So I know a lot of you guys might consider starting to Broadcast or start a podcast. But you don’t really know where to start with the equipment right? I know because I probably came from your position. And I had to figure it all out by myself without having success finding guidelines on the Internet although they are probably there but you are not in the mood for a deep web search right? Well then keep on reading this because I am explaining how to start a Basic Hardware setup that suits a Broadcast station or a podcast studio.
Now I am going to ask you now:”Do you want to be Mobile?” Mobile you said? yes Mobile. A lot of podcasters like to have a mobile setup so that they can record there podcasts anywhere. In this situation you basically only need a good Laptop and a USB Condenser microphone. These microphones are plug and play and they are compatible with pretty much every operating system. A good brand for a low budget rank is in my experiences the SAMSON mics.
Samson offers as far is I know two very good USB Microphones and those are known as C01U and C03U in the Hardware lineup. Samsons probably produces more USB Mics but these two are the most used by mobile podcasters all around the world. Because the ease of use. Get your Laptop. Get your Recording software (Free solution is Audacity) Get you USB mic and start recording anywhere in the world.
Here are the two mics, for more info click on the images.:
C01U C03U
But if you want to have a steady setup for at home of whatever then keep on reading….
Now for the steady studio’s you might want to get a XLR Condenser Microphone. XLR are more trusted and they deliver a higher quality sound then USB.
Before you are asking:”But where do I stick a XLR cable in?” I will guide you true some of the best XLR microphones out there that doesn’t cost to much. And are most certainly good for the price range.
When you are looking for a Condenser microphone you might want to look at the Rode Microphones. Rode offers a good number of affordable microphones and this brand won several awards for the microphones:
- Rode NT1-A <— Probably the best choice if you have a low budget.
- Rode Broadcaster <— I recommend this if you want to spend a bit more money.
Another outstanding brand is MXL. MXL is a even bigger number of microphones on the market then Rode and they are most certainly trusted by people like Bwana from Bwana.org Radio. There is one mic of MXL that every podcaster might heard of. And that is the:
MXL V67I. Click here for more info i’m sorry but I am not going to put a whole review on every mic I mention because you still got a lot to read. I am only pointing you which mics you might want to get. This post is ment to be to explain to you how to setup your hardware. 
Carrying on….
So now that you have your mic. We can go back to that nagging question you asked earlier.:”Where do I connect the XLR cable” The answer:”A Analogue Mixing Desk” Duuh!
Since we are looking for the cheapest solution possible I strongly recommend that you start looking at the Behringer Analogue Mixing Desks. Behringer is well know for its duplicating skills. And fear not. They do a pretty dam good job at it. Not only are they cheaper then the real models. They are performing almost just as well.
So I am going to give you the info I know. Because I have it all setup already. I use a Behringer XenyX 802 Mixer:
(Do you see the XLR Connections? On the upper left corner? There are two on this model)
So a Mixer has channels. For each channel a different Audio Source right? So you go ahead and start to connect your XLR cable. Done? Great let’s move on. Now you might want to play music during your podcast show or radio or whatever right? Then have to use the stereo INput channels located right next to the XLR channels. The XenyX 802 had 2 channels. (This whole process is based on the XenyX 802 Mixer so try to keep up) All you have to do is connect a External audio source to the Line In channel on the mixer. The XenyX requires 2Jack Line in Cables. And you are probably using a External Audio source that has a 3.5mm mini Jack plug right? Well then you will need this cable:
Remember Red=Right, White=Left | Small memory support: Red starts with an “R” so does Right
Get at least 3 of those. 1x for Line-In Channel 1, 1x for Channel 2, 1x for MAIN OUT.
Now I don’t use a special External Audio Device like most broadcasters are using. I just use the same PC as a Audio Source. So go Ahead and plug it in to the Line-OUT of your PC and then the LINE-IN of the mixer. Congrats you have a setup….OEPS Wrong not really. You still have to connect the Recording part. Because you are going to want your PC to pickup every thing you Mix on the mixer. Do to this you need to search The MAIN-OUT on the Mixer and then hook it up to the LINE-IN of your pc or Microphone-IN on your pc. Now you are ready to record. Now before I move on. What we did was:
- Mic -> MIXER
- PC-OUT -> MIXER
- MIXER OUT -> PC
Quick note:
Everything your PC LINE-IN is receiving doesn’t go to the PC OUT so you need to use the Mixer for your Speaker setup. I will explain if you read on.
Now that we are ready to record. We still want to hear everything we do on the mixer our selfs right? Well there for we need Headphones! Just use a simple headphone with a JACK plug and you are ready to go. Now If you don’t want to use the headphones at this time. You can go ahead and buy Monitor speakers. If you look on your Mixer you will find a section called “CTRL Room OUT” This is where you want to hook up the speakers. They do the same thing as headphones but on speakers….. So you can have a “Party” in your room if you want now. Every one can now listen to what you are producing on the Mixer
Congrats. You just setup a basic Podcast broadcast studio that works on both PC and MAC. If you still have any questions just let me know
Ayerthon Sadikrama
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