Don’t Rush A Podcast (Or Podcast On An Empty Stomach)

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” (via), such was the case last night in recording the 7th PlaylistMix.com podcast. When recording the KKM podcast there’s a schedule we adhere to – Wednesday nights, start around 8:30pm, no problem. With PLM it’s pretty much the same – Monday nights, start around 10pm, record, review, tweak, bounce, upload by midnight.

Knocking off work before six yesterday I figured I’d have plenty of time to get home, record and release the podcast before heading to a meeting for the Rockfall Festival (kicking off this week in Kilkenny). Alas, in my attempt to change the schedule and rush the podcast I came across the following…

  • I crashed the PC after recording the first segment – shownotes and everything else are on the Mac so the only activity the PC is doing is recording.
  • Moving the mixer used for the podcast (small Xenyx 502) introduced a low hum into the recording – given I wasn’t paying attention to the cables on the floor I failed to realise the XLR from the mic was bunched up over the transformer on the power cable for the mixer, hence the interference. Only after recording the first two sections did I notice this (mic channel lowered in my headphone mix). Scrapped that.
  • I wound up with an eye on the clock, wondering how late I could leave it before hitting the road to race the entire way across town for the meeting.
  • I went straight from the office to Studio B, no food after a long day which made me edgy in the chair (which was picked up on the mic with chair squeeks)

With about five minutes to go, I jumped into the van, hit the meeting, went home via local chipper for a number seven pizza with no mushroom and relaxed for a bit. About 10pm I found myself sitting back at the helm in Studio B, more relaxed, let the mic run and thought to myself – yep, happy with this one. Gone were the chair squeeks, gone was the hunger, gone was the thought of having to run anywhere.

When I set out the Playlist Mix schedule a month ago I figured Monday night would be the best opportunity for me to record the show and I guess I’m right. I tried to change it for the one night and it went pear shaped.

So, my tips to you if you’re recording a podcast…

  • Relax, be yourself
  • Don’t rush the production – it’s not like it’s a live show, and you’re still going to get it out on time.
  • Don’t podcast on an empty stomach.
  • On a tech side – if you’re using a mic > xlr > mixer setup, make sure your mic cable is away from any power sources or anything that could cause signal interference! Took me a while to figure out that simplest of rules!

The result?

Listen to Playlist Mix #7 (Download 33mb)

[audio:http://www.playlistmix.com/podpress_trac/web/14/0/podcast007.mp3]

2 Comments

  1. Daw October 25, 2007 at 3:36 am

    Well you right to be pleased with this one. I scoured it for hum. Go Ken.
    Thanks a mill for the play and the push!!

  2. Ken McGuire October 25, 2007 at 9:32 am

    Scouring for hum in the wee hours of the morning? Fair play. Now to crack that compressor on the head.

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