Podcast Academy

In my opinion a solid understanding of analog and digital audio, recording, production, mixing and mastering is a necessity in order to optimize the quality of your podcast production work-flow. I’d like to recommend a fantastic resource to those of you who are interested in striving for and maintaining high quality results.

‘Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science‘ by Bob Katz is considered by many to be the bible of audio mastering. Bob himself is an established Grammy Award winning mastering engineer who is responsible for countless hit records. Katz also created the K-Sytem monitor calibration and metering specification. The underlying concept of the K-System is intended to suggest and maintain consistent level and monitoring management for music production, film sound production, and broadcasting.

The first thing that struck me about this book was how easy it was to read considering the complexity of the subject matter. It is for this reason that I find it suitable for all levels of media producers. Are you curious about the technical aspects of dynamic range management, compression, equalization, monitoring, or level management? If so this book is for you. ‘Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science’ will assist you in building a foundation that in the end will help you to achieve optimum results. [$39.99 US]

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Do you believe in magic? The Levelator™ audio processor designed and distributed by GigaVox Media has created quite a stir among podcasters as well as audio and broadcast professionals.

I recommend that you tune in to our latest episode of Behind the Mic, hosted by Doug Kaye. Doug’s guest is GigaVox Audio Engineer Bruce Sharpe, the developer of the Levelator™. This is an in depth talk about the concept of the Levelator™, the process of developement, and suggested work-flows. Don’t miss it …

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I’m anxiously awaiting news this week [NAMM] about the long awaited update to DSP Quattro, the 2-channel editing/mastering application for Mac OSX. In fact, it has been over a year since the last update. According to Stefano and his staff out of Rome Italy, they have been busy moving the application over from CodeWarrior to Xcode in order to finally build a Universal Binary.

If you are not familiar with DSP Quattro, I suggest that to head over to the site and have a look. This application supports 2-channel editing, batch processing, advanced CD burning/project management, VST/AU plugins, and live recording.

Currently priced at $150 US, DSP Quattro is a solid consideration if you are looking for an affordable tool that offers professional features and results.

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Grape Radio is one of the premiere independent podcasts currently available. Live production takes place in a high end, custom built/dedicated podcasting facility that incorporates excellent broadcast quality gear. The facility is capable of supporting as many as four personalities at any given time. I’m very familiar with the studio and the entire production work-flow. In fact, the audio post production is performed right here in NYC on my workstation on a weekly basis.

The studio utilizes four Ev RE-20 mics, and two dbx 1066 dual channel dynamics processors [compressor/limiter/gates]. Four channel processing is available and intended to provide flexibility in terms of independent ‘on-air’ mic processing.

Mackie continues to impress me, and they have released a new digital dynamics processor that I believe warrants serious consideration for producers that share similar requirements. I’m referring to the QUADCOMP/GATE - four channel, 24-Bit digital dynamics processor. This single piece of gear offers processing algorithms custom designed by Acuma Labs.

I’m particularly fond of the design aspects of the processor. For example: there is only one single set of controls located on the front of the processor that is used to customize each individual channel. You simply select a specific channel by way of a switch and make your adjustments. It’s important to note that individual gain reduction and output metering references are available at all times for each channel. Processing includes compression, limiting, gating and expansion.

The best feature of all? Snapshots. You have the capability to store and recall saved settings. This is as intuitive as it gets in my opinion. The design and function concept simplifies what would otherwise be a potential nightmare to manage efficiently.

After researching the processor, I assumed two things: cool and expensive. I was wrong. Definitely cool, however not nearly as expensive as I anticipated. The Mackie QUADCOMP/GATE retails for $799 US. Impressive …

High-Res. Image

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The new and improved Levelator™ is available for immediate download. This is a stand alone processor designed to help correct variations in levels in your audio files.

Besides a brand new look, the processing algorithm has been improved. This includes improved handeling of background noise and a reduction in ‘breathing’ and ‘pumping’ artifacts in the processed files. This is a must have tool for producers. Best of all … it’s free.

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In this segment I will focus on file formats and transfer efficiency.

Many of us are members of organizations and/or networks. Some of us produce programs for clients. In this case we are faced with the inevitable task of transferring large files to and from various peers or logistical locations. Before I discuss my recommendations, it is important to make sure that we understand a few important facts in terms of file formats and their characteristics.

I think it is safe to say that *most* podcast producers realize that WAV and AIFF files are uncompressed, lossless files that yield exceptional quality. They are the recommended file formats for recording audio, and they integrate seamlessly with a vast array of post production applications.

MP3, or MPEG-1 Layer III is a compression codec that is specifically designed to produce a file that is prepared for final delivery. An MP3 file should never be converted back to an uncompressed file format and subsequently re-encoded to MP3, especially if the original MP3 was encoded using a low bitrate. In this case the results would be detrimental. That being said, if you present your MP3 encoder with a good quality uncompressed master and choose your encoding parameters wisely, the resulting file will be a fraction of the size of the original and it will provide excellent results in terms of sonic quality.

As noted above … if transferring and/or exchanging large files slated for post production is a necessity within your work flow, what is missing? The answer is an intermediate file format. Best case scenario would allow us to convert files into a format that would yield a substantial reduction in size in order to maximize exchange efficiency, and at the same time have very little affect on the quality of the original uncompressed master. Enter MP2 …

Let me stress that where MP3 = MPEG 1, Layer III … MP2 = MPEG 1, Layer II. This is not the same file format as the common MPEG-2 video codec/file format. The MP2 codec is widely used within the professional world of commercial broadcasting as an intermediate file format. An uncompressed file converted to MP2 will be approximately 75% less in size compared to the original. The key here is that when the file is converted back to its native state, most - if not all of the original fidelity will be retained. It’s not 100% lossless, however I promise that you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Based on your platform there are various software applications that are necessary in order to develop a work flow. Here are the tools that I use: to convert WAV files to MP2, I use the MP2 Encoder available at The Public Radio Exchange [PRX.org]. Mono files will be converted to MP2 at 44.1kHz, 128kbps and Stereo files will be converted to MP2 at 44.1kHz, 256kbps. The encoder is available for Mac and PC.

To convert MP2 files back to WAV [or AIFF], I use a nifty $10 encoder/converter called SoundConverter. This is a fantastic piece of software and it is highly recommended.

A few closing thoughts: I suggest that you look into joining PRX. It’s a tremendous resource. Lastly, I utilize the referenced MP2 concept and work flow for all the file transfers that I participate in [clients, IT Conversations, personal projects, etc]. Try it and let me know what you think …

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Apogee Electronics has announced a price drop for the Mini•Me, their high end award winning portable A/D Converter. At first glance you will notice that the Mini•Me offers some unique features that are worth mentioning.

Notice the Sample Rate/Bit Depth control parameter located on the front of this device. This is handy in my opinion. The D/A converters output 24 bit audio at 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88kHz and 96kHz. You also have the option of selecting 16bit or 20bit resolution at 44.1kHz and 48khz. In addition to this, the Mini•Me offers a three curve soft-knee compressor/limiter, referred to as Push-It™. You have the option of disengaging the compressor in order to utilize independent limiting.The Mini•Me is in fact a USB device. It’s interesting to note that this device is priced without the USB interface at $795 US. The USB upgrade will set you back an additional $195, and to the best of my knowledge there is no software included. Two mic/line inputs are available with high-quality preamps, as well as S/PDIF•AES/EBU digital outputs, and Direct Return mix-monitoring.Apogee Electronics also brings us the ultra-sleek Ensemble firewire interface that is endorsed by Apple Computer, and is described as a ‘natural extension of Logic Pro.’

If you are considering a high-end interface that is functional as a stationary or portable device, the Mini• Me is worth looking into in my opinion, based on the stellar workmanship and reputation of Apogee Electronics. The company offers a nice selection of additional high-end components.-ptfigg.

This is my second formal endorsement of an application that I promise will impress you in terms of Podcasting and your production work-flow management. I am referring to AudioFinder, by Iced Audio.

Let me stress that I support the entire iTunes concept. However in my honest opinion iTunes is not structured to function as an advanced audio media management tool, or something that is required within a professional production environment. Personally, I need something that will offer: advanced searches and management, batch processing, various aspects of media conversion [sample rate, bit depth, file format, etc], plugin auditioning, basic cutting with subsequent export, and analysis tools. If you share similar requirements, I highly suggest that you check out AudioFinder.

Besides the features noted above that meet my personal requirements, this application offers a host of additional processing and management utilities that create a seamless experience. This translates into a high level of efficiency. I am particularly fond of the Meta Editor module. This provides a super fast method of extracting and exporting ’slices’ of a referenced clip.

Also, due to the embedded plugin support, auditioning clips, as well as processing clips through your favorite plugins is accomplished with ease. The site describes the application perfectly: ‘AudioFinder is an audio asset management system housed in a single [and let me stress beautifully designed] application’ … and it is highly recommended.A few final thoughts: The user forum is active, and the developer is accessible on the forum and on a personal basis [email]. Lastly, this is not your typical $20 piece of Mac shareware. AudioFinder sells for $69 US, and in my opinion, it’s worth every penny …

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