we get a lot of questions concerning podcasting especially from people who want to get into the podcast think about craft beer. I definitely understand it because when Beer Is Fundamental decided that we were going to get into this podcasting thing, we definitely had a lot of questions along with a lot of concerns starting with exactly how do you do this. The good news is there were a lot of people out there who were willing to help us and give us some guidance before we even tried to started. So, I want to take this time to speak a little bit on what you may want to do if you out there thinking about podcasting. One of the first things that I would recommend is that you find podcasts that you are really feeling to get yourself some inspiration from. Several years ago, I didn’t know what a podcast was. I just happen to be searching the net and ran across this show on the net called Hood Hype. Being a huge Hip Hop fan, I was really geeked at what I was hearing from this underground hip-hop talk show. During the show, they kept saying that you can download the podcast off of iTunes. So, I did that and I was hooked. It became not just a show to me but it also became like a friendship or a family so to speak. Mainly, because these guys are so down to earth and everything feels like you are part of the show and being able to take me away ever I am gave it just that all of the connection. Later on, they changed the name of the show to Live From the Basement. But, they are still them. They’re still authentically them. More importantly, the professionalism in what they’re doing makes the show just that more worthwhile. So, shout out to JMack, Major, and Mola 1 four being the inspiration for the Beer Is Fundamental show. Everyone make sure that you check out Livefromthebasement.com and show them some love.
There are some of the shows that I listen to that I take some cues from such as the What Ales Ya Podcast, The Black Astronauts, The Beer Flow, and some others. So, make sure that you are listening to different stuff and try to take something that they have to add to your show to make it better.
The other thing that I would recommend is creating a plan for your podcast. Research who you want to be your hosting platform. Research your equipment. All of this is extremely important. Most of us that start out podcast to start out with a small, small, small, small, small, small, small, small budget. But, you don’t want to use skim on your equipment because that really dictates your sound. If nothing else, you at least want to sound decent. So, I’m just going to give you a rundown of what we use. I’m not letting you in on any corporate secrets or anything. I’m paying it forward just like others have done for me in this podcasting thing. The first thing I’m going recommend depends on what your trying to do with your podcast. If you’re planning to just record from home or a statement area, having a laptop as the brains of your operation is great. Beer Is Fundamental is a very mobile show. We record some shows in the 40 Shop Presentation Studio, which is an extra bedroom at my house that I made into a makeshift studio. And we record some of our shows live from different breweries. So, we have to be very mobile and having a laptop isn’t always going to give us that ability. We do rely heavily on a computer to do most of the end work like mastering and downloading. But, the recording is done through the use of a digital recorder. We recommend the Zoom H6 recorder. That is my baby. The Zoom h6 is an audio recorder with 4 mic inputs. It says 6. But, you really only have four true useful ones. It allows you to record up to six inputs to a separate tracks This allows you to mute one person while another is talking. It has gain dials for each input and a nice color LCD screen. It’s easy to use. The Zoom comes with a 2gb SD card if you don’t have one. It allows for the ultimate mobility. Its going to cost you about $350. But, its worth it.
Your microphone is your next very important item. We use the Rode Procaster as the main mic, and two Audio-Technica ATR2100 as guest mics. The Procaster runs you around $225 and is an analog dynamic microphone, which means it has an XLR connection on the bottom. Because it is not a digital mic, you won’t be able to record the sound directly onto the computer. You’ll get an XLR cable to go from your Rode Procaster to the Zoom H6, and then the Zoom h6 will record the audio onto an SD card. The ATR2100 can go right into a computer. But, it goes nicely with the H6.
As far as headphones, cables, and other accessories, I would suggest that research and get whatever you are comfortable with. As far as media hosting, I was just that you again to your research and see what you budget can handle and what all you looking for from a media host. Remember, that a media host is totally different than your website hosting. A media host hosts the mp3 files from your podcast and lets others download them. Website hosting companies set up servers differently than media hosts, so downloads will be slow and may even fail frequently. We use Blubrry and we love them. However, there are other ones like Libsyn that are just as good.
That should answer the top three questions that we get about podcasting. Feel free to email us or call us and we will be happy to get into a little more detail.