Podcasting advice?

So I've been running a car podcast for a little while, both myself and my co-host record from our respective homes (he's in Cleveland and I'm in Reno, NV), and then we mix both tracks together. It works well, and we've done 23 episodes so far.

Today I picked up a second podcast, because I apparently have loads of time on my hands... This one is a stand up comedy podcast, because apparently there aren't enough of those out there...

So, in Reno, there are all kinds of really great underground comics that really deserve some recognition. In talking with the guy that runs the open mic night at a local micro brew/restaurant, we've agreed to start recording these open mic nights and releasing them as a weekly podcast. We will probably also do a weekly/biweekly comedy round table about the industry in general, our local scene, and local comics will just sit around and be funny (hopefully).

The question I have is in regards to recording. At home, I use a Blue Microphones 'Yeti' USB mic and I run it with Audacity. What is the best way to both record the comic's vocals as well as some of the ambient crowd laughter and mix it together? The open mic night is currently held in a room that gets sort of loud, and they have overhead speakers and a nice microphone and stand. What is the best way to retain that setup, but still record? If I just use an omnidirectional mic, will it pick up enough of the speaker audio, or will it be drowned out by the crowd?

If you're going to keep doing this, cut your losses and get rid of the Blues and the USB mic and get a real interface. I use one of these

http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i2

That way you can use actual XLR mics, and set your levels properly and not have to guess about USB mics that seem to change sensitivity all the damn time.

Seriously, $300 will get you the gear you need and you can probably recoup half of it selling the stuff you have.

Then if you want to record an open mic night, you can just take a patch off the board and run it into your interface and be done with it.

Actually, I was going to say exactly what JG did. I had the opportunity to work out of a professional studio and it drives me nuts to listen to E36 M3ty quality podcasts.

Other than that, if you can find a station manager to do all the work for you, you're golden.

+one on getting a real mic. To answer your question, I would ask the house audio guy if you can get a split (feed) from his board into your recorder. Then use your mic to record the crowd. Microphones have pickup patterns so get a mic hyper cardioid pattern. When you setup the mic be sure the back of it is pointed at the PA and front of the mic is pointed at the crowd. Then mix them together when you editing show. Yet remember that when you bring up the crowd mic you could also be bringing up the PA. Audio is all I have ever done for a living so feel free to PM me if you have questions.

And please don't think we're busting your hump or trying to big dog you. The nice thing is you aren't in so deep yet that you can't set yourself up in the right direction for a very small amount of money and INSTANTLY reap ease of use and quality benefits.

Any suggestions on a good mic that could be used for 'studio' audio and allows cardioid to record the crowd?

I'm going to the venue later this week to see what their audio setup is and how to integrate my system into theirs.

Thanks for the tips.

How are Podcasts doing in the digital realm? Are they growing in popularity? I personally don't listen to any, but I am certainly no bellwether. I assume you can track downloads similar to videos views?

pinchvalve wrote: How are Podcasts doing in the digital realm? Are they growing in popularity? I personally don't listen to any, but I am certainly no bellwether. I assume you can track downloads similar to videos views?

Yep. I host my podcast through shoutengine.com, and they have tracking of downloads. Our most popular episode had about 1000 listeners. They also give you the option to see demographics, so we know when we get a listener from Oslo, Norway. It's pretty cool.

I wish it was making me money instead of costing me money, though...

Good job getting hooked up with hooniverse. I haven't hit the back catalog but the few I've listened to were good content wise.

http://shoutengine.com/TheCammedandTubbedPodcast/

Maroon92 wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: How are Podcasts doing in the digital realm? Are they growing in popularity? I personally don't listen to any, but I am certainly no bellwether. I assume you can track downloads similar to videos views?

Yep. I host my podcast through shoutengine.com, and they have tracking of downloads. Our most popular episode had about 1000 listeners. They also give you the option to see demographics, so we know when we get a listener from Oslo, Norway. It's pretty cool. I wish it was making me money instead of costing me money, though...

That's pretty awesome. Congrats on cultivating it to that point.

The biggest issue with podcasts is that in this social media culture, everyone now thinks they're interesting and should thus have a podcast. As a result, the market is flooded.

I wonder how quickly the crap gets weeded out. I'd assume the half-assed podcasters get bored quickly or realize that it's a lot of work to come up with an hour of content regularly.