Mac Software For Podcasting
[Editor’s Note: This piece is part of our series on Podcasting Basics. Remove date and time from comments in word for mac. Fl studio 12.4.2 for mac. You can ] In our, we discussed microphones, and the other accessories required to record voices for a podcast.
The next crucial technical element is software: for recording into, and for editing and mixing a final production. Transom has, and any of these may be helpful in choosing which one is right for you, or in providing details about using it. In this column, we’ll concentrate on how the various software is more or less appropriate for podcasting. Of course, a podcast is not fundamentally different from any other audio production, and so the sophistication level of your content will help determine what software is best for you.
Many podcasts are structurally fairly simple, based around one or two voices, perhaps with cutaways to music or clips of other audio, maybe with theme music that gets layered under the voices. More elaborate productions, with multiple elements and special effects will likely need one of the more complex software packages, but the good news is that a basic production can be made with simple and inexpensive software. Why record into a computer? ZoomH5 You don’t have to. You could simply employ a small portable audio recorder, especially for certain circumstances, such as conducting an interview at a subject’s house or office, or recording at a live event. There are many recorders that would work for this, but keep in mind what you need the recorder to do.
Enhance podcasts or broadcasts with sound clips, effects, musical accompaniment. Podcast app with iOS companion app. Free for Mac users, Apple GarageBand is one of the best podcasting software to use among podcasters. Adobe Audition With the option to pay as a monthly subscription or to buy the entire software, Adobe Audition is a streamlined and customizable software that is a standard option for podcasters.
If you’re recording a simple interview, you’ll get the best results using an external microphone, not the built-in mics on small handheld devices. Ideally, you might want to use two microphones, one for the interviewer and one for the interviewee, so you want to be sure to use a recorder that has (at least) two XLR inputs for external microphones, and, crucially, independent input gain controls for each input. Recorders such as the,, or would be good choices.
If you’re recording at a live event and would like to include the sound of the audience, the Zoom H5 would allow you to plug voice mics into the external mic inputs and also use the built-in stereo mics to record the audience. If you were to need more inputs, for more than one interviewee, or a panel discussion, recorders such as the Zoom H6 and Tascam DR-70D have four XLR inputs for external microphones (the Zoom H6 can be expanded to six XLR mic inputs with an optional module). Ultimately, you will probably want to load this audio into a computer for editing and mixing — every recording can benefit from editing, adjustment of levels and other clean-up.
Plus, your recording needs to be converted to an appropriate file format, have metadata tags added to it, and then uploaded to a server, all of which are easiest to do on a computer. So, even for remote recording, you may want to skip the step of using a field recorder and go directly into a computer. (That said, for live, unrepeatable events, there is something to be said for using a dedicated recorder: computers crash, are more cumbersome to set-up and monitor, and some make noise that could bleed onto the recording.) Mobile Pre USB Interface When recording directly into a computer, you’ll want to use an external audio interface, rather than the computer’s built-in microphone inputs. Microphone signals are very low-level and need to be amplified significantly, and it’s best to do this outside of the electronically-dirty environment inside a computer. Additionally, a dedicated audio interface is likely to have better-quality components to handle the amplification and analog-to-digital conversion than the average computer. There are many different audio interfaces, with varying configurations of microphone and line-level inputs, so there’s surely one that fits your needs and budget.
It’s most common for these devices to connect to the computer via USB, but there are also versions that use Firewire, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, or even WIFI. Some interfaces are tied to specific software, but most can be used with all of the most common recording and editing software.
Before you buy a specific interface, check to make sure that it’s compatible with the software you want to use – AND – just as important, with your computer’s operating system. Recording Software – Basic If your podcast is just one or two voices — without additional music or effects layered-in — multitrack audio workstations, free or paid, might be overkill. There are basic recording applications that can capture sound files from any valid audio source, be it an external USB microphone, or the internal audio from an application, such as Skype or other VOIP programs, a web browser, or teleconferencing/ meeting software. These basic recorders might have rudimentary editing capability as well, and processing can be added, making them sufficient for producing a complete podcast. Even if your production is more complicated, and you use a full Digital Audio Workstation to create your final project, these simpler programs are often good tools for capturing audio from computer-based processes, prior to assembling those elements in a more sophisticated editor.