Clean Cut Audio

I wanted the opportunity to let you all know that I'm taking a break from the podcast for a while! I plan on coming back in a few months with a greater sense of purpose, focus, and a stronger grasp of how I can best educate those who are looking to make their podcasts sounds better!   If you're looking to stay connected and updated, you can keep up with what's going on in the Discord server or on Patreon!   Thank you all so much, and I'll still be seeing you most weeks over on the YouTube channel.   Links: Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server     My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Rainy Days by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

It's very important to know that every compressor is different and it will make your audio sound differently depending on how it processes the gain reduction. There is a time and place for every different style of compressor, and in this episode we listen to 4 different styles of compression at 3 different amounts of compression applied to my voice.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! Clean Cut Audio on YouTube UA Article on Compressor Topologies 4SoundEngineers Article of Compressor Topologies IzoTope's 4 Different Types of Compressors SoundBridge Article on Types of Compressors   Compressors sampled in this episode: VCA: API 2500 Stereo Buss Compressor by Waves FET: CLA-76 Compressor by Waves Optical: CLA-2A Compressor by Waves Vari-Mu: u73b by Audified     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Something New by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Compression is a topic I've covered extensively (but also not nearly enough) on my YouTube channel. Even with all the hours of teaching I've done on the topic, I've barely touched on the other incredible effects and benefits of learning proper compression techniques.   While a perfectly dialed in compressor will certainly help level out your dynamic range and save your listeners ears from being blown out by sudden changes in loudness, it will also impart a beautiful tone and character to your voice that can otherwise sound bland and lifeless. Not even mentioning the sonic characteristics of hardware and analog emulated plugins, compression can add warmth and body to your voice that is otherwise unattainable, leaving your listeners with a more pleasing and intimate experience.   In this episode we go over the basics of compression, why it can add so much life to a podcast, and we listen to several examples of different intensities of compression to analyze the life it will give to a recording, and we'll learn to identify how much is too much.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: 10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society Basic YouTube Video on Compression Join the Clean Cut Audiophiles Discord Server! LA-2A Compressor Classic Optical Compressor CLA-2A Compressor     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A Apogee Digital ModComp oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Death has a crazy way of putting a lot of things into perspective. With the recent passing on my dog and best friend Levi, I've been thinking a lot about what audio and podcasting REALLY means to me. It got me thinking of the Alexander Supertramp quote "Happiness is only real when shared". We as podcasters tend to hole ourselves in a spare bedroom, walk in closet, or any location that is completely separated from the sounds and sights of the rest of the world. It can get lonely, and that loneliness and isolation can really get in the way of progress.   This week I'm revising the concept of community, this time VERY determined to provide a safe place for listeners of this podcast, viewers of my videos, and I to freely express ideas, theories, tips, and techniques that will not only result in a better sounding podcast, but a more fulfilling experience along the way.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: 10% off all merch, all proceeds benefiting the humane society Previous Episode on Community Community Vlog on YouTube Levi the Pitbull Clean Cut Audio on Twitter     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links       Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Harmony by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Something I've been seeing recently in Facebook groups and forums is people claiming they can't be great at audio because they don't have a degree or formal education in audio engineering. If that's you, let me offer some personal insight. I'm one of those chumps who spent 4 years and a TON of money on a degree in audio engineering, and I've lived to regret it. The REAL learning happened after college when I was working with some very experienced and prolific audio engineers who, guess what, never had ANY formal education in audio engineering.   The thing that really took my production to the next level was watching professionals do what they do best. To this day, I still spends hours every week, sometimes every day on several different paid platforms where I can watch audio engineers work and talk about their processes.   In this episode I offer suggestions on how you can learn how to be GREAT at audio and produce incredible podcasts without any type of formal education, including a new service I'll be offering called MixLab. Be sure to check it out in the links below!     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: Clean Cut Audio Mixlab Podcast Engineering School Podcast Engineering Show Taylor Larson Instagram from my Former Life as a Woodworker Nail the Mix     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud   Closing Song: If I Could I'd... by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Many folks think noise reduction is something that can only be done in post production, but I'm here to tell you that's a bald-faced lie. The best noise reduction is accomplished WHILE recording your podcast! "The best offense is a great defense" type of vibes. There are SO many things we can do to make sure that noise (see also: unwanted sound) is never captured in the first place!   In this episode you'll learn a little bit about soundproofing and why it's unattainable for more people, microphone techniques that will almost eliminate noise (with listening examples of course!), some physical objects we can incorporate into our space to contain noise, and if all else fails, how to fix it in post.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: Preamp Noise Comparison Episode Frequency and Wavelength 101 Episode Waves NS1 Waves X-Noise Waves Z-Noise IzoTope RX 7 GoBo       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: Avid Pro Tools 2020.5.0 IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves LinMB Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Holiday Blues by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

When new podcasters or audio engineers are reaching out to their peers for help with their production, it's not uncommon to hear the super frustrating and unhelpful response of "just trust your ears". Unfortunately when you're so new to audio, that means nothing. It's a lazy cop out that relieves the person being asked for help from actually teaching anything. It would be like a new fighter pilot asking his superior how to fly a supersonic jet and getting the response "just trust your gut". Sure the stakes are much lower in audio production, but there still needs to be some foundational understanding in place in order for our ears to be trustworthy.   This process of analyzing and critically listening to audio is called "ear training". It's very aptly named, as it's a very long term process that is constantly expanding upon previous trainings and exercises. Just like you would never finish a marathon with 0 training, you won't hear audio the way a professional does after a couple of days. With running, you need to run to the edge of the block first. When that feels too easy, go all the way around the block, then work your way up to 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, 10, 15, then 26.2 miles. When we first start critically listening to audio, some changes may be so subtle you start to question if you're listening to 2 identical audio files, meanwhile someone else is waxing poetic about how wildly different the sounds are.   This episode will teach you how to effectively develop your skills as an audio professional and podcaster so you can better hear subtle differences in audio, then use those skills to slowly but intentionally increase the quality of your audio week by week.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: Equalizing by Octave: The Characteristics of Each Octave Band on the Human Voice A/B'ing Your Audio to Produce Better Sounding Podcasts Metric A/B by ADPTR (free 14 day trial)     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: I Feel the Heat by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com    

I vow to never stop talking about local recordings until every podcast on Earth at least KNOWS it's an option. Whether or not they choose to sound good is up to them.   A local recording eliminates all the fail points and fidelity degrading processes by writing all your 0's and 1's directly to your computer without any consideration of WiFi strength, bandwidth availability, or whatever noises your cohost is making on the other end. If you're using a platform like Zoom or Skype to record your podcast, keep doing what you're doing, just consider adding a local recording via your DAW of choice, Quicktime, or an interface with onboard recoding options. You'll immediately see a dramatic improvement in your audio quality.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   Links: Local v. Zoom Audio Comparison Double Ender Video Using Quicktime in Addition to Zoom Demo Video   Consider donating to these foundations: George Floyd Memorial Fund Campaign Zero Reclaim the Block The Bail Project Black Visions Collective     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Love Mode by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

When it comes to mixing audio, you'd be hard pressed to find a more lively debate than the one between headphones and studio monitors. There are a LOT of pros and cons to each, and in this episode we explore many of the arguments for each side along with some brief lessons on HRTF (head related transfer function) and the psychoacoustics of how we localize audio in a 3D world.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: The Science of Sound 101 Episode Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room Waves Abbey Road Studios3 HRTF (head related transfer function)     Gear Suggestions: Affordable Closed Back Headphones Quality Closed Back Headphones Affordable Open Back Headphones Quality Open Back Headphones Affordable Studio Monitors Quality Studio Monitors   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 Waves PuigTec EQP-1A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter Waves Abbey Road Studio3     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Electro Brass by Joakim Karud     http://www.joakimkarud.com     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

My father always taught me the worst thing you can do is to constantly compare yourselves to others. It can be limiting, anxiety inducing, and can guide you off the path you should be taking in life. Every person, every voice, and every experience is unique and should be treated as such. However! When we're duding our own audio quality, it's important to keep comparing our audio against that of other podcasts and voices that are KNOWN to be of good quality. Here's the reason why...   I've said it many times in past episodes, our ears are more susceptible to change than constants. When we listen to nothing but our own audio for an extended period of time, we become deaf to less than ideal qualities in our sound. When we first hit play, we may think "oh, that sounds a bit off...". But after 20 seconds, our ears adjust to the sound and the longer we sit with that audio, the more it becomes normal to us. It's not until we take a break and listen to a show with audio we love that we realize we took a left turn somewhere in our mix and now we have to undo a lot of moves to get back on track.   If we take periodic and frequency breaks from our audio to listen to a show with amazing production quality, we will keep our own audio in check, constantly comparing our sound to something great so we know where we should be heading. It's like a beacon of light letting us know which path we should take when we hit a fork in the road.   There are several tools we can use to quickly switch back and forth between our audio and the audio of others, but the process of A/Bing can be as simple as you want it to be. Hit pause in your DAW, hit play in the browser of NPRs website. Take stock of the differences in quality. Maybe you'll realize your voice could use a little bit more low end. Maybe it needs a little less midrange, and we wouldn't have noticed that if we didn't have a comparison to look to.   This is also extremely helpful to compensate for the coloration of our output devices. In past episodes I've mentioned that EVERYTHING affects how we hear sound. The shape of our ears, the size of the cones in our studio monitors, the quality and accuracy of our headphones, and the environment in which we are listening. When we have something to compare our voice to, we can compensate for the coloration of our output devices, and this is EXTREMELY helpful when we're not 100% comfortable with the way our devices translate sound.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Links: Metric AB by ADPTR (free 14 day trial) Fabfilter ProQ3 (free 30 day trial) Cortex Podcast by Relay FM The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm     Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-76 Waves API 2500 oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Luvly by Joakim Karud     http://www.joakimkarud.com     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website  

The title says it all. You can almost stop reading now if you want to. But, I find buying used gear to be one of the most valuable "life hacks" when it comes to buying audio gear for podcasting. Podhacks? Anyways, in audio production, with very few exceptions, you get what you pay for, and usually spending a *little* extra money can go a very long way. This is where buying used comes in! If we have a fixed budget, which most of us do, we can get MUCH higher quality gear if we buy used and spend the same amount of money.   With a couple extra dollars typically comes a better sound, better build quality, sometimes better features, and possibly better customer support from the manufacturer. Over the years I've saved tens of thousands of dollars by buying used, and many of these items I've bought from eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Guitar Center, or Sweetwater (yes the latter 2 have used sections to their websites!) are still working perfectly after owning them for 5-10 years. We should try our best to buy fewer things, and buy things of higher quality. I've seen several folks go through 4-5 low quality USB mics that kept breaking after 4 months only to finally realize they should be buying a more rugged and field tested microphone like a Shure SM58. These folks spent $200-300 on USB mics by trying to save a little bit of money (which totally backfired!) when they could have just bought a BRAND NEW Shure SM58 for $99, or a used one for $40, which is damn near guaranteed to last a lifetime.   Next time you want to buy a new piece of gear, check the used sections on Guitar Center and Sweetwater. Check eBay and Facebook Marketplace for a seller with good reviews. Check the manufacturers website for B-stock and factor refurbished gear. It's a super easy way to get great gear at an even better price.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Episodes Referenced: 7. Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Podcast Equipment, Microphones, Interfaces, etc. 8. Comparing Preamp Noise on Interfaces, Mixers and Recorders     My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Hurricane by Joakim Karud feat. Andrew Applepie http://www.joakimkarud.com     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website    

No matter what instrument you are recording, how it was recorded, or what hardware it was recorded with, you will always capture unwanted frequencies. That's what this entire series on frequency has lead to, identifying and properly removing unpleasant sounds. While there's more to it than this, one type of very unpleasant sound is a resonant frequency, which is simply defined as a build up on energy in a located area on the frequency spectrum. There can be several of these resonant frequencies in a recording, and once we know they're there and have the tools and abilities to properly identify them, we can transparently remove them, leaving behind a more pleasing arrangement of sounds.   In this episode we define in greater detail resonant frequencies, why they're bad, how to identify them, and how to remove them.   Full show notes with graphics and illustrations available at my website.       JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA-2A oeksound Soothe2 Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Clouds by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

As we start to wrap up this long series on frequency, we work our way towards the natural conclusion, export settings. While sample rate and bit depth can be and are recording settings and are decided at the beginning of the session, we also have options when bouncing down (see also: exporting) our sessions. The same goes for what bitrate mp3 to convert our audio to. Each of these settings affects frequency either super directly or mildly indirectly so we're going to focus a bit on HOW our voices are converted and encoded into a digital signal, as well as how it's converted back into an analog signal.   Full show notes with graphics and illustrations available at my website.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA2A Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Great Days by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com   Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website

This episode focuses on a phrase I say often on the show, humans are more perceptive to change than to constants. So far, this series on frequency has been in relation to 1 voice, but most podcasts feature at least 2 speakers. The fastest way to lose podcast listeners is to have a wild difference in loudness between the 2 or more speakers. However, we need to take this a step farther. While the podcast loudness standard is -16LUFS for stereo tracks (my podcast is always exported in stereo), -16LUFS can mean many different things. It's an average across all frequencies for an extended period of time.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   The entire series on frequency has been leading up to this point. The importance of the midrange and presence frequencies. In the human voice, they're entirely responsible for the intelligibility of our voice, and when we dig deeper, it's also the most important ranges because ALL output devices can represent these frequencies regardless of cone size, amount of drivers, quality, etc. Every device will (for the most part) accurately represent this frequency range, so what we actually should be doing when mixing our podcasts is soloing this range and matching the loudness of the mid and presence range between speakers.   View the full show notes here!   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA2A Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: That Day by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Could this title sound any more clinical? Geez. Anyways, this is a super exciting episode! Building upon the frequency band listening exercises last week, we are now exploring more subtle and intentional moves when it comes to equalizing vocals for a podcast!   In this episode we look at 10 different octave bands ranging from 32Hz to 16kHz and explore how my voice sounds when we boost each of those frequency by 2 and 4 dB, and when we cut by 2 and 4 dB. While listening to each move made in this episode, I discuss the characteristics of that frequency band and how my voice changes as we manipulate those frequencies.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA2A Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Smile by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com   For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

In order to produce a great sound, we first need to learn how to hear good sound. In this listening heavy episode, we isolate the 7 frequency bands in the audible spectrum to hear what they sound like in isolation, and what it sounds like when they're completely removed from the signal.   All of the previous episodes and these listening exercises, in addition to the ones upcoming are critical to build a foundation of understanding what these frequencies sound like and how they affect the signal as a whole. We'll continue to build on this foundation as we learn what it is that makes up our voice and how to best treat it in post production.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!     Links: Full Episode Show Notes and Blog Post Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science by Bob Katz Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest and Ken C. Pohlmann How I Mix My Podcast on YouTube     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA2A Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Bingo Thrills by Joakim Karud     http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com  

When it comes to audio and creating a good sound, everyone will tell you "just trust your ears". It's a blanket statement that really means "spend the next 30 years figuring this out, because this rabbit hole is deeper than you could possibly imagine". This becomes exponentially more difficult when we realize our audio is lying to us, ALWAYS!   Building on what we know about frequency from last week, we're now exploring all the things that impact how we perceive these frequencies in every day life. From the shape of our ear and how it perceives loudness along the frequency spectrum, to the way our microphone capture sound, the way our speakers translate that sound at different decibel levels, and how our room colors the sound. We can never be sure that what we're hearing is actually real! It's a huge problem, one that takes a long long time to understand, then diagnose, and properly handle.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   Full show notes at www.cleancutaudio.com/podcast/13       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves Vocal Rider Waves CLA2A Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links     Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud Closing Song: Future Funk by Joakim Karud       http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

You can't master your craft until you've mastered the fundamentals ten times over. This week's episode is all about the fundamentals. What is sound? How does it travel from one place to another? What is wavelength and how does it correspond to a frequency?   All of these questions are answered within the episode, and plenty of visual can be found in the show notes at www.cleancutaudio.com/podcast/12     Find me online! Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Website     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LA2A Waves Vocal Rider Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud   Closing Song: Twerk by Joakim Karud   http://www.joakimkarud.com     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

There are many hills I'm willing to die on, but one I never feel bad about is that your podcast, my podcasts, everyone's podcast is a performance. Even for those who are "just talking to their buds around a couple cold ones" are still in front of a microphone working a non-zero amount to create a product for someone to potentially listen to. I think accepting the fact that we're all performers is step one to making a significantly better podcasts, for many reasons that are explored in this episode.   View the full show notes at www.cleancutaudio.com/podcast/11     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Hit me up on Twitter and let me know if you agree or disagree that all podcasts are a performance!     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LA2A Waves Vocal Rider Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links   Closing Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

"With great power comes great responsibility". We all know the phrase, but when it comes to editing a podcast, we don't keep it in mind. The ability to edit audio on such a microscopic level is an INSANELY POWERFUL ability, and we need to use this power for good and do it responsibly.   JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!   I think what people struggle with the most when it comes to editing a podcast is WHY they're editing a podcast. I have one very simple philosophy: We should be editing our podcasts with the listener in mind. Many people edit their show as if merely uttering the word "um" is a jailable offense. Our job with podcast editing is NOT to simply obliterate every "um" we come in contact with, but rather to provide the listener with the most pleasant, accurate, and distraction free podcast possible. True, the word "um" can be distracting, especially when used excessively, but in the removal of the word, many don't focus enough on preserving the pace and tone of the phrase. If we merely hack and slash the "um" out of existence, there's a strong potential for 2 words to be cut too close together, causing an audible and jarring edit, and the listener will notice. Potentially even more so than if you just left the crutch word in.   Typically we're ridding our episodes of more than just a few ums (or let's face it 1,500 in some cases), but no matter what we're doing in post, we need to make sure what we are left with is an engaging and natural sounding discussion. We shouldn't be creating edits at the risk of losing a natural flow, and we shouldn't be editing for a rapid fire, no breaths, no time to think conversation between 2 people who want to appear smarter than they sound. In the episode I tell a story of the time I left an 8 second silence in a clients podcast because that silence told a story! It's the same with a 3.5 minute song or a 90 minute movie. If it stays at one pace the entire time, the audience will disengage because animals are wired to notice a change more than a constant. Allow your podcasts to breathe, allow your guests to breath, create impact by focusing on pace and vibe, and never make an edit at the expense of a natural flow.     Hit me up on Twitter and let me know all about your editing philosophies!     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LA2A Waves Vocal Rider Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*   Closing Song: Take It Easy by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com       For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

I see a lot of folks (sometimes myself, even) using the word "editing" as a catch-all term for anything that comes after recording a podcast. If you're a solo creator, meaning you don't collaborate with another on the production, this may not be a big deal. Call it whatever you want, no one has to know. BUT, this becomes a much bigger issue when you hire your first editor, or if you're the editor working with your first client, because the word "edit" and even "editor" means a ton of different things to a ton of different people. In this episode, I'm calling for more standardized terms so we can all be on the same page about what the hell is going on in podcast production.   Throughout the episode, I refer to MY terminology for production tasks and service providers, but I'd like to open this up to the group to present some kind of list to SOMEONE in charge so we can all have a better understanding of what these words mean, because "editing" as a blanket term is too vague and requires so much back and forth to properly convey what both parties believe that word to mean, encapsulate, and who is capable of providing those services.   At the end of the day, there's not even a great standardized term for what a PODCAST is, let alone all the intricacies of the elements that go into producing a podcast and the terms for the people who create them. I may be wildly off base and over emphasizing the importance of the matter, but I at least wanted to start a conversation with you all about this and put feelers out for what the rest of the world thinks.   Closing Song: Good Old Days by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com   Let me know on Twitter or on Patreon if you think we need more standardized terms or not!     Follow Clean Cut Audio on: Patreon YouTube Twitter Instagram Teespring

When it comes to interfaces, mixers, and portable recorders, not all are created equal. I would even dare to say neither of them are comparable to each other! There are many reasons why I think this, but the spec we're focusing on today is the preamps, and specifically the noise created by budget quality recording devices.   Let's start at the very beginning... Any electronic device creates noise, maybe on a microscopic level, but in terms of audio recording equipment, they can all sum up to something that's audible and very annoying to have in a recording. The metric we're concerned about when buying audio recording equipment is the signal to noise ratio, and that's dependent on a couple of things. The 2 specs I really look at when shopping for interfaces (which is about every 10-12 years if you buy right!!!) are EIN and Gain. This will determine how low the noise floor is (self noise, preamp noise, hissing and humming), and how high you can turn up the gain in order to get the loudest and clearest signal possible.   Most budget interfaces we are dealing with, the Behringer UMC, the Scarlett 2i2, and things of that nature, only offer 51 to 55 dB of gain, which isn't enough to drive a Shure SM7b to a healthy input signal. What's even worse is when you turn the gain up to 11, it brings up a LOT of noise with it, cause your signal to noise ratio to be smaller, which results in low static mixed in with your voice that is terribly hard to get rid of.   In this episode of the podcast, we'll listen to 3 different samples of audio recorded on 3 different devices (or 4 if you consider my recording as well), and we'll explore WHY there is so much noise in 3 of the 4 records, and what we could have done to record a better signal at the source.. Spoiler alert, we could have bought a better, but NOT necessarily more expensive recording device.     Links: Clean Cut Audio on Patreon Tascam DR-40 Line 6 UX2 Allen & Heath Qu-16 Apogee Ensemble Signal to Noise Wiki   Closing Song: Thank You by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LA2A Waves Vocal Rider Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

One of the most exciting and most crucial times in a podcaster's career is either buying gear for the first time, or finally upgrading after months or years of steady growth and eventual justification for spending all that hard earned cash. However, there's a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to "what gear should I buy". The WORST answer to this question is any answer at all. Sounds strange? You're still in the right place.   In order to record a symphony, you need LOTS of gear to capture all the intricacies of every voice, every sound, every wandering and resounding tone in the ensemble, but did you know that your gear is a symphony entirely in and of itself?! I even worked in the name of my interface into that metaphor! Let me know when you find it.   BUT, it's true, your gear, everything you use to record your podcast is a signal CHAIN. And what do we know about chains? They're only as strong as its weakest link   Every component in your chain needs to serve its purpose, and it needs to mesh with all the other components. Your microphone must be a good fit for your voice, your preamp must be a good fit for your microphone, your interface needs to accommodate all the voices in your room (voices in your head do not need to be accounted for), and all of these must be careful considered and selected to work together as 1 very special unit, the unit that broadcasts your voice and your message to the world.   Read the full show notes at www.cleancutaudio.com/podcast/7     Links: Learn more on my YouTube Channel My Input Gain Video on YouTube All About Interfaces, Gain Ranges, EIN, and THD+N   Gear mentioned: SSL2 Motu M2 Scarlett 2i2 Behringer UMC22 Zoom H4N Audio-Technica AT2005 Audio-Technica ATR2100 Samson Q2U Shure SM7b Electro-Voice RE20 Electro-Voice RE320 Røde Procaster Neumann U87 Neumann TLM103 Cloudlifter     Closing Song: Wait a Midnight by Joakim Karud http://www.joakimkarud.com       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7 Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-     *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

I've said it over and over and over again, your audio is mainly defined by your microphone technique and your recording environment. Last week we recorded mic technique, so here we are with the environment!   Reverberations are caused when a sound (ie. your voice) bounces off your walls over and over again, hundreds of times a second, and each time it bounces off the wall, you hear that instance of the sound, and again milliseconds later when it bounces back, and milliseconds later when it bounces back again, etc. True, smaller rooms will create a shorter reverb tail, but it doesn't necessarily create less reverb. And a pillow might absorb SOME sound, but it's neither dense enough, deep enough, or voluminous enough to really make any kind of audible difference.   So where do we go from here? Really think about investing some money into your room. It's easy to dream about spending $450 on a brand new Shure SM7b, but I promise if you only had $450 to spend, I'd buy a Shure SM58 for $100 and invest $350 into treating your environment. You'll spend the same amount of money, and you'll sound WAY better with the $100 mic in a great sounding room.   Read the full description at www.cleancutaudio.com/podcast/6     Links:   My YouTube Video on Reverberations What is Reverberation? Relay.fm Haas Effect Frequency Range of the Human Voice Wavelengths in our Room Noise Reduction Coefficient Charts Room Modes My YouTube Video on Phasing Room EQ Wizard   Closing Song: Broad by David Cutter http://www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

I've said in the past that the most important factors to your sound is your environment and your microphone technique. The two are linked together pretty closely, and one slight change to either can drastically affect your signal.   In this episode, we explore several different microphone techniques with the Shure SM7b, not to find which one is "right" or "best", but to explore what we like the most, and that's highly subjective. That's not to say we don't bust a few myths in this episode and demonstrate bad microphone technique, but the bulk of this episode is critically listening to several different distances and angles of microphone placement. This is something I've been extremely excited for because I often see people complaining about their microphone sousing like junk, only to find out later they're talking into it from 2 feet away. It's very powerful knowledge to understand that you are entirely in control of how your podcast sounds, and the most expensive microphone in the world in a bad room with bad mic technique will sound worse than the cheapest microphone in the world that's being used properly in a well treated room.   I'll still advocate for better equipment all day long, but, it's important to know that the low hanging fruit, and the easiest and cheapest thing to fix is your technique. Very soon, this episode will be accompanied by a video exploring some of the same topics, but really take the time to get yourself in a quiet room with either a great pair of headphones or speakers and really critically listen to the different mic techniques explored in this episode. Audio is all about experimenting and very critically listening to the results. Don't worry about good, bad, right, or wrong, just try something new and see if you like it.       My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter     -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Being a podcaster or a podcast producer can be lonely business. Long nights in your pitch black walk-in closet, the basement, or the forgotten spare bedroom can take its toll on anyone brave enough to enter to wild world of podcasting. The reason so many podcasts fade out after 7-8 episodes (which is so lovingly called "podfading") is because the work can often outweigh the reward, especially when you're just starting out.   Luckily, there's an antidote to podfading and burnout, and it's called human interaction, err, community! I've been self-employed for just under a year now, and there have been entire WEEKS where I haven't left my house and interacted with another soul. It's so easy to get bogged down by the routine we find ourselves in when we don't shake it up a bit. When we join a community, preferably in person, we often come away from the evening reinvigorated, ready to take on the world and we're willing to do ANYTHING to make our podcasts be #1 on the charts. Over time, that feeling may fade and we tumble back into the routines and we face burnout around every corner. I HIGHLY encourage you all to find a local meetup of fellow podcasters, artists, creatives, and storytellers so that you stay inspired and don't let your passions and your projects fall by the wayside.   The other massive benefit of community is you can grow EXPONENTIALLY faster than if you were trying to learn in isolation. Everyone's ideas and values are slightly different, and it's massively beneficial to experience as many different methods as possible so you can better form your own processes and morals and establish what works best for you. If you're alone all day, as I'm known to be, it's very easy to get struck in patterns that are most likely not optimal or good for the human spirit.   If you're not in an area that lends itself to many meetups or gatherings of highly creative people, there are some valuable Facebook groups and forums out there, but not many. Be careful with those. But that leads me to this massive idea. What if WE create our own community that's dedicated to exploring values and ideas around capturing and producing better audio for podcasts?! That's something I'd be super interested in exploring with you all. Please reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com and let me know if you're down to get some ideas flowing with me and other listeners of the podcast.       Links: Clean Cut Audio Educational YouTube Channel Clean Cut Audio on Instagram My Vlog on the Importance of Community Podfest Podcast Movement   Closing Track: Harmony by Joakim Karud     My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

While we are all striving for the best audio we can achieve, learning all the ins and outs of audio can be daunting, especially when we really just want to be focusing on the content of our podcasts. This episode is geared towards the low hanging fruit, the techniques anyone can put into place with their current equipment to immediately and dramatically increase the quality of their show. A lot of what it takes to capture great audio is a good recording environment, proper microphone technique, and recording into software that doesn't degrade the quality of your signal.   It is so much easier to capture a great signal than it is to fix a bad signal. Audio engineer and podcast producer Tom Kelly discusses the importance of getting the signal right at the source, and offers several listening exercises of audio recording under ideal conditions, and compares then against a signal recording under subpar conditions that is later "fixed" in post.   By the end of this episode, you will find that your audio quality will improve by leaps and bounds if you incorporate all the advice and methods described within. We'll get to more advanced mixing techniques later on, but none of that will matter or be effective if we're not working with great audio to begin with.     Links Buy audio nerd merch! Check out my YouTube channel for more educational content! Acoustic Barriers for Windows My YouTube video on input gain and how loud to record your podcast Shock Mounts Pop Filters My Youtube video on local recordings How your room size will affect your sound   Closing Track: Dizzy by Joakim Karud   My Signal Chain   Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Since the beginning of time, or podcasting at least, it has been generally well received that having great audio quality isn't really that important, especially when compared to content and marketing. That may have been true for a long time, but the times they are a-changin' my friend. With massive media corporations and A-list celebrities entering the podcasting arena, bringing their massive teams and budgets with them, an unfair race for attention has begun.   While many people believe these celebrities and household names will bring flocks of new listeners into the podcasting space, I truly believe those new listeners are going to be a different breed than current listeners. Think about it this way... If the first show this new listener hears is Conan O'Brien's show, with a $13,000 budget PER EPISODE, their expectations have been set at a level that seems unachievable for many indie and hobby casters, very much like myself.   We may not all have the means to book other A-list celebrities or have a research or sales team to do the heavy lifting, but, one plane of podcasting on which we CAN compete with these new "procasters" is on audio quality, even without an audio team on staff.   The ENTIRE PURPOSE OF THIS PODCAST is to teach you all that producing great audio is very much within your abilities, and within your budget, regardless of what it is. You do NOT need to lose listeners due to poor audio quality, and I believe that will become more and more important over time. Feel free to let me know if you disagree! I would love to hear your opinions and theories, even if they don't align with mine.     Links:   Reminiscent Podcast Office Ladies Podcast USC Article About Audio Quality My Article about Audio Quality and Psychoacoustics My Educational YouTube Channel   Closing Track: Let's Go Surfing by Joakim Karud     My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble Microphone: Shure SM7b Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Often times in life, the only thing holding you back from achieving greatness is yourself. I find this true to be for audio. In podcasting, there is this culture I can't quite wrap my head around that seems to always be aiming for the bottom. "Don't buy that nice microphone what you can totally get away with this $17 karaoke microphone from Radio Shack". Does that place still exist? Why are we trying so hard to get away with the minimal effort? This hack-a-thon mentality can be fun in some situations, but it shouldn't be the GOAL when you're obtaining your podcasting equipment.   What I'm trying to encourage is the mindset of aiming for the top, and working your way down if you're not quite ready for the "big leagues". There's PLENTY of great middle-of-the-road equipment out there that is very easy on the bank account, but it's important to note that one of the biggest factors in audio quality is the experience and skills of the person capturing and producing the audio. I can be wearing the best basketball shoes known to man, but Michael Jordan in loafers will still wipe the floor with me.   So where does that leave us? I believe the mentality we ALL need to have is to fully understand the value of proper equipment, to buy the best equipment we can afford at the time, and regardless of what hardware you use, you should learn how to use it properly. It's really as simple as that. Strive to learn more, to do better, and get the best results you can with the equipment you have available to you.       Links: Clean Cut Audio Educational YouTube Channel Clean Cut Audio on Instagram Shure SM7b Electro-Voice RE20 Heil PR40 Electro-Voice RE320 Sennheiser e835 Shure SM58     My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble https://amzn.to/2L582pY Microphone: Shure SM7b https://amzn.to/34cLD1t Rode PS1A Boom Arm https://amzn.to/2FmMfXo XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   https://www.waves.com/r/9mitjc -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info, or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com

Welcome to the brand new Clean Cut Audio podcast. This is a show for new and seasoned podcasters who are looking to take their audio production to the next level. Every week, Tom will share actionable tips and tricks that you can implement into your podcasts RIGHT NOW that will make them sound great, and make them easier and faster to produce.     In this podcast, you will hear demos, tutorials, walkthroughs, listening exercises, side by side comparisons, and deep dive audio training that will teach the fundamentals of audio for podcasting along with some more advanced tricks that can be done by even the newest podcaster.     Links: Clean Cut Audio   My Signal Chain Hardware: Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble https://amzn.to/2L582pY Microphone: Shure SM7b https://amzn.to/34cLD1t Rode PS1A Boom Arm https://amzn.to/2FmMfXo XLR Cable: Handmade...   Software: IzoTope RX6 De-Mouth Click FabFilter ProQ3 Waves LinMB Waves Vocal Rider IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise Waves L2 Limiter Waves WLM Meter Waves Durrough Meter   https://www.waves.com/r/9mitjc -Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-   *most of these links are affiliate links*     For more info or to ask any questions, check out my website and reach out to hello@cleancutaudio.com