My path to finding a better postcasting (podcasting) microphone
Above is my first ever postcast.
I know! I know!
I know that my first ever postcast was not the best one ever. The sound quality was quite hollow towards the end.
However, this newbie rawness makes me smile because I feel pumped by the challenge of improving. What's more now I can show you a real life example of a FEEL4 path which I am personally using to improve my postcasting sound and feel better each moment I take a step towards that improvement.
Let's dive into a FEEL4 path to show you my journey to better sound.
I am focusing on researching which microphone will improve my postcasts and to buy one asap.
ENERGIZE
I feel energized to do this to improve the sound and professional quality of my postcasts. I also know that the more professional the sound the more people will respond well and stay listening, this will help drive the FEEL4 brand to a wider audience. I am also keen to use this path to explain to others how FEEL4 really does work and is used by me for everything - plus this path will help anyone else with the same focus.
ENGAGE & LEARN
I am engaging with these actions and learning these things along the way:
1. I am doing some simple searching of google and YouTube. The search terms I use are:
"best podcast mic for pro quality sound"
"which podcast setup microphone do famous people use"
"Best Microphones for Podcasting"
These searches led me to a post about which gear Tim Ferris uses: https://tim.blog/podcast-gear/
Scanning the page for what I wanted I was drawn to Tim's comments about the Yellowtec: iXm microphone:
As a result of the price and my beginners experience of podcasting I thought this was too high a price to start off with but after hearing the example video it definitely went on my future wishlist. Actually take a listen for yourself here: Gorgeous sound, isn't it?
So I went back to looking through my search results for Best Microphones for Podcasting" and found this blog post: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/equipment/the-best-podcasting-microphones-on-the-market/
This post led me to the Samson Q2U. I then researched that a bit more by searching YouTube for some sound examples. I came across this video: I love the fact he is so genuinely passionate about it. Love the fact it is a USB and plugin mic. Finally I love the price (around £62/$77) and I am an avid user of Amazon so was happy to find it RIGHT HERE TO BUY!
BUT ...
This is a lesson I learnt from other FEEL4 paths, I also validated what was said by watching these other YouTube reviews of it. VIDEO 1 and VIDEO 2 and VIDEO 3.
But then I came across this brilliant video, I always like videos from people starting out as they come across as more genuine. Take a look: Next another lesson I learnt was to check if there are any Amazon sales coming up. And yes there are. Amazon Prime day is coming in the next few weeks. So I am going to hold off until then. I am currently using the Blue Yeti microphone but as you can hear from my first postcast I am not that impressed to be honest. But I think it will be okay to use it a few times more.
Maybe I will find other tweaks to make it sound better. At the moment I have it plugged direct into my computer but the sound is tinny. Maybe I could use free audio software like Audacity but I am also using ApowerREC to record the screen and talk. I am hoping to just keep the setup as simple as possible by clicking the record button and talking into a decent sounding mic. Then just uploading that recording to YouTube. This helps cut down the time involved.
So for now I am going to pause this path and wait until the Prime sale. Once I get the mic I will come back to this path and update you on my progress and the outcome.
This is why I love FEEL4 so much. No matter if I am buying a new mic or any other product, it provides me with the same steps every time to make sure I keep improving my results.
Thanks again for reading. Don't forget to subscribe below to receive alerts for when I post. I will come back and update this as soon as my new mic arrives. I will then do another postcast and you can compare the before and after and see for yourself how things have improved.
ENGAGE & LEARN
1. I engaged with looking into whether I need to buy a more expensive microphone or an audio mixer to nail the sound quality. And actually the answer is - no - not at all. Yes of course, if I spend more money, I am going to eventually get an outstanding product that will sound incredible but for the stage I am at and the ROI then my first choice of the Samson Q2U remains the right one to buy.
Oh by the way for a lesson learnt on whether having an audio mixer is worth it I came across this nice and simple blog post: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/equipment/podcast-mixers/
I am just going to wait for the Amazon Prime day sale and then I will go get it!
ENGAGE & LEARN
1. I engaged with searching Amazon when the Amazon Prime day sale started. My focus was to find a new microphone that worked well with Windows 10.
1a. I learnt that the Prime sale did not reduce any of the prices of the microphones my research above had pointed to buy and so it made me stop, rethink and repeat my above research steps to make sure my path was the right one. I have learnt in the past it is good to do this to evaluate if their may be another way to achieve your focus.
2. From lesson 1a above I also did some more YouTube searching for advice on the best microphone. I also reviewed the fact that I was using a Blue Yeti mic and these were reputedly the best mic.
2a. By doing more research on the Blue Yeti I realised that my bad sound experience must have to do with Windows 10 rather than the mic. I learnt that I was right!
3. I engaged with tracking down videos that would help me improve my podcasting sound from the Blue Yeti mic I already had. I found these two videos:
3a. From watching these videos I learnt that there were two issues causing my Blue Yeti mic to sound bad. The first was Windows 10 drivers were terrible for USB mics and so it was worth downloading two free programs [ Equalizer APO + Peace ] and together these enabled me to manage my Yeti sound. The second thing was to check my Yeti USB cable condition; I realised it was broken and so I replaced the cable which I had in a drawer.
4. Next I engaged with going into Windows 10 and searching for "Device Manager". Once that opened up in a window I clicked on the Audio list to see if my Blue Yeti was showing (it wasn't before) and it now was there. I also then searched Windows 10 for "Sound" and checked that the mic was properly configured there to.
4a. I learnt that each person has to do a little bit of trial and error on making sure all settings are correct. The main indicator is when you see your mic levels are recording.
5. Finally I engaged with testing the Blue Yeti mic out and it sounded great!
Overall I learnt that sometimes you need to patient to achieve your goal. You need to be adaptable in your approach. And in this case I saved myself a lot of money! I spent nothing to get the sound I was looking for.
So there you have it. This is how my path to finding a better microphone ended up. I saved money and fixed my sound. And yes ... I will be publishing a postcast with my new sound very soon so subscribe to be the first to hear it! ***Here it is!!! How much better does this sound: click here!
Author: Cn
Discuss
Post first published on 7 Jul 2019
I know! I know!
I know that my first ever postcast was not the best one ever. The sound quality was quite hollow towards the end.
However, this newbie rawness makes me smile because I feel pumped by the challenge of improving. What's more now I can show you a real life example of a FEEL4 path which I am personally using to improve my postcasting sound and feel better each moment I take a step towards that improvement.
Let's dive into a FEEL4 path to show you my journey to better sound.
FEEL4 PATH - 7 July 2019
FOCUSI am focusing on researching which microphone will improve my postcasts and to buy one asap.
ENERGIZE
I feel energized to do this to improve the sound and professional quality of my postcasts. I also know that the more professional the sound the more people will respond well and stay listening, this will help drive the FEEL4 brand to a wider audience. I am also keen to use this path to explain to others how FEEL4 really does work and is used by me for everything - plus this path will help anyone else with the same focus.
ENGAGE & LEARN
I am engaging with these actions and learning these things along the way:
1. I am doing some simple searching of google and YouTube. The search terms I use are:
"best podcast mic for pro quality sound"
"which podcast setup microphone do famous people use"
"Best Microphones for Podcasting"
These searches led me to a post about which gear Tim Ferris uses: https://tim.blog/podcast-gear/
Scanning the page for what I wanted I was drawn to Tim's comments about the Yellowtec: iXm microphone:
I use this mic for last-minute travel recording and post-production intros. It is an amazing all-in-one mic, which allows you to record without a Zoom or laptop. It automatically corrects levels and — quite frankly — produces the best audio of all the various mics I own. I use it for all of my introsThis led me through several pages to find THIS PAGE (in German!) to buy the Yellowtec. The price was around 999.00 € *!
As a result of the price and my beginners experience of podcasting I thought this was too high a price to start off with but after hearing the example video it definitely went on my future wishlist. Actually take a listen for yourself here: Gorgeous sound, isn't it?
So I went back to looking through my search results for Best Microphones for Podcasting" and found this blog post: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/equipment/the-best-podcasting-microphones-on-the-market/
This post led me to the Samson Q2U. I then researched that a bit more by searching YouTube for some sound examples. I came across this video: I love the fact he is so genuinely passionate about it. Love the fact it is a USB and plugin mic. Finally I love the price (around £62/$77) and I am an avid user of Amazon so was happy to find it RIGHT HERE TO BUY!
BUT ...
This is a lesson I learnt from other FEEL4 paths, I also validated what was said by watching these other YouTube reviews of it. VIDEO 1 and VIDEO 2 and VIDEO 3.
But then I came across this brilliant video, I always like videos from people starting out as they come across as more genuine. Take a look: Next another lesson I learnt was to check if there are any Amazon sales coming up. And yes there are. Amazon Prime day is coming in the next few weeks. So I am going to hold off until then. I am currently using the Blue Yeti microphone but as you can hear from my first postcast I am not that impressed to be honest. But I think it will be okay to use it a few times more.
Maybe I will find other tweaks to make it sound better. At the moment I have it plugged direct into my computer but the sound is tinny. Maybe I could use free audio software like Audacity but I am also using ApowerREC to record the screen and talk. I am hoping to just keep the setup as simple as possible by clicking the record button and talking into a decent sounding mic. Then just uploading that recording to YouTube. This helps cut down the time involved.
So for now I am going to pause this path and wait until the Prime sale. Once I get the mic I will come back to this path and update you on my progress and the outcome.
Thanks again for reading. Don't forget to subscribe below to receive alerts for when I post. I will come back and update this as soon as my new mic arrives. I will then do another postcast and you can compare the before and after and see for yourself how things have improved.
FEEL4 PATH - 8 July 2019
Okay so I am going to add to this post as and when I engage with more things. So since I wrote the above path I have been doing some more research.ENGAGE & LEARN
1. I engaged with looking into whether I need to buy a more expensive microphone or an audio mixer to nail the sound quality. And actually the answer is - no - not at all. Yes of course, if I spend more money, I am going to eventually get an outstanding product that will sound incredible but for the stage I am at and the ROI then my first choice of the Samson Q2U remains the right one to buy.
Oh by the way for a lesson learnt on whether having an audio mixer is worth it I came across this nice and simple blog post: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/equipment/podcast-mixers/
I am just going to wait for the Amazon Prime day sale and then I will go get it!
FEEL4 PATH - 20 July 2019
This is a great example of how paths can often take a different direction but you still get to achieve your focus.ENGAGE & LEARN
1. I engaged with searching Amazon when the Amazon Prime day sale started. My focus was to find a new microphone that worked well with Windows 10.
1a. I learnt that the Prime sale did not reduce any of the prices of the microphones my research above had pointed to buy and so it made me stop, rethink and repeat my above research steps to make sure my path was the right one. I have learnt in the past it is good to do this to evaluate if their may be another way to achieve your focus.
2. From lesson 1a above I also did some more YouTube searching for advice on the best microphone. I also reviewed the fact that I was using a Blue Yeti mic and these were reputedly the best mic.
2a. By doing more research on the Blue Yeti I realised that my bad sound experience must have to do with Windows 10 rather than the mic. I learnt that I was right!
3. I engaged with tracking down videos that would help me improve my podcasting sound from the Blue Yeti mic I already had. I found these two videos:
3a. From watching these videos I learnt that there were two issues causing my Blue Yeti mic to sound bad. The first was Windows 10 drivers were terrible for USB mics and so it was worth downloading two free programs [ Equalizer APO + Peace ] and together these enabled me to manage my Yeti sound. The second thing was to check my Yeti USB cable condition; I realised it was broken and so I replaced the cable which I had in a drawer.
4. Next I engaged with going into Windows 10 and searching for "Device Manager". Once that opened up in a window I clicked on the Audio list to see if my Blue Yeti was showing (it wasn't before) and it now was there. I also then searched Windows 10 for "Sound" and checked that the mic was properly configured there to.
4a. I learnt that each person has to do a little bit of trial and error on making sure all settings are correct. The main indicator is when you see your mic levels are recording.
5. Finally I engaged with testing the Blue Yeti mic out and it sounded great!
Overall I learnt that sometimes you need to patient to achieve your goal. You need to be adaptable in your approach. And in this case I saved myself a lot of money! I spent nothing to get the sound I was looking for.
Author: Cn
Discuss
Post first published on 7 Jul 2019
