Interview with a podcaster

September 21, 2006 9:56 AM

How to mix two microphone inputs for recording on a PC?

Right now for voiceovers in my podcast I'm using a USB VOIP headset -- the sound is tinny but it's convenient. That setup, however, can't be used (so far as I know) to record an interview. I understand that what I will need is probably 2 microphones plus a headset to monitor. But how do I get the mixed interview through USB into the PC for recording? If it's some kind of external box I have to patch through, please let it it be a) inexpensive b) smallish c) easy/intuitive to run.

posted by La Cieca to Technology (5 answers total)

Head down to your local RadioShack. Last time I had to do this I bought a small headphone mixer for $30... that was several years ago though.
posted by SpecialK at 10:20 AM on September 21, 2006

Umm, when you start talking about two mics it can start to get a little expensive. Would you really need two mics for your interviews? Alot of field recordings are often done with the one mic. It's all about technique.

This little kit might suit you.
posted by popcassady at 10:26 AM on September 21, 2006

If you want to use two mics, you'll need a mixer, or at least a USB audio interface with multiple microphone inputs. A great resource for things like this is Podcast Rigs, and particularly their forum. The guy who runs it, Paul, is infinitely experienced and helpful.
posted by YoungAmerican at 10:46 AM on September 21, 2006

You don't need two mics - you could use one mic that has a figure-8 or omnidirectional pickup pattern (rather than cardioid).
posted by ludwig_van at 2:39 PM on September 21, 2006

If you're just using a PC-ish little mic with a mini-jack, and not a decent rig with preamp etc, you could probably pick up a 2xmono->stereo minijack adaptor, and record one signal to each channel.

Something like this, but with a male plug at one end (or, exactly this and a male-to-male minijack lead).
posted by pompomtom at 2:58 PM on September 21, 2006