The Podcast Engineering Show

Latest Episodes:

PES 106: Andy Wang, Host and Producer of Inspired Money Podcast Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Andy Wang, host and producer of the Inspired Money podcast! He's also a guitarist, investor, and fee-only financial advisor.

We discussed lots of podcast production equipment, workflows and techniques including:

Setup at work
- CAD E100 microphone
- Rode PSA boom arm
- QSC TouchMix-16
- Surface laptop
- Doing interviews via Skype
- Sennheiser HD280 headphones
Setup at home
- Wife's iMac computer (for editing)
- Apogee Duet interface
- Cheap condenser mic - $50, sent it to a guy in cape cod ($300) to modify the capsule to sound like a U87
- Originally use Garage Band (overwrote a file tragically) but recently changed to Reaper (loves crossfading, etc.)
- Fabfilter plugins: gate, compression, EQ
- Waves: Vocal Rider (before compression), CLA vocals, L3 Multimaximizer on master track
Mobile setup
- Shawn Smith's iOS mobile recording rig setup
- ART Dual Pre interface (2 xlr inputs)
- iPad or iPhone to record
- Two Sennheiser e935
- Auphonic app to record
Auphonic website for leveling and tagging
Upload to Libsyn
A few Nightmare Sessions!
Andy's next purchase???

Thanks for hanging out with us, Andy!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 105: Ross Brand: Podcaster and Livestreamer Sep 27, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Ross Brand from LivestreamUniverse.com! We discussed podcasting, Livestreaming, equipment and tons more. Enjoy listening!

Ross's audio equipment:

Primary Studio Mic - Shure SM7B (Had compared RE20, SM7B, PR40 & RE27 in B&H mic room before deciding on SM7B)
Primary Reporter Mic - Electro-voice RE50, Omni,
Backup/Guest Mic - Samson Q2u
Primary Audio Interface/Mixer/ Recorder - Sound Devices MixPre-3
Backup Studio Audio Interface - Audient iD14
Secondary Studio/iOS Audio Interface - Shure MVi (I have a two interface setup that enables me to get both myself and guest's audio on Instagram Live while also livestreaming to FB Live with no additional mics needed)
Mobile Audio Interface - iRig Pre
Headphones: Sennheiser HD280Pro, closed back
Computer - 15" MacBook Pro (mid 2015)
Mobile: iPhone 7
DAW: Screenflow (I know, I know...) - boosts level in places,
Auphonic sometimes
Likes and uses the Spreaker web player, chapters,

Ross's video equipment:

Webcam - Logitech C922x
Camcorder - Canon Vixia R800
Capture Card - Magewell
Software - BeLive (for Facebook Live)
Software - Wirecast Studio (switcher, encoding, streaming, recording, live production)
Hardware Encoder - LiveU Solo (cellular streaming from remote, bandwidth challenged locations without computer)

Ross's post-production workflow: (mixing, software, effects processing, editing, mastering, etc.)

Record in MixPre-3 as wave file on SD card and edit in Screenflow
Edit out any gaps, edit out the worst "ums" "and uhs" and occasionally a segment that detracts from the overall conversation
Boost softer or lower louder areas to make overall volume more consistent
Record into and outro
Add music tracks
Check volume levels again
Export final mix as m4a
Upload to Auphonic and use default settings
Download mp3 from Auphonic

Thank you for hanging out with us, Ross!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 104: Marc Bakos of Cleanfeed Sep 13, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Marc Bakos - audio engineer and partner at Cleanfeed.

We discussed his service as well as lots more:

Marc's setup: TLM 49, Yamaha MG-12 mixer, Dbx 286s on insert, Prism Sound Titan external 1U sound card ($3k)
PMC TB2+ speakers in his home studio
What is Cleanfeed?
The audio and technical backgrounds of Cleanfeed's creators
Chrome on Android works well!
Audio Quality: Pro version offers up to 320kbps quality. Standard voice 64kbps. And it can record in Stereo. Constant bitrate CODEC so there are no artifacts (OPUS)
No drops - how? Will try peer to peer initially. Fully encrypted. If firewalled, it goes through a relay server.
Ducking? No!, but can turn it on on a per participant basis.
Leveling/Processing? No.
No local recording for participants - all recording is done in the "studio's" Chrome browser.
Remote guests are combined onto one track
How does it avoid dropouts and glitching, etc.?
Downloading mid-show? Yes.
What can participants do to make sure their audio comes through clear and uninterrupted?
Good metering
Cart wall - cool, but no volume control at this time.
Multiple input devices - bring several devices into Cleanfeed.

Thank you for being a great guest, Marc!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 103: René Coronado: Sound Designer and Audio Engineer Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

My guest is René Coronado - audio engineer, sound designer at Dallas Audio Post Group, and cohost of the Tonebenders Podcast.

Enjoy this awesome episode; we discussed:

Speed Round #1 for his Tonebenders Podcast: Shure SM7B, Sound Devices MixPre-3, Skype, record onto SD Card, ProTools, Soundcloud.
Speed Round #2 for his work at Dallas Audio Post (Control Room A):Avid C24 Controller, Genelec monitors, ProTools, computers are in a separate machine room, AT 4050 (workhorse), TLM 103, U87, MKH 50 and 416.
Wave Rider (from Quiet Art) on the voices, aims at -25 dB RMS using averaging mode
EQ, Compression, Master compressor
The room where works is calibrated for -23 LUFS so he knows what that sounds like.
Bounce the mix into RX6 Loudness to -18 LUFS stereo, then back into ProTools for encoding the MP3.
Field recording: Line Audio CM3
Studio recording (Voiceovers, etc)
Sound design techniques
Track layouts
Separate chains - dialogue, voiceover
Soundminer - sound fx software program, tagged with metadata so the sounds are easily searchable.
Mixing plugins: ProTools channel strip, Sound Particles, Twisted Sound "whoosh," using distortion to bring up mids (20% distortion), Native Instruments delay called Replika.

I also asked René: "What advice do you have for podcast engineers and producers?" Listen for his answer ;)

Thank you for being a great guest, Rene!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 102: Dan Gonzalez from iZotope Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Dan Gonzalez, Senior Product Manager at iZotope, Inc. for Ozone 8, Neutron 2, and Nectar 3. He is also an audio engineer and musician.

Btw, PES students get student discounts on iZotope software!

We discussed tons, including:

Proprietary audio algorithms developed in-house by their RnD team
Nectar Elements - Vocal Mixing Plugin
Vocal Assistant: Uses machine learning? Yes.
Ozone 8: We went through all the modules as well as the Master Assistant
Neutron 2: Taught an algorithm what each instruments sound like
O8N2 Bundle: Ozone 8 Advanced and Neutron 2 Advanced!
Tonal Balance Control
Maybe someday I can visit their full mastering studio at iZotope headquarters!
Mix Wednesday - YouTube channel (Live 2 hour classes on mixing, etc.)
Spire Studio: Now available in the USA.
RX6, of course ;)

Thank you for being such a great guest, Dan!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 101: Dan Dugan, Inventor of the Automatic Microphone Mixer Aug 23, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Dan Dugan of Dan Dugan Sound Design, inventor of the automatic microphone mixer! He has been active in the professional audio industry for more than 50 years, and is a board member of the Nature Sounds Society. We discussed his automixer as well nature recording - DEEP stuff. Enjoy.

Topics:

Speed round: Sennheiser MKH 416, Sound Devices 788 T recorder
Automixer: His invention licensed into the Sound Devices 633 and 688, Yamaha mixers, Waves "Rack," Waves LV1 (virtual console, touchscreen, 64 channels Dugan Automixer), and others. Also available as "black boxes" that patch into the insert points of mixers. Its Gain Sharing algorithm is where the magic happens ;)
Nature recording: How to deal with airplanes?, the "Dawn Chorus" when the birds wake up in the morning, which in the summer starts around 4:00 AM. In Spring there is an evening chorus, too. Records nature using a scientific protocol, which allows him to get permission to camp in places no one is normally allowed. Uses an 80' snake between his "camp" and the mics.
Mics: Sennheiser MKH series mics are good for dealing with humidity and self noise. Lower than 16dba self-noise starts to be quiet enough to record soundscapes. "Light" system: electrets, 14dba self noise. Adequate "Heavy" system: MKH mics, 8-10dba self noise, RF condenser, uses 55 db of gain. Rode short shotgun, RF condenser type as well. Best to use mics with hot output so you don't have to preamp it as much.
Basic rig recording on 4 channels. Technique: use stereo array for front channels (MS, XY, AB, ), pair of omni mics on a 12 inch diameter Jecklin disc baffle with mics on either side, and 2 outrigger mics toward the rear. Front pair is the imaging pair - gives you a panorama of images, rear speakers are fair apart and are "uncorrelated" and they just fill in. Sound Devices 744T Recorder, with its pre-record buffer of up to 8 seconds!

Thank you, Dan, for doing such great work your whole life and for being a great guest!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 100: Celebrating 100 with Ralph M. Rivera and 19 Friends Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

Join me and my good friend Ralph M. Rivera as we celebrate the 100th episode of this show!

Hear audio clips from 19 awesome friends and previous guests roasting and/or congratulating me! (see the all-star list below)

Also hear a 10 min. audio piece I created called "Audio Adjectives and What They Sound Like." Hear what these sound like: Big, Small, Boomy, Muddy, Boxy, Hollow, Midrangy, Biting, Presence, Clarity, Brightness, "Air," and Telephone Sound.

Ralph has joined me previously on episodes 19, 36, and 56. He is currently creating Podcaster's Toolbox, and his podcast show is called Carbon Based Business Units. Ralph also did the segments Nightmare Session and Next Purchase?

Thanks to all these friends and previous guests for sending audio clip wishes!:

Arik Levy - Ep's 54, 82, 92 (Firearms Nation Podcast, Shooters Summit)
Billy O - Ep's 57, 96 (Podcast Producer, Audio Engineer, The Billy O Show)
Bryan Entzminger (PES Alumni, Top Tier Audio, Engaging Missions Show)
Carey Green - Ep. 12 (Podcast Fast Track, host of Podcastification)
Dave Jackson - Ep's 11, 78 (School of Podcasting, and host of many shows including Podcast Rodeo Show)
Garth Humphries - Ep's 38, 75 (Host and producer of Audio Pizza, Aussie Mac Zone and iBlindTech)
David Hooper - Ep. 5 (marketing guy, radio host, RED Podcast, Build a Big Podcast)
Jason DeFillippo - Ep. 43 (Podcast Producer, Grumpy Old Geeks Podcast, Jordan Harbinger Show)
John Bukenas - Ep. 94 (Owner of Audio Editing Solutions, and graduate of Podcast Engineering School)
Josh Rivers - Ep. 26 (Owner of Podcast Guy Media and host the Creative Studio Podcast)
Chris Krimitsos (Podfest Multimedia Expo)
Landen Hardy (PES Alumni, Supporter Sound Studios)
Mary Mazurek - Ep's 21, 47 (Recording Engineer and Radio producer at WFMT Chicago)
Jonathan Messinger - Ep. 33 (Producer and host of The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, and creator of other interactive story podcasts for kids)
Mike Russell - Ep. 73 (Company and podcast: Music Radio Creative)
Steve O'Neill - Ep. 66 (Host and producer of Sharp podcast)
Liam Neeson
Ross Brand (LivestreamDeals, Podcaster, www.LivestreamUniverse.com)
Steve Stewart - Ep. 63 (Steve Stewart Podcast Productions, creator of Podcast Editor's Club Facebook Group)

Links to a couple things we mentioned:

The iMac reset trick that just helped me - How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201295
RØDE SC6-L, an interface destined to change everything for compact 2-channel audio recording on iOS devices (for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad). Check out Allan Tepper's post: https://www.provideocoalition.com/rode-sc6-l-a-game-changer-for-compact-2-track-recording-on-ios-devices/ )

FYI - Upcoming outstanding episodes: 101 Dan Dugan, 102 Dan Gonzalez from iZotope, and 103 Rene Coronado! ...seriously, tremendous ;)

OUTRO SONG: Xolo - Accoutrements by Bryant W. Jackson. Check out his website and Vimeo channel. Thank you, Bryant!

Lots of heartfelt gratitude to all listeners, friends, previous guests and Ralph! Thank you for supporting me and the show so well.

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 099: Michael Helms Aug 02, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Michael Helms - my long time friend, audio engineer and host of the Location Sound Podcast. Mike and I met when we were both working at Soundtrack Studios in New York City in 1993. Mike has gained tons of audio wisdom from working on music production, commercial voiceover production and currently location sound.

We discussed:

Mike's main podcast setup: RE20, MixPre-10T, Macbook Pro, Squadcast, Adobe Audition
Match loudness
Processing: Compression, EQ, roll off 80 Hz and below
Mix buss effects: Multiband compressor and limiter
Previous equipment: Sterling Audio ST-51 mic, Zoom H5
Good lavalier mics (Sanken COS-11 and others)
Working on music and voiceovers in NYC
Previous Pro Tools studio in Florida
What's in Mike's location sound equipment bag?
A recent Nightmare Session...
Editing philosophy
Next Purchase?
The MKH416 is a beast

Thanks for hanging out with us, Mike!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 098: Chris Solo Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

My guest is myself. hehe

I cover many topics that can help your podcast production, and a quick fyi that the next semester of PES starts Sep.18 and early-bird pricing is available for the rest of July.

Oh, and Podcast Movement is next week and I'll be streaming Live from there. Check out all the platforms I'll be streaming on and follow/subscribe on whichever platform is your favorite: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/live/

Here are the things I cover in this episode:

NIGHTMARE SESSION segment: Lately, I've faced more of the usual - guests connecting in non-optimal ways, having bad mic technique, computers running lots of programs, etc.
NEXT PURCHASE segment: Mine may be the Sennheiser MKH416 shotgun microphone when it comes on sale again ;) And btw I just bought another Scheps Omni channel plugin for my old production machine.
Mixing INTO your mastering multiband compressor.
A recent email from Allan Tepper: "Sadly, Forecast (Podcast MP3 encoder with chapters) downsamples our 48 kHz master to 44.1 kHz :( Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Fortunately, Hindenburg Journalist Pro respects 48 kHz when encoding MP3, as do Fission, RX6 and even iTunes. Hindenburg Journalist Pro also has built in chapter creation with graphics."
Recently observed: Removing everything below 30-40 Hz DOES NOT affect the overall LUFS level of the audio. I remove those frequencies in RX6, usually 30 Hz and below, because those frequencies are barely audible and not very relevant to the human voice.
My new fave: Waves CLA-76 plugin - Bluey mode (as opposed to Blacky). Does a really great job of bringing a voice closer and more in your face in a very transparent way.
My response to a listener commenting that he doesn't use that much compression because less compression sounds more natural. "Yes, less compression sounds more natural, or course, but real-world listening environments are not dead quiet, and so compression makes the audio more intelligible in those noisy environments. If you listened to a pop music radio station in a very quiet environment you would not like it, but the compression and limiting that the station uses helps the audio be more audible over the road noise, etc."
Idea to play around with: For folks with bad mic technique, in addition to processing their main track, send their signal to a separate track and use a multiband compressor on it. Crush the signal, and then mix in a bit of that crushed signal with the original. You probably want to heavily gate it first, too. I'll be doing this on one of my upcoming streams, if you'd like to tune in.

I hope that my thoughts and suggestions help you produce better sounding podcasts in less time :)

Sound great!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

PES 097: Ben Scheirman Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

My guest is Ben Scheirman, who runs NSScreencast.com and creates the media content there. He also produces two podcasts at Vibrato.fm and Appdevdiary.com.

And we rolled out a new segment called Nightmare Sessions!

We discussed A LOT, including:

UA Apollo 8 Quad (4 XLR's)
Heil PR40 (with shock mount/boom)
Audio-Technica ATR-2100 USB
Rolls Mic Mute
Audio Hijack and Loopback on the Mac (for podcasting)
Magewell HDMI USB3 Capture
Screenflow
Logic Pro (for music), Mainstage
Beyerdynamic DT770 headphones (80 ohm)
Onyx Blackjack (interface)
Onyx 820i firewire mixer
Mix minus
KRK Rokit 5 mounted on wall
API Vision channel strip plugin

Thanks for being a great guest and sharing so much, Ben!

DID YOU KNOW........We exist for the purpose of helping you, so please comment below with any questions or remarks. Thanks for listening!

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Lots of heartfelt gratitude to all listeners, friends, previous guests and Ralph! Thank you for supporting me and the show so well.

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