Re-starting a show is at once easier and more difficult than starting a new one. I’ve already got a name, and accounts on all the major social networks, and a logo, although I did make a new one for this new incarnation. And I’ve got technical equipment to physically (digitally) produce the show.
Let me take a moment to talk about that. The technical kit. My main piece of gear, the nerve center of the operation, is a Zoom Podtrak P4. If you’re not familiar with this piece of magic, do yourself a favor and check it out. This awesome, game changing little piece of tech lets me hook up and power up to four XLR mics, or a phone connected through a TRRS cable for call ins (with automatically handled mix-minus), or a computer through a USB cable for VOIP call ins (with mix-minus, too). It’s also got four headphone jacks with separate volume controls for each. It runs on two AA batteries for portability, or you can hook up a USB battery bank to it for extended duration, or you can plug it in to your computer, or ac adapter, for unlimited power. It records to an SD card, like a Zoom H5, or H6, or other field recorder, or can act as a two mic audio interface directly into your favorite DAW. It’s small enough to put into a large pocket, and light enough to carry around all day long. Oh, and the mic preamps come with 70dB of gain.
The mics are Samson Q2Us, which are also pretty spectacular. They’re usually available on Amazon.com for under $60 and come with the mic, a USB cable, an XLR cable, and a mini mic stand. The microphone can connect using either USB directly to your computer, or using XLR through an audio interface. It has great sound for its price and is built like a brick.
For editing, on my iMac, I’m using Hindenburg Journalist Pro. This is a deceptively powerful audio editor aimed at podcasters and spoken word recording. When you load a sound file into the app, it auto-levels from the start. It’s relatively intuitive to use and will publish your finished podcast to numerous podcast hosting companies.
For hosting, I’m using Anchor.fm. They’re free, very easy to use, handle monetization easily (both ads and donations/tips) and will distribute your podcast to all the big directories for you. Anchor.fm is owned by Spotify, so it has the backing of a major player in the industry. There’s an app for it, and if you don’t have a big studio setup and still want to podcast, you can use the app to record and upload your podcast. It really can’t be easier than that.
The Toby Show 