Two weeks ago my co-worker and friend Anthony came up to me and said, “Hey, we should do a podcast!” Today, you can listen to the first episode of The Jock and Nerd podcast. That’s crazy!
It’s because of Anthony I started buying superhero comic books again, after about two decades. I started collecting when Spider-Man was getting married and I got out when there were too many Spider-Clones to keep track of. Just before the New 52 from DC Comics started in 2011, someone in the office pointed out Anthony to me saying “Hey, that guy is also a comic book weirdo, like you.
Here was a guy just getting into comic books, mainly because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but who hadn’t read the classics yet, meeting a guy who knows all the classic stories, but has no idea about what’s been going on in the last twenty years. A geek match was made.
Cut to 2015 where, on our weekly Wednesday trips to our local comic book supplier, we geek out over all the stuff that’s happened in the last week, as well as all the podcasts we listen to. So, just for fun, we decided to give it a shot. That was two weeks ago.
What Anthony wasn’t aware of, was the fact that I had been wanting to do some kind of podcast for about 10 years, since podcasting began. I pulled out two books on the subject my sister had sent me for my birthday many years ago, just to look at the published date. 2005. The books are kindling.
Longtime podcast listeners may remember the early shows, like Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code, Dawn and Drew, and Distorted View (which is still on today, and it’s great!). I wanted to start a podcast back then, but I didn’t know what to talk about, and I really wanted someone to co-host with to bounce things off of and give a it spontaneous, radio-like quality.
The real reason for this post is for people in my position two weeks ago. I went searching out for posts similar to this about what was involved in a decent-sounding beginner podcast set up, and couldn’t find much. I wanted to help anyone in my position, who wanted to start their own podcast, but didn’t know how. It’s also so I don’t forget how the hell I put this together in two weeks.
Since there was two of us involved, we split the cost, making it easier to get pretty darn good sounding equipment on a tight budget. Below is the breakdown of the equipment we used to start this podcast, followed by some photos of the set-up in my living room. This is for two hosts.
Hardware:
- Mackie 802VLZ4, 8-channel Ultra Compact Mixer with High Quality Onyx Preamps
- 2 Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphones (comes with cables and small mic stand)
- 2 Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones
- 2 On Stage Foam Ball-Type Mic Windscreen (Pop filter)
- 2 Hosa CMP159 Stereo Breakout, 3.5 mm TRS to Dual 1/4 in TS, 10-Feet
- Behringer Stereo Headphones Amp
- Behringer UCA202 USB Audio Interface
- 2 On Stage Stands MS7701B Tripod Boom Microphone Stand (not pictured, they get here tomorrow)
- Zoom H5 Digital Recorder
- Macbook Pro (Late 2011)
- iPad2
Software:
- Adobe Audacity
- BossJock iPad App
- Auphonic Levelator App
Web:
- Libsyn Media Host
- WordPress 4 running a customized PlayCast Pro, from Appendipity, a Genesis Framework child theme
- Powerpress Plugin by Blubrry
And that’s really it. We have one in the can, and sure it’s a little echoey, but it’ll get better. It’s called learning how to podcast! It’s only taken me ten years to start and two weeks to finish.
Let us know if you have any questions, suggestions or recommendations at show@jockandnerd.com or on Twitter @jocknandnerdcast and we’ll do our best to help!