Podcast Gear Configuration Quesion

Greetings All:

This is my first post on this forum, so go easy on me  

I am in the progress assembling a home audio studio to create podcasts. I need the audio quality to be be top-notch, as the listening audience I'll be targeting demands it. When a person listen's to my podcast, the goal is it to sound like it is being heard via FM radio. Crisp, clear, and robust.

Last week I purchased AA 2.0 and have been getting myself up to speed (I've used Cool Edit 2000 for years).

Here is the hardware that I plan on using:

--Beyerdynamic DT290 mic/headset combo.
--Alesis MultiMix 8USB
--JK Audio Broadcast Host Desktop Digital Hybrid

My question is this, should I run my mic through a pre-amp/limiter before connecting it to my mixer OR should I rely on AA for limiting and amplitude adjustments?

I realize that Alesis MultiMix 8USB has pre-amps built into several channels, but it does not offer a limiting function.

Any ideas or suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Bernhime

Welcome to the forum.

There will be considerable advantages to using Audition to do the mic signal processing - you will not be doing it 'blind' for a start, and you will get rather more options available to you with a software processor than you ever will with a hardware one. And if you don't like the sound of it, you can do it again - an option you never get with hardware!

In a controlled situation, there is no advantage to be gained from a hardware comp/lim at all. This is slightly different in a live situation where you don't know exactly what's coming in on a mic feed, and  having a limiter on the channel output can sometimes prevent the occasional overload whilst still keeping the level up.

I have to say also that I have some grave doubts about the effectiveness of using a headset combo mic for good FM-equivalent quality. Ever wondered why you don't see jocks using them in radio stations? When it says 'for broadcasting applications' in the blurb, it means just that - but the application it has in mind is more like remote comms feedback, not normal   on-air work. The mics in those headsets are very directional noise-cancelling mics with a restricted frequency range, and they really don't sound too great at all. If you want some idea of what the quality is like, try listening to the reports from traffic spotter planes - this is the sort of app they are meant for, not studio broadcasting.

However, I did notice that last year's Wimbledon commentators all used head mounted mics. So I think there are some decent headset mics available now.

However, I did notice that last year's Wimbledon commentators all used head mounted mics. So I think there are some decent headset mics available now.

Yes there are - but you have to pick the ones that use the 'live performance' mics like the ones those girl band performers who prance about use.

Thank you both for your replies -- I think I'm going to like this place!

For the sake of clarity, I figured I'd post a link to the two mics I'm considering. Both have been recommended to me by someone who does a nightly FM radio show that is broadcast in several states and on both of the satellite radio systems.

Here is a link that describes the BeyerDynamic DT290

This is the mic the he uses for in studio guests.

The main mic that he uses is the Sony Crown cm312A

He loves this make and his sound is AWESOME.

It costs around $400 bucks - $300 for the mic and an additional $100 for the Sony headphones. This is a condenser mic, as opposed to the Beyer which is dynamic, so one would assume the audio quality is better.

The reason I want to headset mic is that I will be looking at two computer monitors and don't want to have to worry about "working" a stationary mic.

Once I make a final decision, I'll let you all know.

Regards,

Bernhime

Well, if you are happy with the sound of headset mics, that's fine.

The reason I want to headset mic is that I will be looking at two computer monitors and don't want to have to worry about "working" a stationary mic.

Most station jocks use a single mic, and usually have 3-4 monitors, a desk, stuff to load and play out, and guests to deal with - and a mic on a boom that they can swivel and position exactly where they want it. If you position everything around you carefully, it's not a problem at all - and you invariably get a much better sound from a mic that's not being swung about everywhere all of the time, and not compromised by the acoustical reworking necessary for the noise cancellation to work - but as I said, it's up to you...

Although I'd never put one on a guest.

Yes there are - but you have to pick the ones that use the 'live performance' mics like the ones those girl band performers who prance about use.

. . . while the woman, descending upside down from the ceiling, might be singing something into the headset it is unlikely that anyone in the audience is expected to hear it

I do some remote conversational audio and while, perhaps needless to mention, gear tends to be controlled by contingencies of circumstance (interviewing a sandbagger in the middle of a hurricane requires a different set up then a brunch conversation about Proust) . . . internet/sat radio present possibilities of fidelity slightly better then broadcast TV, even TV is abandoning days of on 3 in. speaker for AM sound.  In field to reduce clutter I frequently use a clip on lavalier, but try to employ a facsimile of an anchored mic for the second, guest voice.  Reasoning is that I can always steal a play from reality TV, write the 'script' after the fact and re-record my own voice.  

If you like the headsets, that is ultimately what counts, but it is a bit easier to gain facility with mobile recording of mobile sources from stationary foundation experience. . . it also provides a benchmark at which to aim any 'post' clean up

There are times I've used individual mini-disc recorders, one for each actor, on low rent vid shoots . . . but these recordings are never intended as a 'finished' item . . . they are time, ambiance, emotional reference . . . things we actually want a audience to understand we tend to dub in post.  Now with the right mic, soundman, dolly boom, M/S micpre etc. you can reduce effort in post . . . but perhaps you get the point . . . to get what is gradually becoming expected fidelity you either expend time, effort, money up front or time, effort, money to clean stuff up

good luck

Yes there are - but you have to pick the ones that use the 'live performance' mics like the ones those girl band performers who prance about use.

. . . while the woman, descending upside down from the ceiling, might be singing something into the headset it is unlikely that anyone in the audience is expected to hear it

Hehe! I think that they're expected to hear it - but understanding and appreciating it is a whole different ball-game...