I mentioned last year about some of the key elements when you set up a podcast. I was on a session yesterday and realised how much people don’t know about starting a podcast. To try and help, this is the first in an occasional series which I hope will help.

Microphones can be expensive and you DO get what you pay for. However, it’s easy to spend lots on a microphone which doesn’t sound great. The tone, frequency, echo, pickup patterns, and design are all factors in this and it’s easy to pick a new mic based on how they look. But what are your options?

I would strongly suggest avoid recording using your airpods. They’re not designed for great speech and rarely work well in a recording. They do work as a good output but use a different mic.

Your laptop has a microphone but rarely sound great either. It just needs the fan to start and there will be a low whine in your recordings. Your laptop mic is also a bit far from your mouth and will likely pick up lots of room noise.

Your mobile phone has a better microphone and can be used as a recording device. These are great when recording on the move and don’t want to buy a specialist device. Remember to point it at your mouth and the speaker’s when they’re speaking. It’s also worth checking to see if you can use your phone as a microphone with your laptop.

A computer headset with a boom mic can work well when recording. Make sure the boom is not in front of your mouth but a couple of centimetres above it. This prevents ‘plosives’ – the sound of air hitting the mic when we use lots of P and B sounds. It’s also worth checking you can make the mic louder and softer too.

There are thousands of other mics on the market. A quick search on Amazon for podcast mic brings up over a thousand results. It’s easy to spend hundreds of pounds on equipment and everyone’s use case is different. As a result, I find it difficult to recommend a microphone. Your experience, budget, proposed use, portability, etc all come into play when choosing.

If you do want some help, please get in touch.