As you can probably tell Leah is truly the writer of the two of us. I play a writer on the internet but really I’m a nerd and because of this I am responsible for the acquisition of tech items such as podcast equipment. I debated for a long time about exactly how to do this setup. I wanted something cheap enough that I would not become divorced due to it’s purchase but expandable enough that we could have guests on the show. In addition we need a setup that is capable of being slightly mobile. Leah and I live about 20 minutes apart and we sort of trade off who hosts when we hang out. This means I need to be able to pack up and bring the stuff with us wherever we go. Given these constraints I think I’ve found nearly the perfect overall solution and by me I mean I was pointed in the correct direction by my buddy Kevin.
Let’s start with the mixer. I settled on the Behringer Xenyx 1204FX. I opted for this mixer as opposed to a cheaper mixer for two reasons. First, it’s got 4 mic inputs which means Leah and I can have guests come by for an evening of expletives, alcohol, and game talk. Second (and arguably most important), it has a USB output which means I don’t have to buy another box to act as a middleman between the mixer and my computer. This fits the affordability constraint and additionally keeps me from having to lug another box around which appeals to my lazy side. Sweet.
Now that we have a mixer we need some microphones to get our lovely, girl voices into digital form. Based on some recommendations from other podcasters and a “price is right” sort of situation I decided to order two of the MXL 990s. These mics have a decent frequency range and most people report that for podcasting they do the job. The kits from Amazon come with the shockmount and a nice case which is a definite bonus. This also helps fit that portability need because I can just throw them in their happy cases and be on my way.
The last thing to deal with was miscellaneous pieces to fit everything together. I ordered two 3′ XLR cables for the mics and one 10′ cable for if we decide to do any audio/video capture and need to move the mic around. I also snagged more RAM for my Macbook Pro from Crucial because it’s gotten so cheap and as we all know you always need more RAMz. Software is taken care of by a combination of the software accompanying the Behringer mixer and Garageband which is built into my Mac.
We are extremely pumped about getting this stuff, setting up the whole mess and podcasting our brains out. The mixer is currently in my possession and everything else (mics,cables, ram) should arrive within a week or so. A picture post of great justice will be made once we get everything. Look forward to an awesome show in the very near future….that is once I figure out how to edit a podcast. Psh details.
I think I maybe understood half of that. Yay for shinies, though!
“I think I’ve found nearly the perfect overall solution” REALLY? No love from Stryker… :’(
Post updated accordingly, Kev. I clearly wrote that without enough caffeine in my system. Sorry for not showing correct love <3
Lots of buttons for pressing and sliders for sliding! Reminds me of the board we used at my college radio station.
Now that Chorazin aka Seth is soon going to be my neighbor, I might have to weasel in on EARF sometime.