And don’t even get me started on murder podcasts- they’re everywhere. Or a podcast that talks about podcasts? You think I’m kidding, but they exist. One where the actors on your favorite show talk about the show? They’re out there.

In the same way that MP3 players took over in the aughts, podcasts have worked themselves into our daily routines.Īpart from being free, the podcast landscape has spread to cover just about any niche, topic, or idea. Podcasts are the new way to kill time on the train-or while you’re driving, doing dishes, or taking care of anything that requires minimal mental interaction. Want to record and edit a podcast? You’ll need a Digital Audio Workstation, but with so many options, you’ll have to shop around first. If the final track sounds too loud, tweak this.Professional, affordable, and easy to use, here’s a list of popular recording and editing software for your next podcast. Normalize adjusts the volume center around the loudest peak.Default settings are generally good, usually just need to tweak the threshold. Compressor adjusts volume up and down to be more consistently in the middle.This is ideal listening volume (corresponds to about -6db final volume). After Amplify you want the light blue part of the track (RSM) to be at exactly -0.5 and 0.5. Normalize -1db (this should ALWAYS be your last step).Use the Envelope tool to soften music volume.If background noise is getting amplified, you need to raise the noise floor. To set the perfect threshold, listen to 30 seconds of your softest track while watching the dB meter. Threshold needs to go lower (more negative) if the resulting track is jumping to different volumes. Compressor = Threshold -24db, Noise Floor -50db, Ratio 3:1, Attack Time 0.2s, Release Time 1.0s, check both 'Make up gain' and 'Compress based on peaks'.Equalization 200Hz 6db boost, 4,000MHz -3db loss.Reduces low hums (like a fridge) and gravely voice grumbles. Reduces 'Ssssss' and other high pitched sounds. Low Pass Filter 10,000Hz 24 db roll off.(Low Pass and High Pass should happen AFTER the Compressor) Save this copy to Google Drive, or another backup spot.

Save the Project BEFORE recording live :D (prevents quality issues).

Play it back and tweak levels until it sounds good 60% speaker volume.

so just settle for as close as you can get, without the bars going off the scale :) You want the lighter part of the meter bar (the green or red bar at the top) to bounce between -12db and -6db while people are talking.

Do a sound check, record everyone in the room speaking.

Ensure you're recording in 16-bit PCM + 44100Hz.

Using audacity for podcasts