Record Pro Audio On Your Computer - We Make It Easy

This episode explains a bit about what stereo is, using 2 audio examples of mono vs stereo guitar and vocal harmonies. It's much better to hear what I'm talking about than to listen to me talk :-P. I then explain how to create the stereo effect and how to use it when mixing music. The music used for the samples is from two of our original songs. The guitar is from Fifty Miles Into The Main (writte...

I mentioned in the last episode that I am shifting priority back to recording music at home. So this episode will start from the bare basics - like what microphone and software to start with - and walk you through setup and making an actual recording. I mention in the episode that there are some courses already out there that cover audio recording at home in general - music AND spoken word stuff f...

I've been focusing a lot in the past year or two on spoken audio, like podcasts, audio book narrating, voice-overs, etc. And I realize I've been neglecting all the musicians! Recording music is the only reason I learned audio recording in the first place. So starting now, I'm going to shift back to helping people record music at home. In this episode, I play excerpts from 4 of our songs: "Son of t...

I mentioned putting a link to the video on the Home Brew Audio YouTube Channel here in the notes. Here that is: https://youtu.be/kYkbArXHKCE The Limiter tool changed in recent version of Audacity and it looks totally different from the video. So much so that you cannot follow the video's instructions. Fear not though! You can still find the old Limiter in newer versions of Audacity by picking "Leg...

As I mentioned in the episode, there is a video and an article showing you a walk-through of the settings and stuff I mentioned for using the ACX Check plugin for Audacity (regardless of what program you use to actually record and edit your audio). Here they are: Home Brew Audio website: https://www.homebrewaudio.com/27097/acx-audio-submission-requirements-what-the-heck-do-they-mean/ Home Brew Aud...

I talk a lot about making your audio sound professional. But it helps to know what the heck that even means. This episode gives several audio samples of what I consider to be NOT pro audio, and then several samples that I DO think are professional sounding. This should help nail down the answer to the question..."what even IS professional quality anyway?"   I mention in the episode that this comes...

We started moving in November 2023 and we are STILL MOVING! I don't think we know how moving works :-P. Anyway, that is my excuse as to where I've been. And since I'm in this new house and have not been able to get the studio set up yet, I had to record this episode with bare walls. I know!! But rather than try to fix the room reverb issue that resulted, I left it in the recording and made the top...

My review of the Samson Q9U USB/XLR microphone. I actually used this mic to record this podcast episode. so you can hear how it sounds. 

This episode shows you how to quickly and easily improve the audio quality of your podcast, voiceover, audiobook, videos, and even singing.  And while you can do this like right now - no mater what microphone you have - doing this solves one large problem (audio quality) while creating a few new MINOR issues.  Also, doing this is free! Or at least it CAN be. Especially for short recordings. But if...

I spent about a month playing with and testing a different kind of microphone for review. It's called the SP15 binaural microphone by SonicPresence. The purpose of this mic is not to record yourself (typically), but rather to record what YOU are hearing. It records your surroundings in sometimes startlingly accurate surround sound type audio.  The idea is that you would go out to an event, a party...

I spent a couple of weeks really testing out the RODE NT1 5th Generation Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone. There is a lot to love. But I have a few quibbles as well. Unlike previous versions of the well-known NT1, the 5th generation is a "hybrid" mic. That means it is BOTH/EITHER a standard XLR mic OR a USB mic!  Pretty much every quibble I had was with the USB mode, like not having a headphon...

I put the  RØDE NT-USB+ USB Microphone through its paces. After all was said and done, I have decided this is my new favorite USB mic. When I recommend a mic to folks who are on a budget (heck, even if you are NOT on a budget), this is the mic I'll recommend. It used to be the Blue Yeti. But that has now been dethroned :-). There are some audio samples in this episode. And it would be best to list...

What is a Click Track? And what is it good for? I explain what it is and give several reasons for using one. I use Reaper, which makes it easy to use a click track and to toggle the metronome off and on.  Reaper also has MIDI capability, so it's easy to just put a basic drum pattern on a track instead of using the official "click track." The result will be the same in that the beats will all fall...

Reaper has a noise reduction tool, as do all audio editing and recording programs (I'm assuming. I've never seen one without that tool).  HOWEVER, the tool is not called Noise Reduction. Oddly that function is part of a tool/effect called ReaFir. The links I mention in the episode are: For the blog post: https://www.homebrewaudio.com/9603/reafir-madness-hidden-noise-reduction-tool-in-reaper/ For t...

You may think it's obvious what "zero" means. It means "nothing," right? Actually, in audio recording, 0dB usually means the exact opposite. I mean, why would the audio world start making intuitive sense now? I explain in the episode.

Last time I recorded my episode with no content editing. So while I did treat it for noise reduction, plosives, and avg volume, I did NOT edit it for content. That means that all of the umms, uhs, ahs, repeats, mistakes, long pauses, even burps in one case (:-P) were left in. This time I took 5 segments from last episode and played them first as they were - no edits. Then I edited them so you coul...

I wanted to talk a little bit about podcast editing. So I decided NOT to edit myself on this episode :-). I did do some noise reduction, plosive removal and finished volume stuff. But that isn't really the bulk of editing. What really takes the time when editing a podcast is cutting out all of the ummms, ahhhs, ya-knows, and long pauses. Also people tend to repeat themselves a lot, and I (as an ed...

I had the excellent fortune to be able to interview Daniel Rowland, Oscar-winning, Grammy-nominated Engineer/Producer & Head of Strategy & Partnerships at LANDR Audio. He is also a professor at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) in Nashville. He's worked on projects as varied as Nine Inch Nails, Seal, Meek Mill, Phillip Glass, Gwen Stefani, and The Sandbox (metaverse/game), along with dozens...

As promised last time, this is the second episode in a week! I'm at PodFest Expo 2022 and had the privilege of interviewing Bryan Entzminger. He is the founder of the Hindy Users (Unofficial) Facebook group, the creator of the course “Hindenburg Lite Quick Start.”  Bryan is a pocast editor and an expert on the audio recording and editing software called Hindenburg. You can find Bryan's contact inf...

I'm recording from Podfest Expo in Orlando! So that means I'll do 2 episodes in one week! Can you believe it? Also, the voice recording course - Professional Talkers: How To Record High Quality Audio For VoiceOvers, Podcasts & More - is finally done and ready!

This episode looks at when - if ever- it might be appropriate to record your podcast using Zoom, the popular online meeting service. I compared some audio recorded with a USB mic (Samson C01UPro) direct to my computer with audio from a Zoom recording using the same mic and computer. Take a listen and see how you think they compare.  I have a definite opinion on this. But you'll have to listen to t...

Last time, I tested some wired lavalier (lapel) mics for improving Zoom call audio quality. And I promised I'd do a wireless test for this episode. So here we "go" (:-P). I tested the RODE Wireless Go II microphone system. Notice I didn't say "lavalier system." That's because the Go II transmitter boxes have built-in microphones and clips on them. So you really don't need the traditional lavalier...

After someone asked me for a recommendation on a lavalier/lapel microphone to improve the audio quality of Zoom calls, I got ahold of a couple and did a test. You'll hear the audio in this episode! I used only wired lavs for this episode because it turns out wireless is hard :-). I'll do a wireless lav test for the next episode. For this test, I used the MOVO M1 and the Sennheiser XS USB-C. Both a...

The Blue Yeti is an excellent USB microphone popular with podcasters, and other folks recording voices for any reason. But for some reason, a lot of recordings made on Yeti mics sound terrible. Why is this? I think I know. And here are ways to fix things quickly and easily so your Yeti can make you sound much more professional.

Now that you have the mic(s), the recording interface and the software, you'll need some additional things to be able to use your gear. Here is a list of those accessories, along with some suggestions.