Promo made the DSC. . . and sounded like CRAP!

[thefly]

I never appreciated how crappy my podcast (Thinking and Driving, available at http://thinkinganddriving.com :wink: ) sounded until Adam Curry played my "first car story" on the Charlie yesterday.

I WANT there to be a certain amount of road noise, because I do a commuting podcast. But I also want my vocals to be listenable. I'm so ashamed.

I guess the GSAL lapel mic + iRiver combination isn't enough any more. it works great for recording the Aesenal America podcast because we sit in the car, but don't drive.

I guess it really is time to invest in that mixer. I figure I'll put the GSAL stereo lapel mics in the back seat so they get road noise. But I can control the levels and fade them into the back.

For vocals, what kind of mic do you all think would be directional so the cabin noise of the car is minimized?

[ferg]

My guess is that, if you have a mic that is very directional, or a headset mic, which you can place very close to your mouth, you'll get nice clear vocals, but still have enough road noise for the ambience you seek.

[thefly]

Yeah. That's what I suspect.

Back to the store for more gear. My wife'll be so happy. :roll:

[pwfenton]

I never appreciated how crappy my podcast (Thinking and Driving, available at http://thinkinganddriving.com :wink: ) sounded until Adam Curry played my "first car story" on the Charlie yesterday.

I WANT there to be a certain amount of road noise, because I do a commuting podcast. But I also want my vocals to be listenable. I'm so ashamed.

I guess the GSAL lapel mic + iRiver combination isn't enough any more. it works great for recording the Aesenal America podcast because we sit in the car, but don't drive.

I guess it really is time to invest in that mixer. I figure I'll put the GSAL stereo lapel mics in the back seat so they get road noise. But I can control the levels and fade them into the back.

For vocals, what kind of mic do you all think would be directional so the cabin noise of the car is minimized?

First... the recording of the car story was fine. The balance between your voice and the road noise was off a bit... but it was flawlessly clean and clear, which is more than a lot of podcasts can claim. Seriously I had no problem understanding the story, and that was the whole point.... right?

If you really must record a podcast in your car, you should do it with a high quality headset mic. There are plenty... and you don't have to get them with earphones attached. In fact, if you are driving, it's surely safer without headphones.

You could also do what some other "in the car" podcasts do... and that is skillfully fake it. Record yourself 30 or 40 minutes worth of in car ambiance in stereo and then mix it with your centered mono voice track recorded in the peace and quiet of your home studio.

I know that some would balk at "faking it", but to me it's a question of what is important... what you have to communicate through your podcast... or the fact that you are in your car? If the fact that you are in a car is the most important thing... then the content is secondary.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not trashing the concept. It's just that, in my opinion, the reason I'd listen to your podcast a SECOND time, wouldn't be because I liked hearing your car.

[thefly]

Yeah. Me being in my car is certainly not the whole point of the podcast. But it it the only free time I have for recording. :wink:

I really appreciate the kind words and advice. I'll pop out and find a headset mic somewhere. When I get the mixer, I might mic up the cabin and fade that to background ambience.

Can't fake it. I get enough of that in my marriage. :roll: KIDDING!