Select and buy the right equipment
As you can imagine, the podcast microphone is not unimportant if you want to start a podcast. By choosing an appropriate microphone, you lay the foundation for the success of your podcast show. The sound quality you achieve with your microphone can have a significant impact on how professional and engaging your content comes across to your listeners.
Your listeners will decide if they like your podcast and sound in just a few seconds. And they usually make this decision unconsciously – like on a first date where pheromones play a big role.
Considering that the microphone delivers the sound for the podcast, it can be likened to the podcaster’s “pheromone mix.”
If you’re just beginning your podcast career, you’ve probably already noticed the bewildering variety of podcast microphones on the market.
Fortunately, we’ll give you a list of recommendations because you’ve come here for advice on how best to embark on your audio adventure. We use these microphones ourselves, or we’ve heard our customers using them.
The basis for our list of recommended podcast microphones
Microphones come in a wide range of price categories, configurations, designs, and other features. For some microphones, you’ll also need an amplifier or interface, while for others the recording room needs to be specially equipped.
You’ll have to decide what works best for you. In fact, you may have already made your choice based on what you’ve read in the relevant Internet forums.
If you find it hard to make the right choice because you’re a little intimidated by technology, we’d like to recommend a few podcast microphones that are easy to operate but still sound great. You can easily connect these devices to your computer with a USB cable, after which you’ll be ready to record. These microphones will help you sound just as good as other podcasters.
Podcast microphones we like best
It’s true, there’s a wide range of microphone prices, from fairly inexpensive to relatively expensive. But you should be prepared to make some kind of investment in order to have a good sound.
USB podcast microphones
As described above, you can easily connect these microphones to your computer and get started right away with recording software. We’ll provide a list of common software programs a little later.
Blue Snowball
This beginner’s model for an unbeatable price is a Jack of all trades that you can use for Webinars, Zoom calls, Skype calls, and of course your own podcast. The Snowball has surprisingly good sound for its small size. Placed on your desk, it’s relatively inconspicuous. In a larger recording room, however, it will pick up room noise, and its sound will vary according to the speaker’s distance from the microphone. In video conferences, on the other hand, it won’t appear in the image.
Blue Yeti X
The Blue Yeti X podcast microphone is the big brother of the Blue Snowball. It’s not quite as inconspicuous, but it delivers truly rich sound to the headphones of your listeners. It also features multiple recording settings, depending on whether you only want to record your own voice in isolation or whether you want to pick up the voices of multiple people sitting around the microphone. This makes the Blue Yeti X useful for video conferences and Webinars as well. In rooms with high ceilings and little furniture, it may sound a little imprecise at times, but the sound is always rich.
Shure MV7
Is your recording room less than ideal for podcasting? Maybe because your corporate
podcast is recorded in a larger office with high ceilings and smooth walls, little carpet, and functional furniture? If so, you might want to consider the Shure MV7, which sounds really good even in these conditions. A built-in equalizer and the Shure app ensure optimal sound in every situation. The only drawback is that the microphone needs to be held very close to the mouth, which means that it’s less suitable for video calls and Webinars.
Mobile Podcast Microphones
Would you like to be able to record flexibly and while you’re on the move, perhaps because you travel a lot or do a lot of work on the road? If so, consider the following recommendations for mobile podcast equipment that takes up little space but still sounds good.
Rode Smartlav
It’s hard to get them smaller than this. You can’t go wrong with the clip-on microphone (lapel microphone) from the Australian company Rode. Once it’s connected to a smartphone or tablet, you’re ready to make recordings that actually sound pretty good. Due to the small size, the sound isn’t quite as precise and rich, but it’s still good enough for podcasts.
Shure MV88
Do you use an iOS device like an iPhone or iPad? If so, the Shure MV88 could be a wonderful choice for you. Just connect it to the smartphone or tablet with the Lightning cable and you can get started right away with really good sound. Unfortunately, it won’t work with tablets that use a USB-C cable, but all common USB microphones can be connected.
Yellowtec iXm
This device can’t be connected to a computer as a recording microphone, because it’s a pure recorder, but the sound is simply perfect. Thanks to its built-in software, it easily balances volume fluctuations, and with the premium microphone head from Beyerdynamic, it always sounds good even in rooms that aren’t not well-suited for podcasting due to loud echoes, for example. Curious? Just listen to our podcast “Power to the Podcast” where Gordon uses the Yellowtec iXm.
Podcast setup for multiple people in a single room
Because of software constraints, it is rarely possible to connect multiple microphones directly to one computer and record them with one recording program. Therefore, different podcast equipment is needed for co-hosting sessions with multiple participants, as is often the case with corporate podcasts.
For the recorder we recommend the Zoom H6, which can record up to six tracks (microphones, participants) at the same time. Most microphones like those mentioned above can be connected with an XLR cable. The Zoom H6 can record alone by itself or be used as an interface between the microphone and the computer.
Well done, Part 3 is finished
Continue now to part 4: Podcast-Name, Musik und Podcast-Cover
No interest in this theme? Choose directly, what you need:
- Part 1: Define your podcast
- Part 2: Create an editorial plan and first episodes
- Part 3: Buy the right equipment
- Part 4: Podcast title, music and cover
- Part 5: Find a location for your podcast recording
- Part 6: Quiet please, recording!
- Part 7: Voice recording and editing
- Part 8: Choose a Podcast Hosting service
- Part 9: List your Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and co.
- Part 10: Promote your podcast
Start your podcast today with Podigee
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- Publish your podcast in just a few clicks: on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube and everywhere else where podcasts are available.
- Unlimited storage for your podcasts, secure and privacy-compliant, detailed playback analytics.
- Outstanding support at every step of your podcast journey, right from the start.
