Podcasting is an audible medium! Meaning the most important part of your podcast, outside of the content that you're putting into it, is the sound quality. Therefore, the most IMPORTANT piece of equipment you need to consider when you’re trying to get the best quality sound for your podcast is your microphone. This obviously means you’ll need to select a microphone that will pick up and record your voice with the highest possible quality.
Now there are two basic kinds of microphones you can choose from to use. Now we won’t get into all the specifics in this episode, but we’ll break down the major differences to help you make the best decision. The first microphone type is what’s called a Dynamic Microphone.
Dynamic Microphones (Rode Podmic, Shure SM7B, etc.) provide excellent overall sound quality and microphone performance. In particular, they can handle extremely high sound levels: it is almost impossible to overload a dynamic microphone. Dynamic microphones aren’t overly-sensitive but their very good at focusing and isolating on one sound or voice. That’s why you’ll usually see dynamic microphones used at concerts and live events because they are strong, durable and pick up the source audio while drowning out the background noise surrounding it. So if you do your podcast in an apartment, or you’re in a place where you don’t have a lot of control over your surrounding areas, then a dynamic mic could really work for you because it would do a really great job of picking up your voice, without picking up background noises coming from other rooms or other surrounding areas.
The other microphone type is called a Condenser Microphone (Blue Yeti, Audio-Technica AT2035, etc.). Condenser microphones are usually more complex than dynamics and tend to be very precise. Condenser mics have the ability to pick up the slightest audio details in your recordings. That’s why you’ll usually see Condenser mics used in studio settings and enclosed areas where you need to get every single audio detail, whether they be vocals or instrument sounds. As previously stated, condenser mics are incredibly detailed. Now, the drawback with the detail Condenser mics offer are that they are also extremely sensitive. So, unless you’re in an environment that’s relatively quiet or one that you can control the background noise when you record your podcast, Condenser mics will pick up every little background noise along with your recording.
(LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE ABOVE TO HEAR AN AUDIO TEST BETWEEN THE TWO MICROPHONE TYPES)
Now which mic should you choose for your podcast? Well it depends on your situation. If you don’t have to worry about background noise or anything like that when you record, a condenser mic might be great for you. But if you usually record in an environment where there could be background noises like cars, or other people talking in other rooms, then a dynamic mic would probably be your best bet.
If you need some basic microphone recommendations, check out the “How-To-Start-A-Podcast” starter guide where we lay out some awesome USB mic recommendations for quick and easy podcasting that you can get regardless of your budget. Also feel free to follow us on Instagram, or Twitter for future updates.
So now that you’ve solidified your microphone source, what’s next? Well stay tuned for part two of this series where we'll be going over the next step to get you everything you need to know to get your audio quality in tip-top shape.
Now if you’re NEW to podcasting or you don’t even know where to start. That’s ok. Check out our “How-To-Start-A-Podcast” Starter Guide to help you get you get started with creating your own podcast for free today! Thanks for reading the Podcast Overhaul Blog! If you’re new here or if you learned something new today, do me a favor and check out our podcast & feel free to share this article with a friend!
Happy Podcasting!