Help me record my podcast!

September 12, 2008 5:40 AM

I'm having issues trying to record a podcast in Garage Band. Help?

I guess only one issue really: when I play back what I've just recorded (which is just me talking) there is a hum. I have no idea what I should do to not get the hum in the first place. I noticed it only really hums during the parts of the audio file where I am speaking - in the silent moments between me speaking, the hum either goes away or gets pretty quiet.

Incase it's important, I'm using Garage Band on my Mac, and I am using the built in isight microphone.

Thanks!

posted by All.star to computers & internet (3 comments total)

I am using the built in isight microphone

That's probably the problem there- the mic likely picking up electronic interference or acoustic hum from the Mac. Can you try an external/USB mic?
posted by the duck by the oboe at 6:04 AM on September 12, 2008

You're not going to get a clean recording from a built-in microphone. It will pick up the vibration of the hard drive, the fan, interference, etc. You'll need an external mic if you want to get higher sound quality.
posted by ulotrichous at 6:27 AM on September 12, 2008

One of my friends and I have been doing podcasts for a few years now. The best outcomes seem to be recorded with a small dedicated device. We were using an iRiver model that is no longer available except for second hand. More recently, I have noticed that the newer digital voice recorders from Olympus are probably the best suited device that is widely available and reasonable in price. A small cheap external Mic on one of those would be sufficient, convenient, and portable.

If you are set on doing it on a computer, then it is probably sufficient to just get an external Mic. You shouldn't need anything fancy if you are just recording voice. I would record at a decent bit-rate and then bring the bit-rate of the final file as low as you can without it being annoying. When you do this it helps it to be downloaded fast, which is nice for the listener, and since the file size is smaller they can have more room on their mp3 player.
posted by Vague_Blur at 7:44 AM on September 12, 2008