On this page:
- General Information
- Equipment
- Digital Camcorders
- Microphones
- Mixer
- Sound Editing Software
- Creative Commons Music Resources
- Contact Us
General Information
For general information about podcasting, visit these websites:
Equipment
Mid-Range Professional Audio Recorder Brands:
GSLIScast currently uses the M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 recorder. Brands worth looking at include:
Low cost "Digital Voice Recorders" are generally not recommended due to issues with file formats, required software and drivers, lack of external microphone inputs, etc.
Digital Camcorders
GSLIScast uses a Canon Elura-100 MiniDV Camcorder. There are many other low-cost digital camcorders available. However, whatever you choose, ensure that it has jacks for an external microphone and for Firewire (IEE-1394). Also consider purchasing a decent tripod. We use a Velbon Videomate 607.
Microphones
We have experimented with a number of microphones. Some of the more successful compromises between price and quality include:
- "T-Microphone" included with Microtrack recorder
- Audio-Technica ATR-35S Lavalier Microphone (~$35)
- Shure 588SDX Handheld Microphone (~$65)
- Nady CBM 40 Boundary Microphone (~$90, requires external power source)
Mixer
When more than two audio sources are required or an externally-powered microphone is used, we use a Samson MDR-1064 10-channel mixer.
Sound Editing Software
Editing software is crucial in producing a professional-sounding podcast with audio from multiple sources. Below are some of the tools we have evaluated:
- Audacity (PC, Mac, Linux) - Free, open source audio editor. Good way to get started, but extremely slow when working with large files.
- Adobe Audition (PC) - Primary editing software for GSLIScast. Adobe also makes a product called SoundBooth that is bundled with some editions of CreativeStudio. We have not evaluated this.
- Soundforge (PC) PC audio editor. "Soundforge Audio Studio" is a lower-cost version without multitrack capabilities. Not recommended for Podcast production.
- Amadeus - Very good low-cost Mac audio editor.
- Garageband (Mac) - Bundled with new Macs; designed more for music than for Podcast production. Publishing Software
- Loudblog - Loudblog is a free, open-source content management system for Podcast publishing. It requires a web server running PHP and MySQL.
Creative Commons Music Resources
For more about Creative Commons licensing, visit http://www.creativecommons.org
Contact Us
Website: http://gslis.simmons.edu/podcasts
Email: gsliscast@simmons.edu
Phone: 617-521-2802
Address: 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115