You can hear me as a guest on another podcast here:

http://moneybloggerpodcast.blogspot.com ... money.html

The key for me is to speak slowly, to enunciate, and to be organized. I did an interview on live radio recently and it was terrible, one of the worst experiences of my life.

Today while doing yardwork, I thought more about the podcast idea. I would really like to try it. I'd aim for 10-15 minute shows. I'd actually record maybe twice as much material, and then edit it. I'd mostly do interviews: maybe one with an accountant, one with a lawyer, one with a career counselor, one with a broker, etc. I'd make sure things sounded polished and that the podcasts contained useful information. I told my wife as we drove to dinner tonight that the schedule would be "irregular", meaning I would put one up when I could, but that they would be a low priority.

I think I'm going to pick up the equipment to make this happen, and then produce a sample show or two. (Not every show would be an interview -- some might be extended stories, etc. But it's not just going to be rambling.)

The key, as I've said before, is to make it something I would want to listen to.

As someone who recently scripted and recorded a video toast/roast for a retirement party, my advice is NOT to script the show too closely. By trying to read every word as I had written it, I messed up about 20 times (for a simple 1 minute video!). I work better with a little bit of ad lib, so next time I'll just jot down some bullet points and fill in the blanks on the fly.

GRS podcast alpha version 01 (0:34 mp3)

That is to say, I received the microphone from Brad today. Thank you. I plugged it into my MacBook Pro, loaded GarageBand (for the first time ever), and spent fifteen minutes playing with it. This is what I produced. I still have many, many questions, but I intend to read voraciously on the subject, and to experiment.

I have high hopes that my friends will be willing to sit around and chat about our ill-fated investment club this weekend (it's a fun group and a fun story), and that might form the basis for an early episode. Initially, I may record a couple of longer story-based entries just to have something to play with while I learn.

Thanks again, Brad.

Just out of curiosity... Is the mic on the Macbook Pro not good enough for recording pod casts? Either way, you picked the right machine to create Podcasts with!

Podcasts could really draw additional readers to your blog... My commute is about 25 minutes each morning and I try and listen to a combination of podcasts and the local radio talk show. I imagine there are a number of other people interested. If you get your podcast out to iTunes you also might reach a whole lot of additional people that don't follow blogs as religiously as the rest of us.

You sound so NPR...

Nina Totenberg is my role-model...

Too cool! And that was fast...I mailed it from Vermont on Friday.

Latro, the built-in mics on Mac laptops are too small for good-quality recording. They'll do in a pinch, but they're not up to real podcasting quality. One decent alternative is the original iSight (the Firewire device that clips on to your Mac, not the ones that are built in to all new Macs now); the microphone on that unit is better than the built-in one on the Mac (though still not as good as the one I gave J.D.), and it has a Firewire connection. A lot of people will be getting rid of their iSights when they upgrade their Macs, so I'm sure there'll be lots of them on the market for cheap. I've recorded live music with my iSight and it's really not bad, but still not as good as a larger mic.

J.D. I'm glad it arrived safe and sound; enjoy! It sounds good, and I look forward to hearing your podcast.

Constructive criticism: The music was well centered, but your voice was louder in the right channel which is a little uncomfortable for me. Your speaking was clear and understandable, if ever so slightly tinny. Perhaps your recording space is a bit too "live".

Tiny, yeah I know. That was just a quick test in my office at work, not the space I intend to record in. I hope to speak more slowly, too, and to enunciate when I record the actual podcasts.

As for the right-channel thing: I'm not sure what was going on there, but I noticed it too. Actually, it was only on the exported mp3, not in Garage Band, so there's something I'm missing somewhere.

PLEASE continue to offer criticism and advice as I prepare to pursue this project. It's exactly what I need...

I'm no audio expert, but I just ran your sample through a little mp3-processing app I have (winLame -- PC) and converted it to variable bit rate (96k min - 192k max), mono, with a lowpass filter at 16000 Hz (I didn't experiment further, just picked this number out of the air). The audio quality is just as good (to my ear), the balance is fixed as is the slight tin-can effect, and the filesize is a little more than half of your sample.

I wonder if the problem came when I used iTunes to convert from m4a to mp3. I'll look into it. Thanks, tinyhands.

JD - not bad with the recording. What kinda mic is it again?

I record my podcast in my closet full of clothes. Basically whatever is the quietest room in your house and get comfortable. Recording somewhere that is warm, cold or you can be comfortable while recording will do more harm to the recording than being in a room with a little bit of noise.

And it's a recording. Do it as many times as you need until you're happy with it.

In terms of EQ and compression, there are lots of ways to go about it. You can send me some files and I can try to work out some presets for you.

Thanks for the tips, Robb. The mic is a Samson C01U. I need to get a stand for it, and maybe a vibration dampener thing (don't know what it's called), and a pop thingie (don't know what it's called either). I do have a small, quiet room in which I intend to record. I would only be bothered by cats. I should do a short recording there and post it here as an example of the room's qualities. If I have time, I'll do that this afternoon.

I've flagged your e-mail, and will respond to it this weekend.

Thanks!

Pop filter - you don't need one, just don't speak directly into the mic. I say this from the point of view from a guy who records people's voices all day long.

Shock mount - looks like that's the only way that this mic can be holstered. A shame, but a necessary evil I suppose.

Get close and have the mic be off to the side of you, no directly in front of you. Almost like you're micing the corner of your mouth, just aim it at the middle. This will cut down on the plosives (p's t's b's) and any wind you might generate.

Samson's a pretty good company. I know of a studio that uses this mic as a vocal mic for commercials and hip hop. Sam Ash started the company to hide the "Sam Ash" name because musicians started associate it with low quality in general. The Samson name has helped change that.

Nope, it doesn't need a shock mount -- the picture on that page is a bit misleading. It comes with an adjustable adapter that screws on to the end of the mic securely and then screws on to any standard mic stand.

I think you'd only need a shock mount if you're going to be moving around and making noises on the floor, tapping your feet, etc., which hopefully won't be happening while you record a podcast unless you're playing with a Wii at the same time or you're unusually expressive