Stop Sounding Like a Potato: Fix Your Podcast Audio Now

Step 1: Gear Up (But Don’t Sell a Kidney)

1. Microphone – The Golden BoiYou need a real mic. No, your laptop mic doesn’t count, and your AirPods should stay in the gym where they belong.

• Budget pick: Samson Q2U or Audio-Technica ATR2100x, USB and XLR, so you’re future-proof.

• Level up: Shure MV7, for when you want to sound expensive without refinancing your car.

  
  

2. Audio Interface (if you go XLR)USB mics are plug-and-play, but if you're going XLR (like a pro), you need an interface.

• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, clean, reliable, red as your face when you forget to hit record.

3. Headphones – Trust Issues with EchoesGet closed-back headphones. You don’t need bass-boosted Beats; you need honesty in your audio.

• Sony MDR-7506 or Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are podcast royalty.

  
  

Step 2: Treat Yo’ Space (Not Just Emotionally)

Echoes are the enemy. Clap your hands. Hear a bounce-back? Your room’s too reflective, and that’s bad news for your sound.

Cheap tricks that actually work:

• Blankets, pillows, and rugs are your new acoustic panel friends.

• Record in a closet. Seriously. Clothes = free sound absorption.

• Hang some foam panels (Amazon’s full of them). Or go artsy and DIY with moving blankets.

  
  

Step 3: Software That Doesn’t Suck

• Beginner: Audacity (free and basic, like black coffee)

• Intermediate: Adobe Audition or Hindenburg Journalist (yes, it’s named like a disaster but it’s actually solid)

• Ballin’: Logic Pro or Pro Tools, if you’ve got money and patience.

  
  

Step 4: Recording Like a Pro (Even If You’re in Pajamas)

• Mic Technique: Talk 4 – 6 inches from the mic. Use a pop filter unless you want to sound like a beatboxing snake.

• Levels: Stay in the green. Peaking in red = digital hell. Aim for -12dB to -6dB while recording.

• Silence is golden: Don’t record next to your humming fridge, barking dog, or existential crisis.

  
  

Step 5: Edit Without Overcooking It

• Noise Reduction: Kill that background hiss, but don’t go too far or you’ll sound like a robot in a hurricane.

• Compression: Evens out your volume. Subtlety is key, you're not mixing an EDM track.

• EQ: Cut low-end rumbles (high-pass filter at 80–100Hz) and lightly boost your voice’s sweet spot (usually 1000–4000Hz).

• Limiter: Your final safety net. Keeps levels from spiking and gives a nice final polish.

  
  

Bonus Tips (Because You're Fancy Now)

• Record in mono unless you’re doing something cinematic with audio effects.

• Always back up your recordings. Your hard drive will betray you someday.

• Test before you record. Do a fake intro, then listen back. Fix what sucks.

  
  

Final Thought: Good Audio > Fancy Everything Else

People will forgive a lot in a podcast, awkward pauses, weird tangents, that one time your cat jumped on the desk mid-rant, but they won’t forgive bad audio. So take the time. Set it up right. Sound like a pro, even if you're just in your sweats talking to your buddy about conspiracy theories or The Office. Because in podcasting? If it sounds bad, it is bad.