How we record… the David and Steve Version

So How do we go about recording a podcast?, well its really quite simple, we are in fact using the same set up as if we were going to the pub.

In the studio we use large bottles of beer which are capable of giving us the illusion that we’re a lot funnier than we actually are. The bottles are mainly used for tramps and winos and are a lot larger than we require for recording this podcast, but the quality is great.

For the Podcast we require almost 5 minutes of preparation. Usually to go for a wee and to steal some ideas from the internet. Phil normally does some other stuf and talks about things being “not logistically possible”. Not sure what that means.

The recording system we use at the studio is a complete mystery. We thought it was going to be a Phillips C90 with Phil hovering over the pause and record buttons.

We also have our 24 Ginsters pies to eat but most sessions last well into the night so we are usually ok. 99.9% of all our work sees us all “Ginstered Up”

The vocal microphones we used for the voices are big round things that get in the way but apparently you will not find many recording studios without these.

We try to insert anything we find lying around the studio into Steve’s mouth. This is to “level out the signal” so it doesn’t get too loud.

Both of us listen back to our voices and music via headphones and then giggle like pissed up hyenas. This is largely the product of too much time spent in a band together. Oh and the big bottles of beer.

We record the podcast with very little preparation or talent, which is not the highest quality we can record at, but it is more than adequate for this project. After the show is recorded we stride out into the night like rockstars leaving Phil with the thankless task of picking out the “podcast gold” needles from a massive haystack of drivel.

We have one last job to do and that is to leave all the technical stuff to Phil and pray that he can transform our ramblings into an almost listenable podcast.

Works every time. Genius!

How we record… by Phil

So how do we go about recording a podcast?, well its really quite simple, we are in fact using the same set up as if we were recording a live radio show with a phone in.

In the studio we use a large format Soundtracs CP6800 Mixing desk, which has 32 microphone input channels and is capable of 56 inputs on mix down. This is mainly used for recording live bands and is a lot larger than we require for recording this podcast, but the quality is great.

For the Podcast we require 5 inputs, channel 1 & 2 are for the vocal microphones for David and Steve, Channel 3 is for the TBU, which is a telephone balance unit that just makes it easy to connect a telephone line to the mixer, so that we can chat to Metal Nicky, and anybody else that phones in to the show. Channel 4 & 5 are for playback of music and other sounds and effects from either a computer system or a whole range of tape machines including reel to reel, cassette and dat.

The recording system we use at the studio is a computer based system running a program called Nuendo, it is able to record sound and midi information, there are many other systems available we also use Protools, Cubase and Logic pro.

We still have our 24 track 2 inch reel to reel tape recorder and 40 channels of Adat digital tape, but 99.9% of all our work now is recorded on computer.

The vocal microphones we used for the voices are Neumann TLM103, Neumann are one of the best microphone manufactures in the world, and you will not find many recording studios without a Neumann microphone.

We insert a compressor into the signal path of the vocal microphone this is to level out the signal so it doesn’t get too loud or too quiet.

Both David and Steve listen back to their voices and music via headphones, this is to prevent other sounds in the studio being recorded on their vocal microphones.

We record the podcast at 24bit 48 kHz, which is not the highest quality we can record at, but it is more than adequate for this project. After the show is recorded we run it back again just to check that all is well, we would normally apply a bit of compression to each channel and an overall compressor on the mix, then we export the file at 16 bit 44.1 kHz to make a CD.

We have one last job to do and that is to encode the master file to an MP3 which is the file format of our podcasts.