You record your show in your own time, then send the stems to me as separate files. I’ll edit, mix and master the programme and provide you with an MP3 of your final show.
Not sure how to record your own show? Check out my studio production service, or my podcast training.
I was commissioned by Collective Impact Agency to mix and master The Assist podcast. You can listen to an episode below.
Listen to more examples of my work by clicking here.
Get in touch to chat through your ideas.
I’ve written a more in-depth explanation of the Mix and Master process below.
The Assist
My Podcast Mix and Mastering Service
I can help you at any stage of your podcast production process, but for those who record their own podcasts I offer a mix and mastering service.
This can be broken down into four stages.
- Mix
- EQ
- Compression & Loudness
- The Bounce
In this short explainer, I’ll go through what each of these stages mean.
Mix
Whether you are recording your podcast in person, or online, it’s really important you make sure you’ve recorded each contributor onto a separate track (note that this is even possible if you are using Zoom).
As well as removing excessive ums, ahs and inevitable gaps of silence, I’ll begin by ensuring that gentle cross fades from one clip to another remove any pops or clicks in the transitions.
EQ
Next, I’ll reduce unwanted sounds that might spoil your show. Whilst the golden rule in audio production is to record people in the right environment to start with, I know that no matter how much you aim for this, podcast guests will often join you from an environment – or using equipment – that is far from ideal.
So, in these situations, I’ll use EQ to reduce any unwanted noises, like hums or self-noise which is often present on cheaper microphones; I’ll reduce plosives and sibilance which are particularly noticeable problems when people use a headset or earbuds.
Compression & Loudness
The next step is to balance the volume levels, and add compression to normalise the audio at the unofficial but widely accepted ‘standard’ for stereo podcast distribution – minus 16 LUFS.
This loudness standard means that the overall volume of the entire podcast is consistent enough and crucially – loud enough – to be heard in a range of different environments and even on the cheapest pairs of earbuds.
The Bounce
The final step, is to export your track at the right file size. For spoken word podcasts, I find that 96kbps and about 1MB per minute of audio works well. This is important so that listeners who download your podcast whilst out and about don’t use up too much of their data when doing so. I also add ID3 tags, which can include the artwork for your show.
So that’s about it. If I can be any help with this or any other part of your podcast production please get in touch!