GregHowley.com

Podcasting and Me

August 22, 2006 -

My own podcast hasn't exactly taken off, largely because I don't have that much to talk about. But not long ago, I got the idea for a segment that could be inserted into someone else's podcast, not unlike a parasite. After shopping around briefly, I touched base with Carl from the BostonGeek Podcast, who has agreed to accept that parasite.

Samson C01USo now that my voice will be heard on a legit podcast, rather than just on the horrid misshapen beast of a podcast that I was recording, I've been forced to invest in some actual equipment, rather than the two inch white plastic microphone that I've been using. So I did a little research, and ended up with the Samson C01U. Not cheap, but it's a USB microphone which will let me record without having to buy a mixing board or any kind of preamp. I just ordered it, so it should be here well before I get back from France.

My spot is going to be part of BostonGeek's Gaming Table segment, and I'll be playing audio clips from three video games, and asking listeners to guess what they are. I'll be giving the answers out after a few second pause, of course. I already found some cool intro music for the segment on the Podsafe Music Network: Restart/Reload by Clairvoyance. I have only now to come up with a name for the weekly spot. I was thinking "Name of the Game", but I'm not 100% set on that. Any alternate ideas?

Comments on Podcasting and Me
 
Comment Tue, August 22 - 3:30 PM by KJToo
I've had varying degrees of success with the C01U. I don't own one myself, but I borrowed one from a friend and I wasn't at all happy with how it performed on my HP laptop (running Windows 2000).

When using the mic with the laptop, I wasn't getting anything useful unless I cranked up the gain. Unfortunately, with the gain cranked up I was getting a heavy electronic hum (likely some sort of interference created by the USB power) that made recordings pretty much unusable.

I also installed the C01U on my desktop, which is P4 1.7GHz beast running Windows XP Home that I built myself a few years ago. Unfortunately, the tower case sits right on my desk and the internal fans make enough noise that I could hear them in everything I recorded. I can't blame the C01U for that, and I have no idea how well it would have performed had I been able to distance the mic from the cooling fans.

Lest I sound like I'm bashing the C01U, I should point out that I was very impressed with how well the C01U performed on my friend's laptop (which is why I borrowed it in the first place). We used it to record our portion of The Round Table until he picked up his new MacBook, which has an excellent built-in microphone.

 
Comment Tue, August 22 - 4:51 PM by Greg
Round table podcast? Harping Monkey? I heard about them on the Dragons Landing podcast, which I used to listen to frequently from episodes 1 until the early 40s, when they got upwards of 90 minutes. Did you know that I was the one who first suggested that Dragons Landing use a chupacabra as their mascot? :)
 
Comment Tue, August 22 - 5:41 PM by KJToo
Definitely looks like you should get credit for that one, Greg. The chupacabra (Bob) was recently "kidnapped" and his current whereabouts are still unknown, as far as I know.

I still listen to DLI, but I'm lagging behind thanks to those 90-to-120-minute episodes.

As for The Round Table, we're about to kick off "season three," which will focus on world creation for writers and role-players. The whole thing will culminate with "International World Creation Month" in January, and we've got some interesting guests lined up between now and then.

The show typically lasts about an hour, and I think we're going to try to keep it at that length.
 
Comment Tue, August 22 - 11:57 PM by Greg
As far as the C01U goes, I wonder if your problem came from mixing AC and DC power - I had that problem about 15 years ago when I was recording something using a DC speaker source and an AC recording device - the two together cause a hum.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 2:15 AM by Magus2
Behringer C-1 and a UB802 mixer for me.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 2:55 AM by pmd
If the mic doesn't work out...

Kevin Rose and Dan Huard did a good intro to podcasting on the Systm Video Podcast (http://revision3.com/systm/podcasting/). They go over software, hardware, etc. Also, Kevin visited Leo Laporte and they did a show and tell about Leo's studio. In addition to the podcast, Leo explained he does a radio show in the same studio.

More recently, Leo has written a similar guide which can be found here (http://www.twit.tv/podcastequipment). He recommends the Plantronics DSP-500 (~$40-$150) that he overnights to his guests as well as his Heil Sound PR-40 microphone ($325+). Leo claims the DSP is "Pretty close to professional quality" in the Kevin Rose interview.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 9:49 AM by Brandon
Major Nelson, of Xbox Live fame, has a gaming sound segment on his podcast called Name that Game so just be careful so as to not appear to be biting on the good Major.

I think you should call the segment "Mic Check" or "Game Mic Check" if you need to point our the gaming aspects of the segment.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 3:48 PM by Colin
I look forward to the segment! As for the mic, I have heard some good things about it. How do you like it thus far?
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 3:51 PM by Greg
Colin-
I just ordered it - I should receive it when I get back from France on September 5th. I checked last night, and I've already compiled enough video game WAV clips for five months worth of segments, and I haven't yet started on the NES or Commodore 64 stuff. :)
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 3:51 PM by Carl Reyes
I liked 'Name of the Game', but 'Mic Check' seems a bit awkward.

You could try 'Game that Tune' (a play, of course, on 'Name that Tune'. Or maybe 'Songs in the Key of Game'. I dunno.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 4:05 PM by Greg
'Name of the Game' will be my fallback if I can't come up with something better. 'Game that Tune' isn't bad at all, but I won't always be using game music - I'll often be using voice acting from games.

I'll think more about it while I'm in France.

Wait... who am I kidding? No I won't.
 
Comment Wed, August 23 - 8:50 PM by Russ
Hopefully the CO1 works out for you. I tried one, and to be honest I didn't like it at all. For spoken word, it should suffice for you, I was attempting one in music recording. I'm looking forward to the new segments! Anything to take away from Carl's ranting and raving is OK with me ;-)