Original subtitles

I've been podcasting for almost 15 years

and I'm kind of a gear nerd so in this

video I'm going to show you all the

setups for solo podcast recording you

and one other guest three people four

people and more I'll give you options on

several budget levels from starter

budgets all the way to Advanced if you

want to add video to your podcast and

some accessories to make sure you look

and sound your best let's talk about

solo podcasting or content creation if

you're looking for a USB microphone this

is the one I typically recommend it's

under $50 on Amazon it has a USBC

connection here and XLR this is the

perfect beginning microphone I used it

for many years and one of the co-hosts

on my shows still uses this mic it's

incredibly flexible because you can

connect it not only to your computer but

also your iPhone or iPad and record with

the Riverside app whether you're doing

solo content or something with a remote

guest also USB microphones like this

have a headphone jack here and you want

to make sure to plug in a pair of wired

headphones this way you can monitor your

own voice and if you're recording with a

remote guest you'll be to hear them as

well when you go to record you can

connect this microphone to your device

with just a single USBC cable here I am

in Riverside getting ready to record and

you'll see this microphone shows up as

the ATR 2100x I'll link this microphone

and all the gear you see in this video

down in the description under 1 2 3 or

four podcast setups now if you want to

upgrade your sound and have a little bit

more budget I would recommend the sure

mv6 this is also a USB microphone works

with your Mac or Windows computer you

plug in your headphones there this this

also comes with a microphone stand in

the box that's pretty high quality and

this microphone has built-in voice

isolation that cuts down on background

noise if your room is a little echoey

this will help I actually did an entire

video review of this microphone I'll

link that above and down in the

description but this is a great

intermediate microphone to step up and

before you get to XLR microphones which

we'll talk about in more advanced setups

you can use the sh mv7 plus this is also

a USBC microphone has a headphone jack

you can also connect it with an XLR

cable which we'll get into audio

interfaces in a second but this is going

to get you pretty much professional

sound and it's about

$250 now if you're doing a solo podcast

and you want to add video which I highly

recommend you doing just for

discoverability being able to put that

content on YouTube and Spotify for

creators your mobile device whether it's

an iPhone or modern Android phone is

likely going to get you great picture

quality even better than a lot of

dedicated webcam options I actually did

an entire video review of the opal C1

versus the iPhone versus more

inexpensive webcams and even the opal

tadpull which is very convenient has a

built-in clip for like your laptop and

if you don't want to use your phone for

your camera these work well but honestly

your phone camera is probably going to

look the best does the best white

balancing even in low light situations

and here's an example of what recording

with an iPhone in the Riverside app

looks like even using a USB microphone

and if you wanted to use your computer

to record but still use your mobile

device as your camera continuity camera

with an iPhone and a Mac works extremely

well I can literally select my camera

right here and now I'm using my iPhone

as my webcam right here in Riverside and

you get a seamless recording super easy

to use now when you're recording Solo in

addition to a microphone stand which

comes with the mv6 and the ATR 2100x you

want to get a tripod to hold your phone

if you're using that as your camera I

really like this tripod it's about 30

bucks it's a Joby gorilla grip I'll put

a link to this down below and I have a

little Mount here from moment and I like

it because if you have an iPhone you can

magnetically attach your phone and then

use this as your Tri OD it's going to

get you stable video and it'll look

really good you can also get inexpensive

mobile mounts for all kinds of phones

like this the clip can expand to fit

multiple phone sizes and having a tripod

like this plus a microphone stand is

going to go a long way now if you're

doing a solo podcast but you really want

to use like this mic which you've

probably seen everywhere this is the sh

sm7b to use something like this you're

going to need an audio interface and one

that's powerful enough to run a mic like

this I'll go over some options in a

moment but honestly if you're just

starting out recording solo I think the

sh mv7 plus that I showed earlier or the

mv6 for $150 those are better options

especially if you're just starting out

and if you're recording solo now if you

want to record with two people in the

same room you're going to need an audio

interface I have a few options here one

that I highly recommend is the vaster 2

this is from Focus ride I actually did

an entire video talking about this in

depth and setting it up I'll link it

above and down in the description but it

offers two XLR ports allowing you to

connect two microphones and record them

simultaneously the vaster 2 is

reasonably priced at $250 and has great

features for beginners like Auto gain

meaning you can talk for a few seconds

and it will set the volume for you

automatically it's also powerful enough

to run microphones like that sh sm7b

another option is the motou M2 this is

an audio interface that allows for two

XLR channels I really like that it has a

display here showing you the levels for

each microphone it is actually cheaper

than the vaster 2 at $200 still sounds

just just as great but doesn't have some

of those features like the auto gain

you're going to have to set the volume

on this yourself which when you talk

into the microphone just make sure those

audio levels are in the yellow touching

red occasionally but you don't want the

audio staying in the red cuz that's

going to make for a distorted sound

there's also other two channel

interfaces like the Focus right Scarlets

and ones from Tas Cam and PRO Sound but

I really like the vaster 2 and the Motu

M2 for two people now when it comes to

microphone if you have something like

the sh mv7 you can use this one with

those audio interfaces by connecting an

XLR cable I'll put links to an XLR cable

down in the description but you connect

each microphone to one of the inputs on

these audio interfaces and you're good

to go you can now connect a second

microphone here and even like the ATR

2100x that I showed before that has an

XLR connection meaning you can use it

and the mv7 mix and match your

microphones another great microphone

that I'll recommend here is the road pod

mic you can get this in USB and or XLR

versions this is the XLR only version

it's about $100 which is a great deal

and it sounds really good you plug the

XLR cable into the back it doesn't come

with a stand so you'll need a stand or

arm for this one but this actually has

an incredible sound highly recommend now

for a microphone like this especially if

you have multiple people you want stands

or microphone arms holding them this is

an example of a microphone arm this is

the road PSA 1 it's about $130 you can

get more inexpensive ones on Amazon but

you will quickly find that those cheaper

arms aren't as adjustable don't stay

where you put them which is key when you

have a microphone arm and get squeaky a

lot of times that cheaper metal makes

sounds when you move it and you don't

want that when you're recording a

podcast so once you get your microphone

on an arm or stand plug it into the XLR

that goes into the audio interface and

you're good to go now when you use audio

interfaces like these with multiple

channels you'll need to record in

something like garage band or audacity

where you can record the tracks

individually you can also use these

audio interfaces with things like

Riverside you'll see here I have my

roadter Pro 2 which I'll talk about in a

moment it's connected as my microphone

and I can choose it as my speaker output

CU I connect headphones to that audio

interface but using audio interfaces

like this with Riverside will combine

both microphones into one track so you

can use it with Riverside record with

two people in a room but you'll only see

one track or one name in the

transcription and when you're editing if

you plan to do a lot of recording with

multiple guests in the room and you want

an easy way to capture those separate

tracks you can get something like like

the roadter duo this is $500 so it's a

little more pricey but it can record two

XLR microphones I did an entire video

going through the roadter duo in-depth

I'll link it above and down in the

description you might also want to use

an audio interface like this because

you're using mics like the sh sm7b that

require more power and this gives you

more flexibility in how you mix and

adjust the levels for headphones for

multiple people now when it comes to

recording video for multiple people I

would still recommend using mobile

devices like the iPhone if you want to

get those separate video tracks and make

it easy to switch between who's speaking

later using the Riverside app on a

mobile device and then connecting a USB

microphone like the sh mv7 plus to each

mobile device that's recording your

guests that's actually going to give you

the ability to have multi-track video

and audio with Riverside I did an entire

video explaining this kind of setup

having multiple people in a room and

actually having that auto switching

which is Riverside smart scenes if you

want to learn more about that setup

check out the video above and I'll link

it down below as well now let's say you

want to record with three people in

person now you're going to need an audio

interface with more than just two XLR

inputs the most inexpensive option

immediately is the podra P4 you can

connect four XLR microphones and record

directly to an SD card that you insert

into this little device you can also

connected via USB to a computer and like

before have all those microphones go

into one track when recording with

something like Riverside yes I did a

whole video on the padra P4 as well I'll

link it down in the description but if

you're looking for more robust audio

interfaces motou that I mentioned their

M2 before they actually make what's

called an M6 and that has four XLR

inputs that you can use so for three or

four guests it is $400 and you'll see

the price starts increasing on these

interfaces as they increase in power and

connections you can also look at the

Scarlet 18 I8 this is a little under

$400 when it's on sale four XLR inputs

on the front allowing you to record

multiple people and of course you could

step up to the roadter Pro 2 but we'll

get to that in the four person setups

another option and this was one of my

favorite audio interfaces for years this

is the sound devices mix Prix 3 and as

the name implies it has exactly three

XLR inputs so two mics here and a third

mic via XLR on this side has a headphone

jack out actually has a touchscreen

interface here three knobs to adjust the

volume and you can still use this as a

USB audio interface with your computer

and record to an SD card right here

built into the device now this interface

is no joke it is $1,000 for three

channels but it's really made as

professional audio gear for the field

this is used by filmograph videographers

that will take this out to record audio

directly to this self-contained device

you can battery power it or power it via

that USBC port and can really do it all

this has amazing sound can power the

most gain hungry mics like the shore

sm7b but you get what you pay for now

adding video to a podcast with three

people again you can still use mobile

phones and tripods but you might be

looking to upgrade that video quality to

a more professional level for that I

would consider cameras like the Sony zv

E10 it's still under $11,000 $800 but

the main benefit here is it has an

interchangeable lens that means you can

use lenses of different focal lengths so

you can set up three in a room have

longer length to focus on different

guests and will give you lots of

flexibility for recording now you can

use something like the Sony zv1 with

Riverside in webcam mode have an entire

video on that we link below but that's

going to get you really high quality

video for under $1,000 per camera you

can also look at cameras like the black

magic that also have interchangeable

lenses or cameras from Panasonic or

Nikon using mirrorless cameras looks

incredible you'll get that professional

video but does make it more complicated

to edit now if you can use them with

Riverside again in webcam mode or you

might want to consider something like a

video switcher I actually use a

Blackmagic at Mini Pro here at my desk

this allows me to have multiple camera

inputs via HDMI you see you can connect

up to four cameras and then you can

switch between them this also works with

Riverside you see my black magic is

actually connected under that camera

section right here and if I switch the

camera angle using the switcher it

actually switches in Riverside so you

could have a manual multi- camera

control and record that program feed or

mixed feed in Riverside another option

is the roadter video which is an

all-in-one production console you can

connect four cameras with those HDMI ins

and even connect two microphones via

those xlrs speaker and headphone Jacks

out and you can connect this to your

computer via that USBC Port using a

video switcher and those mirrorless

cameras is going to get you that Pro

look that you see from so many podcasts

and what microphone should you use with

those four people well you can go with

the sh sm7b again that's the one you see

in all those podcast but I still find

this to be a little too finicky now

there is a newer version of that mic

called the shore sm7 DB you don't need

as powerful audio interface to run this

it is $500 but it will sound very good I

would also encourage you to try a

microphone like the Earthworks ethos

this is $400 you can use it with pretty

much any audio interface and it sounds

great this is the microphone I use to

record my video podcast every week and

here's a little clip of how it sounds so

if you don't mind send me the photo you

just took and then I can uh I can share

it and then we can discuss also with

multiple people in a room you have to

consider lighting now you can get

inexpensive lighting whether you're

doing Solo or two-person podcasts

getting something like this this is a

rechargeable LED light you can adjust

the intensity and even the color

temperature and it actually has what's

called a cold shoe Mount so if you're

recording with mobile devices and you

have these kinds of tripods you can

actually connect the light to the tripod

using that cold shoe Mount connect your

phone and now you have lighting and

Camera allinone these can go a long way

but if you want to step up your lighting

to a more professional look I would

recommend the amaran 200x that's

actually the main key light that I use

here in the studio it's right above me

and I have a large soft box which

diffuses the light making it soft and

limits some of those harsh Shadows it's

350 for one you would likely need

multiple for multiple guests or you can

get a softb boox like this this is

called the lantern style and that will

spread light in all directions and it's

still a soft box so it'll reduce those

shadows and harsh lines just getting one

key light with this kind of lantern can

go a long way to making your podcast

look more professional with any camera

you use but if you're using those

mirrorless cameras then you really want

to consider upgrading the lights as well

now what if you're looking to do

podcasting with four people well a lot

of the interfaces I talked about already

like the Motu M6 that's already capable

of four XLR connections same with the

Scarlet 18 I8 but if you want to go all

the way and just get one audio interface

to rule them all you can get the roadter

pro two you can plug in four XLR

microphones plus there are four

headphone Jacks which means you can mix

everyone's headphones separately that's

really key when recording in person has

two USB ports so you can connect it to

your computer and actually have two

different USB mixes depending on your

use case plus you can load multiple

sounds and things like that I use the

roadter pro to both for all my video

recording and my podcast and you'll see

here I have it selected here in

Riverside so I can jump in and report

high quality content right away now

because of that dual USB setup I

actually have one setup for when I'm

using my podcast microphone here and

then when I go to the mic choice I can

use the roadter pro2 chat which is a

little different mix and then it will

pull audio from my shotgun microphone

that I'm using above that's what you're

hearing right now and when it comes to

four people the same camera

recommendations like a Sony mirrorless

Blackmagic and lighting like the amran

and using one of those Lantern softbox

all applies by the way if you want to

hear more microphone comparison for

three and four setups you can check out

my USB video down below I can't link any

more up here I already did too many or

you can also hear my comparison for

streaming microphones like those shotgun

microphones they're long and thin and

great for off camera audio that's all

Below in the video description now you

might be wondering why I kept mentioning

what works with Riverside well yes

you're on the Riverside YouTube channel

but I use Riverside to record so much

content not only because you get

highquality local video and audio

recording whether you use your computer

or even your iPhone and iPad but you can

also live stream right here in River

side set up multiple destinations like

YouTube Facebook pages twitch and you

can stream to all of them at the same

time in 1080P quality plus I can make my

podcast visually engaging by sharing my

screen or playing videos from the media

board and Riverside records all of this

in real time you can download these as

separate tracks and the Riverside editor

helps me put it all together I can use

our smart scenes feature to quickly

switch between the active speaker for a

multicam look all from Riverside use AI

tools to remove filler words silences

even cut the fluff so any Superfluous

content can be deleted quickly and

listeners get the most valuable content

right away plus when you record with

Riverside you can use AI tools to

repurpose your content whether it's a

podcast video content or just use solo

use magic clips and with one click you

can get lots of vertical videos from

your long form recordings add those

animated captions and then publish that

to Tik Tok Instagram reals YouTube

shorts and more and maybe you don't have

the budget to buy any of the equipment

here well you can use Riverside magic

audio and that will make any microphone

phone sound studio quality even using

the built-in mic on your mobile device I

actually did an entire video where I

talked about recording with just your

phone and using magic audio to make it

sound professional you can check out

that video right up here don't forget to

subscribe to the Riverside Channel and

hit that like button if you want to

learn more about gear in-depth videos or

using Riverside and the AI editing tools

to speed up your process that's all

right here on the channel if you have

questions leave comments below this

video I'll answer you personally and if

you want to learn more about those live

streaming features going to multiple

disc destinations managing all those

chats in one place I did a masterclass

Style video walking through the entire

process you can check it out right up

here again links to all the gear that I

talked about is down in the video

description as well thank you for

watching and we can't wait to see what

you create