting. And it's just great. And I noticed that he was using the PodMic USB. And he used to have that real expensive Shure, you know, SM7B that everybody has and everybody loves that Michael Jackson recorded Thriller with.
I'm going to roll here. And he had that and he stopped using it. And he's using the PodMic USB. And I called him up and I said, Dave, what's up with that?
And he goes, I love it. He goes, it just captures my voice so, you know, wonderfully. And I thought the same thing. Although I think this microphone captures my voice really wonderfully.
But when I played with that one, I said, oh, what is it about this? And here's the fun thing. You can plug it directly into your computer. And when you grow, and you will grow, if you're going to do this, it also has an XLR connection.
So you can plug the XLR version. It also comes, like this microphone, I paid $220. Then I had to get a windscreen for it. Okay, the little foam rubber windscreen.
That was like $50. And then I had to get the thing that you hang it on, you know, and that was like $65. I spent a bunch of money on all this stuff. With the PodMic, it just comes with everything that you need in the box.
It comes with a windscreen that you can add if you want to, and I would. And it is just, it sounds wonderful. It sounds wonderful going directly into your computer. And when you move up to an audio interface, it sounds wonderful with the audio interface.
It is just that good. I like it that much. So that is my suggestion to you, is to go with that. And I think you will be happy with it.
I really think you will be happy with it. So, you know, something to think about. Maybe we should talk about microphone technique a little bit. Because I was talking with Dr.
Gary Cott, who has a podcast that I would highly recommend if you are a female and you're into being nude in the woods. I know it sounds strange. But Carrie is, like, really into this, and she's very serious about it. She just got a PodMic, by the way.
She just got a PodMic USB. God bless her, you know. But she called me up and said, well, how do I use this thing? Here's how you use any microphone.
Any microphone. You don't speak into the front of it like this, okay? You have it about, you take your hand, and you put your hand up to the microphone, and your lips need to be on the other side of your hand, if your hand is pointing straight out in front of you. That's about five inches.
And then you keep the microphone at an angle, okay? You put the microphone at an angle. Any microphone that you're using, you do this with. That way, you don't have to worry so much about the plosives when you say the P word all the time, or lots of Ps.
And you get a better sound of your voice doing it that way. So I learned that a long time ago. Don't talk into the front of the microphone. Talk on the side of the microphone, and it sounds better.
Did you notice how I did that? I talked into it. Anyway, that's my suggestion. And the PodMic USB is the suggested microphone to start with.
Yeah, $200, worth every nickel. If you're halfway serious about this, spend the money. There are cheaper microphones. I will encourage you not.
I will encourage you not, under any circumstances, to get a Blue Yeti microphone, okay? Friends, do not let friends podcast with Blue Yeti microphones. That's my personal opinion. Blue Yeti, if you're listening to me, don't get mad.
But it's just my opinion, all right? Don't sue me. I don't have any money. All right, tomorrow is going to be a peppy day.
We're going to talk about peppy stuff tomorrow, because it's Friday. And on my new thingy here, I don't have the little thingy that I played when I had the old thingy. I'll see if I can load that in here. Have a great day.
And if you're interested in podcasting, send me an email, michaelcrowse at gmail.com. I don't sell anything. We just talk about it. Talk to you later.
Okay, I should tell you that because I do not edit these podcasts, I made a mistake on this podcast. I goofed. I goofed at it. A little bit back, I was talking about microphones, and I was talking about the microphone I have in the other room that I used for years.
I have the RE20, and I mistakenly called it a Shure RE20. It's an electro voice. RE20. Don't get mad at me, please.
I appreciate that. I just don't edit. Okay, so here it is. But I did come back and correct my mistake.
Have a happy day. And, yeah, see you tomorrow.