Mic polar patterns for a podcast

[garrettendi]

So, Mrs Endi wants to do a podcast with me, exploring amongst other things: parenting, my Deafness/Autism, and other family experiences.

I've somehow persuaded Mrs Endi that I should upgrade the crappy S240 mic I got from Temu to a Lewitt LCT240 to get better quality for the podcast (I have no idea how I managed that!). But in the meanwhile I have a Sennheiser e835 and said Temu S240 mic. I'd like to give the latter a fair stab at this... I mean, who's really going to listen to the very first couple of episodes of a brand new podcast?

Here is the polar pattern according to Temu, laden with grammar mistakes so don't take it as guaranteed:



Will this work with the mic pointing to in between Mrs Endi and I, such that the two of us are each roughly 30 degrees off the front centre of the mic?

[James Perrett]

I'd use both mics, one on each person, rather than trying to use one mic for both. You can then place the mic closer to the person speaking which will almost certainly give a better result.

[garrettendi]

Fair enough, I suspected as much but I wanted to simplify things a tad. I'll go that route.

Would you recommend I also use an iPhone to record us as a back up source? I've had Reaper crash with a certain plugin, and while I won't be using said plugin (it's a virtual instrument anyway) I want to be covered should Reaper crash 45 minutes into recording.

[tea for two]

I had a Presonus Revelator multipattern usbC mic : cardi, 8, omni.
I didn't do a simultaneous 2 persons speaking to hear how it would sound in 8 and omni. Still I liked its sound.
I plugged it into my android usbC and ipad pro usbC port to record.

So, Mrs Endi wants to do a podcast with me, exploring amongst other things: parenting, my Deafness/Autism, and other family experiences.
I mean, who's really going to listen to the very first couple of episodes of a brand new podcast?

I would listen as there's autism spectrum in the family, also for your experiences you posted time to time on Musician's Lounge.

[garrettendi]

So, Mrs Endi wants to do a podcast with me, exploring amongst other things: parenting, my Deafness/Autism, and other family experiences.
I mean, who's really going to listen to the very first couple of episodes of a brand new podcast?

I would listen as there's autism spectrum in the family, also for your experiences you posted time to time on Musician's Lounge.

I shall be sure to post a link to the first episode in the Musician's Lounge then!

[Hugh Robjohns]

Will this work with the mic pointing to in between Mrs Endi and I, such that the two of us are each roughly 30 degrees off the front centre of the mic?

Yes, it will work... but with some compromises.

As you move off axis the frequency response changes because the polar pattern usually changes at different frequencies. This tends to be more pronounced for large diaphragm mics, and typically there's less top end and more bass at 30+ degrees compared to directly on axis. Whether this is a problem or not can only be determined by trying it.

Another potential problem is that to get two people around the mic, it usually has to be further away than if the mic was covering only one person, and that means more room sound.

Also, you have less control over the balance between the two voices, particularly if you talk over each other st any point. If one of you has a stronger voice you can chop the track up to separate the two voices and then rebalanced the levels, but that also results in changing noise floor levels which can be quite distracting.

It really would be better, and make life easier, if you can use two cardioid mics. Sit opposite each other, with the mic rear null facing the other speaker for maximum separation. Record to separate tracks with plenty of headroom, and if you make mistakes and redo sections try and give yourself a run in to the edit point to get the flow right.

And finally, just be aware of what personal information you put in your podcast. Once you put yourself in the public domain nasty people think they have the right to throw rocks....

Also, stuff on the Internet never truly goes away and little miss Endi might not thank you in a decade or two if things are discovered when she's applying for jobs!

[James Perrett]

I want to be covered should Reaper crash 45 minutes into recording.

If you stick to Reaper's own plug-ins it will never crash. In fact, even with dodgy third party plug-ins, it is usually the plug-in that crashes rather than Reaper.

[garrettendi]

It really would be better, and make life easier, if you can use two cardioid mics. Sit opposite each other, with the mic rear null facing the other speaker for maximum separation. Record to separate tracks with plenty of headroom, and if you make mistakes and redo sections try and give yourself a run in to the edit point to get the flow right.

After James' comments this is exactly what I was thinking. I only have the two mics (for now!) so will use those.

Any suggestions for post-effects? I was thinking a simple analog style eq on each track and Melda's MCompressor after the eq. Possibly maybe a de-esser?

[garrettendi]

If you stick to Reaper's own plug-ins it will never crash. In fact, even with dodgy third party plug-ins, it is usually the plug-in that crashes rather than Reaper.

Fair enough, I shall not use a backup iPhone then!

[James Perrett]

Any suggestions for post-effects? I was thinking a simple analog style eq on each track and Melda's MCompressor after the eq. Possibly maybe a de-esser?

You are over-thinking this. If you have decent acoustic treatment in your room you will need little processing apart from maybe setting the final levels. Don't automatically assume that everything needs processing.

If you do need to process anything then Reaper's own effects are all you need - apart from maybe de-noising where RX is useful.

[garrettendi]

You are over-thinking this. If you have decent acoustic treatment in your room you will need little processing apart from maybe setting the final levels. Don't automatically assume that everything needs processing.

If you do need to process anything then Reaper's own effects are all you need - apart from maybe de-noising where RX is useful.

At the moment, the only treatment I have is shelves filled with books and ornaments behind where I will be sitting, and furniture to the sides of both of us and behind Mrs Endi.

Due to budget constraints, acoustic treatment is on the backburner.

[Hugh Robjohns]

A couple of duvets hung behind each of you on mic stands etc can make a world of difference.

Processing-wise, a little peak limiting and gentle compression to maintain levels can help, but you're unlikely to need anything else.

[garrettendi]

A couple of duvets hung behind each of you on mic stands etc can make a world of difference.

Processing-wise, a little peak limiting and gentle compression to maintain levels can help, but you're unlikely to need anything else.

Thanks Hugh, I don't think we have any spare mic stands that won't be used for the recording but I very much suspect we'll find a way to hang up some duvets

[Hugh Robjohns]

Use whatever comes to hand -- clothes horses, spare bits of 2x2 timber, picture rail hooks.... whatever. Place the duvets behind your (and your interviewee's) shoulders. The idea is to stop sounding bouncing off the wall behind you, over your shoulders and straight into the front of the mic. And it makes a remarkable difference in lively rooms.

[garrettendi]

Thanks Hugh! So there's been a slight change of plan by Mrs Endi (who is now the Director of the podcast ). We're going to initially film live on TikTok with her phone.... but worry not! When we are ready, we'll be doing everything a bit more properly, with recording the audio with mics and Reaper, and using that audio for Spotify and the video that will make its way to YouTube.

We've had a chat and we feel going slowly is the best way to do this, so I'll be presenting all your great advice to Mrs Endi tonight, and we're going to come up with a plan to start small, and get big as time goes by!

[sonics]

Use one mic per voice, definitely.
A little EQ to balance any vocal oddities and mic differences.
Make sure to add HPFs to get rid of low rumble and knocks. I've heard that too much these days, even in high-budget productions. (I guess they don't have good monitoring, or don't bother.)
Some gentle compression or level control. I favour subtle level management (upwards and downwards compression) myself.
A limiter at the end.
A good meter, always visible.

Then stay on mic!