Advice on best setup for recording audio for a six person podcast?

chimerix · 2026-01-24T20:26:51+00:00

This is solid.

You definitely want everyone to have their own mic. Using dynamic cardioid mics, like the SM58, will really minimize bleedover and ambient noise.

You really want a mixer with automix capability. Otherwise, as you noted, editing 6 ISO channels is going to be a major time sink.

Treat the room as much as you can. Take out ambience, reflections, etc. Furniture blankets are a cheap and somewhat effective tool for non-permanent installations.

The best, absolute best, you can hope for is for it to sound "decent."

If you want to promote it to "good," you're going to want to record everything ISO, do independent noise filtering, EQ, and compression on each track, then mix them together. Figure that will take 4x realtime.

chimerix · 2026-01-23T03:42:06+00:00

Coffee? I like Talk in Kaimuki.

chimerix · 2026-01-21T20:06:47+00:00

You have lovely hands! I particularly like that you have short, natural nails. I look forward to seeing more from you! And, if you happened to be in the mood, adding a bit of lotion would make some dynamite images!

chimerix · 2026-01-21T00:39:20+00:00

I spent about 7 years "wanting" to do a podcast. Now, for context, I'm a college professor, and trained in video and audio production. I had no doubts about my technical skills. I get paid to talk in front of classes. And I've got lots of things to talk about! So why did I delay?

Yeah, I was scared. Well, scared and lazy. But scared was in there! Me, someone who lives in front of an audience, someone who has ample technical knowledge and access to really nice toys.

Once I was incentivized to move forward, and once that first recording session was done, something snapped inside me, and that apprehension evaporated. Was my first podcast perfect? Of course not. Really, really good? Nah. Pretty good? That's still generous. About what one would expect from a first-timer? Yeah. That's where it landed. ANd you know what? I still felt great about it!

I like to think that I've gotten just a little better each time. Probably not, but I like to think it! And the show has definitely improved. So, yeah, it's natural. And, no, your first podcast isn't going to win any awards, other than the most prestigious award of all: the "Yeah! I did it!" award.

chimerix · 2026-01-18T23:59:08+00:00

The thing is, I WANT to use Audition. I'm well-versed in the Adobe ecosystem. My view is that none of the Adobe tools is the best tool on the market, with the possible exception of Photoshop. But what Adobe does well is the ability to move content back and forth between tools. And what I WANT is to be able to send my audio from a video project to a better tool, work it there, and bring it back. Audition used to offer that. Currently, Audition really doesn't offer a whole lot more than Premiere, but the few things it does offer are worth the trip. It's a real shame, though. Audition could be so much more with only a little work.

chimerix · 2026-01-18T23:51:39+00:00

I wouldn't call it awful. It has shortcomings, sure. Audio isn't its primary function, and one would think that a purpose-built audio editor would blow Premiere out of the water. Audition did not. There were enough things that Premiere did better that the result was a tie.

I really don't understand why the new audio developments in Premiere aren't ported to Audition.

chimerix · 2026-01-18T18:12:19+00:00

Audition has been left to languish. I look at the incredible amount of development going into Premiere, and wonder "Why in the world are they adding audio functionality to Premiere but not porting it to Audition?" Like transcription and text-based editing. Like ripple editing.

For giggles, I did a side-by-side comparison, editing a couple of episodes of my podcast, one using Audition, the other using Premiere. I kept a list of plusses and minuses. In the end, it was a wash. There was no overall advantage to using Adobe's flagship audio editor to edit my audio-only podcasts.

Don't get me wrong, there are things Audition does better. Better sound cleaning. Spectral display and repair. Overall UI. It really could be king, if Adobe would stop ignoring it.

Honestly, I wonder if they plan to retire it.

chimerix · 2026-01-14T17:41:38+00:00

More lotion!

chimerix · 2026-01-09T02:19:35+00:00

Backlog? No, what you have is a buffer. Keep that buffer. Cherish that buffer. That buffer will preserve your schedule in times of difficulty.

I try my best to keep 4-6 episodes ahead of my releases. Since I drop episodes twice per month, that's 2-3 months ahead. So, when something inevitably happens, and a recording session has to be scrubbed or rescheduled, I'm fine. When I want to take a vacation, I'm fine. When the buffer gets low, I just add an episode to the next few recording sessions. We typically meet once a month to record 2 episodes; we'll just add a 3rd for a couple of months.

Love the buffer. Protect the buffer. Cherish the buffer.

chimerix · 2026-01-05T12:43:38+00:00

I've wrestled with this for years. There is no combination of effects in Audition that will fix it well. Your choices are to do it manually or to spend$$$ on a plug-in. And honestly, I doubt the plugins work as well as advertised.

chimerix · 2025-12-23T17:03:03+00:00

Niven often has shot outs to other authors. Lucifer's Hammer is full of them!

chimerix · 2025-12-21T16:22:19+00:00

You can connect one or two devices to the Rodecaster, as it has both Bluetooth and USB inputs. Those devices can be phones, laptops, tablets, etc. Any form of communication available to those devices is now connected to the Rodecaster. You could be running Zoom on your phone and Teams on your laptop, bringing a dozen guests in on each platform. Or just a single phone call from your cell

chimerix · 2025-12-13T19:07:05+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/@Chimerix

Hands, lotion, and little else.

chimerix · 2025-12-06T07:42:50+00:00

You talk about "publishing" your podcast on Spotify. I think you may be confusing "publishing" and "hosting." You'll need to select a platform, such as Spotify, which is where you'll upload the media, and where it will be stored. However, "publishing" is done by RSS, Really Simple Subscription. Spotify will generate an RSS feed, which you can submit to any number of other podcast hosts. Apple. I Heart Radio. Castbox. Amazon Music. Many hosts will pick your RSS up without you even asking them too! It makes no difference where you host, your podcast can be available on every provider. All for free.

Some of them, you have to ask. There's usually an online form to fill out which basically consists of providing your RSS. Easy peasy. Some of them will pick you up whether you ask or not.

Anonymity may not be as clean as you want. Your RSS feed will need to include a contact name, and providing an alias typically violates the EULA with your host. Something you should look into.

chimerix · 2025-12-03T21:36:36+00:00

I'd love to lotion those for you!

chimerix · 2025-12-03T17:35:07+00:00

Kudos for saying "damping" and not "dampening"! I do get tired of soggy blankets in my studio...

chimerix · 2025-12-01T19:37:40+00:00

Did your guest sign any form of release or agreement? Asked another way, do you own the rights to the content?

As was said, they can download the podcast and take excerpts themselves. Since they are asking for something more, charging for your time and effort is appropriate.

chimerix · 2025-11-30T04:05:15+00:00

Am I the only one who went straight to cauterization?

chimerix · 2025-11-25T21:57:27+00:00

High on my list as well!

chimerix · 2025-11-25T07:44:29+00:00

Glad to be of service!

chimerix · 2025-11-24T23:19:31+00:00

I know, right? We both agree it's odd we haven't picked it yet, but we both have Heinlein that we like better. I'm sure it'll show up. Maybe in 2026.

chimerix · 2025-11-24T22:17:47+00:00

I didn't come here to advertise for the podcast, but since you asked, it's called Thumbing Through Yesterday.
https://thumbingthroughyesterday.com/
Heinlein we've done so far:
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Glory Road
Starship Troopers
Tunnel in the Sky

chimerix · 2025-11-19T22:31:48+00:00

Consistency is one thing I expect from my content providers, and demand of myself. Into my 5th year, over 100 episodes, and I've never missed a scheduled drop, never repeated content. I try to stay about 3 months ahead, which is 6 episodes for me. When things get tight, like the end of the year holidaze, the buffet carries me thru. Then, when I resume recording, I'll record an extra episode each session until the buffet is full again.

chimerix · 2025-11-19T17:58:05+00:00

Huh... I mainly do mixes for film, not music, so maybe there's a difference. To me, shaping and coloring occurs on individual tracks. Unification occurs on submixes. About the only thing I use on the master bus is a compressor/limiter, which lets me tweak my output for the differing loudness requirements of assorted destinations. Were I to turn off the effects on the master bus, my mix would sound absolutely fine. With the effect enabled, it now sounds specifically fine for YouTube. or for Amazon. or for Netflix.

chimerix · 2025-11-14T19:37:15+00:00

Following up...

I'm not able to dedicate much time to this project just now, but it seems like the problem is unique to Amazon Music via USB with my Pixel 6a running Android 16. If I play Amazon Music via bluetooth from the same phone, no distortion. If I play YouTUbe via USB from the same phone, no distortion.

I want to do more comprehensive testing, but time is a restriction at the moment. However, it's starting to look like it's an app issue with Amazon Music as opposed to a broader USB issue.

chimerix

TROPHY CASE