I got an email the other day from a pastor in the Netherlands who listened to the Forgotten Podcast. He has a real heart for revival in his home country and asked me about different aspects of producing a high quality podcast. I started answering his question very generally at first but got more and more specific as I went on. Below is the email I sent him, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that I have learned about producing a quality podcast that I could share. But I wanted put this tutorial out there for anyone that is thinking of starting their own podcast.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube teaching you how to set up a WordPress website and the RSS feed necessary to creating a podcast. These are very helpful to get you started on that part.

The equipment that I use to produce the Forgotten Podcast has evolved over the years. When I first started out, I used the sound equipment from the church I pastored, except for the Zoom H2 digital recorder (no longer available) which I had purchased a few years earlier. Although this got me started, I was not pleased at all with the results. My recordings did not sound anything like the podcasts I was hearing featured on iTunes. So I started buying the sound equipment that I could afford. The first essential purchase (besides the digital recorder which I already had) was the Behringer mixer. This would let me do work from home by borrowing a mic from the church each time I wanted to record. But for the next purchase, I wanted a better recording microphone. It was then that I bought the Audio-Technica AT2035 microphone. I used this set up for most of the Forgotten Podcast episodes.

Below is a list of everything you need to create my starting set up. I’m pretty sure it includes all the cables you need too. The links below are Amazon Associate (affiliate) links. This means that when you use these links, I am paid a commission for recommending them to you. It does not however change the price. It just helps benefits me for helping you.

Behringer Xenyx 1202 Premium 12-Input 2-Bus Mixer with XENYX Mic Preamps and British Eqs ($118) – https://amzn.to/3Q5ErMA
Audio-Technica AT2035 Cardioid Condenser Microphone Bundle with Pop Filter with 2 Layered Mesh and 10-foot XLR Cable ($149.00) – https://amzn.to/3mpfnT7
AT2035 Shock Mount – Microphone Mounts Reduces Vibration Noise and Shockmount Improve Recording Quality ($12.95) – https://amzn.to/3xjIy0o
InnoGear Desktop Microphone Stand ($14.99) – https://amzn.to/3mjKUWE
Amazon Basics 3.5mm to 2-Male RCA Adapter Audio Stereo Cable – 4 Feet ($8.19) – https://amzn.to/3GSWUI2
Zoom H2n Stereo/Surround-Sound Portable Recorder, 5 Built-In Microphones, X/Y, Records to SD Card, For Recording Music, Audio for Video ($179.99) – https://amzn.to/3mgtbQ7

Now, if I were starting over again today, I would probably not buy the Behringer Xenyx mixer or the Zoom H2n digital recorder. Instead I would pay about $150 more and the Zoom LiveTrak L-8 which is a digitial mixer and digital recorder (link below) together. Plus it has a lot of other great features to use for various kinds of podcasting. But it all depends on your budget.

Zoom LiveTrak L-8 Digital Mixer and Recorder, Phone Input, Sound Pads, 12-In/4-Out Audio Interface, Built In EQ and Effects ($449.99) – https://amzn.to/3atKTN4

A while back, I crossed paths with the local Moody Radio manager here in Chattanooga, TN and he encouraged me to do what ever I could to get a dbx 286s microphone preamp. I did and I fell in love with the sound that comes out of it! It was a magnificent boot to the quality of my vocal audio. I cannot recommend it enough. If you get this piece of equipment be sure to get the Audio2000’s C23001 cable below. I was shocked at how much sound quality I was missing by not using the proper cable from the dbx 286s preamp to the mixer!

As my podcast grew, I purchased Roland R-05 digital recorder (no longer available) based upon the recommendation of Cliff Ravenscraft of the Podcast Answer Man show. A microphone boom arm that allows me to stand or sit while recording. My latest big purchase was the Shure MV7 microphone. It was another huge step up in quality for my podcasting! But I wish I had not have purchased it! I should have purchased the Shure MV7X and saved myself quite a bit of money. Here’s why: Many people record their podcasts directly from the microphone into a computer and there is a whole set of equipment required to do this. The Shure MV7 USB allows someone to get around this by going directly into the computer so they don’t have to buy a digital recorder. When I started podcasting, I already had a digital recorder, so that took me down the path of not using a computer at all for my projects. When I bought the Shure MV7 USB for $250, I had no idea they had one for $179 that would be better for how I record. It doesn’t have the USB recording technology, but I don’t use that anyway. So this is just a heads up. Both are listed below.

The windscreen it a trick I learned from YouTube. The windscreen that comes with the Shure MV7 is a little noisy and doesn’t do the greatest job in filtering. Buying the Shure RK345, to me, remedies that problem.

Roland R-07 High-Resolution Handheld Audio Recorder, Black ($199.99) – https://amzn.to/3MmPi1P
dbx 286s Microphone Preamp & Channel Strip Processor, Mono 4-Way ($255.00) – https://amzn.to/3mooweE
Shure MV7 USB Podcast Microphone for Podcasting, All Metal USB/XLR Dynamic Mic, Voice-Isolating Technology ($249.00) – Black – https://amzn.to/3zeadkK
Shure MV7X XLR Podcast Microphone, All Metal Construction, Mic Stand Compatible – Black ($179.00) – https://amzn.to/3thvpCz
Klark Teknik MIC BOOSTER CT 1 Compact Dynamic Microphone Booster with High-Quality Preamp ($88.00) – https://amzn.to/3aol7tL
Samson MBA38-38” Microphone Boom Arm for Podcasting and Streaming (MBA38) ($50.39) – https://amzn.to/3znVGD1
Shure RK345 Black Replacement Windscreen for SM7 Models ($14.99) – https://amzn.to/3NXjlhO
Audio2000’s C23001 1 Ft 1/4″ TS Right Angle to XLR Female Microphone Cable ($14.99) – https://amzn.to/3NXtmLK

Now, if you add up the cost for the Behringer Xenyx mixer, the Roland R-07 digital recorder, and the dbx 286s mic preamp you come to a total of $572. But you can replace these three items and get a ton of other features by purchasing a Rode RODECaster Pro Podcast Production Studio! I don’t have one, so I can’t speak from first hand experience, but from everything that I have learned about it, buying the RODECaster Pro is the way to go. And you will pay less for it. Right now it is going for $549.19. And that price might come down because RODECaster Pro II just came out. Also there may be a number of used RODECaster Pro units for sale soon because of people flocking to the RODECaster Pro II.

Rode RODECaster Pro Podcast Production Studio ($549.19) – https://amzn.to/3Q39A3q

Now about music. I spent a great deal of time searching for the music within my vision for the Forgotten Podcast. I finally found it and made a sizable investment from day 1 to purchase a license to use that music. It has become the signature sound to the Forgotten Podcast brand. So please forgive me if I do not share the particular artist with you. But I will share with you some resources to great music that I have used on several episodes of the Forgotten Podcast. There are some great websites and some ways that can help you find some music for your episodes.

1. Soundcloud ( https://soundcloud.com )

Soundcloud is a repository of great background music for your podcast. But you cannot use every song on the website you have to look for specific permission. You want to look for songs that have a Creative Commons License. You can find songs like this by going to the search bar and typing “emotional piano” or “sad violin.” When the results come up, you can refine the search over on the left by selecting “Tracks” then underneath that you can filter the results by clicking on the words “Use Commercially.” Then select “To modify commercially.” You want to have license to do this so you can modify the length of the music to match the length of your episode. Then just sample until you find something you like and download it and use it in your post production work. Now changing the length of the music seamlessly and producing it with your own voice is an involved process that I do not have time to teach at the moment. I’m sorry. You will have to just learn, experiment, and YouTube like I did. (Sorry!)
Below are some of the ones I have found or have used:
https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley
https://soundcloud.com/savfk
https://soundcloud.com/universalecho
https://soundcloud.com/scienceteheran
https://soundcloud.com/soimanislander
https://soundcloud.com/liamhiggo

2. Free Music Archive ( https://freemusicarchive.org/home )

There is a lot of music here. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but you can find some good stuff. Below are some of the ones I have found or have used (be aware that not all the artists below allow modification to the music):
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Marcel_Pequel/
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Ghost_in_Your_Piano
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Pictures_of_the_Floating_World
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Borrtex
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Meydan
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Alan_Spiljak
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chad_Crouch
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Soularflair
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sergey_Cheremisinov

There may be more places to find usable music, but I have not needed to go any further that these when it comes to creative commons music. In both of these cases, when I use creative commons music, I do not give credit vocally in my episode, but I put links and descriptions about the music, links about the artist, and the creative commons license information all over the audio file and in my episode post.

I hope this helps!

God bless!

Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Ronnie Brown