I love equipment and gadgets. And the deeper you get in podcasting, the more equipment and gadgets you will probably amass. But don’t fret, it doesn’t take much to get started and that’s what we’re going to talk about now.
First off, don’t get hung up on your equipment. You can make a perfectly good podcast without putting out big bucks for an entire fully loaded professional recording studio. Good equipment is cheap these days but more importantly, content is king! Meaning that no matter how expensive your equipment is, how good your podcast sounds, it’s the content and information in your show that is most important. It’s what you talk about and how you present it. I’ve heard some very popular podcasts that sound technically dreadful, but the content is so good that people forgive it. (I’m not condoning this by the way) If the content of your show is lacking, people won’t listen. So, at the very least you can start podcasting with some decent equipment, and as long as your content is good, you should be ok.
When I started out, I had a Mac Mini, Peavey PV8, and an average dynamic microphone and actually podcasted for quite some time with just this minimal equipment. Though time I gathered more gear, but I definitely did not have much to start.
If you have absolutely no equipment I recommend putting out between $150-$300 for something. But even if you don’t have that, don’t worry we’ll still get you by. I’ll try to help you out with what equipment to pick up.
The Goal Of Equipment
What is the goal of your equipment. What is the equipment for and what does it need to do?
The purpose of your equipment in the simplest of terms is get your voice and/or video recorded into your computer, saved as a file, edited, and uploaded to the web, so people can download it and listen/watch it. Simple, right?
Typically, the more expensive the equipment, the better the quality of your recording. Better equipment will also have more features allowing you to possibly do more in your shows.
Now, gone are the days, when you buy your audio equipment at BestBuy, CompUSA, or your local electronics store. No more Creative sound cards. No more crappy headset mics and headphones. It’s time to shop at music stores now. Most of the audio equipment we’ll discuss on this site is available at retailers that specialize in music production. We’re talking, Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Musician’s Friend, Sweetwater, Zzounds. This is where you go to buy quality audio recording equipment and that what we want to do.
Have you ever been in one of those stores I just mentioned? I suggest you go and get familiar if you’re close to one. You’ll be in awe. There’s just so much cool gear there to check out and lust after.
More on equipment later!
