Podcast Studio Tour (August 2019)
Podcast Gear
Shure SM7b
Buy it on Amazon: https://geni.us/shuresm7b
Buy it on Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/MOn5o
This mic has been my go to mic for about 5 years now. The reason I chose this mic is because it is incredibly smooth, and it softens some of the harsher frequencies in my voice. The microphone is on the dark side tonally and it is extremely quiet, but if you have the right gear to drive this mic, it can sound incredible on just about anyone.
Triton Audio Fethead
Buy it on Amazon: https://geni.us/fethead
As I mentioned, the SM7b is a very quiet microphone that is also a Dynamic mic. Enter the Fethead. This device takes +48v phantom power from your preamp/interface and converts it to ~25-27dB of gain. This means you no longer need to drive your preamp to 60dB for the Sm7b, but you can get away with around 30dB of gain. Depending on the EIN of your interface/preamp, this may not be necessary, but if you have a higher EIN device, it can lower the noise floor noticeably.
Universal Audio LA610 MKII
Buy it on Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/Do0Ld
This is the newest addition to my signal chain. This device has two sections, a preamp, and a compressor. The preamp is the 610, which is a classic tube preamp which offers a very warm a mid forward tone. The compressor uses their T4 Optical Compressor, and this is really what sold me. I have been A/B-ing the LA2A and 1176 compressor emulations from Universal Audio, and after months of deliberation, I decided that I am more partial to the optical compression of the LA2a. This device is not the EXACT same as the LA2a, but it comes very close , and I think offers a very smooth and transparent compression.
Universal Audio Arrow
Buy it on Amazon: https://geni.us/uaarrow
Buy it on Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/rM4g3
Out of all the interfaces I’ve reviewed, this is the one that I landed on, and couldn’t give up. That’s mainly due to the U Audio plugin ecosystem. You can purchase some excellent emulations of some extremely expensive hardware devices. They can get you very close to the original, without having to spend $1,000’s of dollars to buy the actual gear.
Sony MDR7506
Bu it on Amazon: https://geni.us/7506
These aren’t necessarily my favorite headphones for day to day listening, that would go to the Sennheiser HD650’s, but this pair of headphones allows you to hear every detail and mouth noise that’s in a recording, which makes it ideal for locating and editing out unwanted noise from your recording.
Mogami Cables - https://geni.us/mogami
Mogami cables are on the more expensive side, and they certainly aren’t necessary for most people, but it’s what i landed on to wire my studio up. The reason I selected this brand because they are robust meaning they won’t fail if you wrap and unwrap them constantly. Additionally, they have excellent shielding so yo uwon’t have to worry too much about RF interference.
Video Gear
Canon 70d - https://geni.us/c70d
I don’t know a dang thing about cameras, but the 70d has worked well for me for 4 years with no issues. I do love the color science (I think that’s what it’s called) of Canon cameras though, because it looks good right out of the camera and no color grading is needed (good for me since I’m color blind). One issue with the 70d (and most DSLRs) is that it has a 30 minute recording limit.
Sigma 18-35mm - https://geni.us/s1835
Prior to this, I was using the Canon 10-18mm lens. The problem with that lens is that it didn’t have any depth of field. The Sigma has a fairly wide angle, but it also has a large aperture. This means that I can run the lens at 18 or 20mm with the f-stop low enough to get a good depth of field.
GoPro Hero 6 - https://geni.us/gph7
I kind of hate this thing. It works well enough to record a second angle, but the color science is so different than the Canon 70d, and I have found it nearly impossible to match it to the 70d. I do love how there is no time limit on recording, and the battery can last an entire 1.5 hour podcast recording.
Software
Logic Pro X - https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/
I have not used a large number of DAWs, but Logic Pro has always worked well for me. I started recording on Garageband in 2006 and then in 2010, upgraded to Logic Pro X and haven’t looked back since. It does everything that I need it to for podcasting, and for music, I love the provided loops and software instruments.
Final Cut Pro X - https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/
I use Final Cut Pro mainly because I’m a mac user, and the software is very well optimized for the mac. Additionally, the autosave feature has saved my butt so many times that it’s worth every penny I’ve paid for it.
Guitar Gear
Ernie Ball Music Man Sting Ray - http://bit.ly/2MDbMRI
Since picking up the guitar in 2002, I always wanted an American Made instrument but could never afford it. Then when I hit 100,000 subscribers on youtube, I decided to finally get a guitar I’ve wanted for years. I’ve never used a guitar that plays so well, and the tone is twangy and clean. It’s hands down my favorite instrument I’ve ever played.
Boss TU3 - https://geni.us/btu3
This is the first pedal that every guitarist/bassist should get. It’s a tuner. Tune your damn instruments.
Friedman Dirty Shirley Pedal - https://geni.us/dirtshir
This is my absolutely favorite preamp/overdrive/distortion pedal or whatever the hell it is called. It has so much control, and it can offer you blues like tones all the way to metal distortion. It is one of the most versatile and amazing pedals I’ve used and It’s almost convinced me to buy a Dirty Shirley head.
Marshall DSL15H - https://geni.us/dsl15h
It’s not my favorite amp, but it gets the job done. If you’re looking for a head, I would not recommend this. I simply don’t think I’m a big fan of the Marshall tone. The overdrive channel has so littler versatility that it is somewhat unusable if you want a slight overdrive tone. That’s why I ended up picking up the Dirty Shirley pedal. I run the amp on the clean channel and use the pedal to to get the tone I want.
Box of Doom (Custom) w/ Celestion Vintage 30 - https://www.theboxofdoom.com/
If you follow me, you know I had some issues with a neighbor named Cheryl. She submitted a noise complaint because I played my guitar for 10-15 minutes 2-times per week at a very low volume. After lots of research I discovered the Box of Doom. This is a tour case with a LOT of sound treatment on the inside which attenuates the sound by approximately 29dB. Additionally, it has XLR pass throughs so you can mic stuff up in the cab and run it to a mixer/interface. The custom portion of this is that there is a USB pass through which allows me to test USB microphones as well without pissing Cheryl off. This box literally SAVED my butt!