How to Upgrade Your Podcast Sound without Going Broke

When you’re ready to upgrade your podcast recording equipment from using your smartphone to something better, I’ve got a couple of tips for you.

It’s fine to start your podcast using your phone, and in fact, I recommend it. Why invest money before you know whether or not you’ll even like podcasting?

But once you’ve got a few shows under your belt and you’re building an audience, here are the tools I personally recommend, and they won’t break your piggy bank, either.

Rode NT-USB Mini Microphone. These microphones are affordable ($99-$125 USD) and flexible. You can attach a number of them to the same PC/Mac when you want to record interviews with live guests (pandemic permitting, of course). Use the Rode software to add even more flexibility.

Rode Rodecaster Mixing Desk for Podcasters. This is a fully-featured mixing desk that allows you to connect a number of external microphones (not USB, but the industry-standard XLR type). You also have the option to bring on live callers (on the phone or Skype, for example) and there’s a number of Hot-Keys to allow you to play jingles and more. Check out the features here: https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro

And that’s it. You probably thought I was going to recommend a whole bunch of stuff, but one of the beautiful things about podcasting is its simplicity. You don’t need a ton of equipment as you do for videos (lighting, cameras, sound, and so forth.) It’s just the audio, and these days high-quality audio equipment is truly affordable.