BLOG/ THE DMG KIT BAG
BLOG POST / James
We’re occasionally asked about the kit we use to record the show and seeing as we’re presenting on the subject this week (The Charity Club at 12:30 on Tuesday 5th April, Clubhouse - see you there) we thought it might be good to detail the Do More Good kitbag.
How It Started
We recorded the first ever episode of the Do More Good Podcast in The Long Arm pub off Moorgate just before the JustGiving Awards in November 2017. Kenneth and I chatted about our careers to date and the great teams we’ve worked in, passing a microphone cable between us. It wasn’t perfect, but worked fine and gave us the pilot episodes we needed to see if this was worth continuing for another eighty recordings.
iphone
headphone cable
2x Pint of lager
Upgrades
Our first upgrade was to buy a proper microphone. Nice and easy to use and transport. It sat on the table between us, picked everything up on one track in much higher quality and allowed us to manipulate the recording level. We still use this at conferences and suchlike, capturing the incidentals between sessions and joining us on the dancefloor. We’ve only lost this once, turning up in a handbag the following morning.
Zoom H1
Multi-Track
Our next investment saw a van load of kit arrive at DMG HQ - a new recorder, cables, splitters and four microphones. This made the sound much clearer, reduced the background noise and also recorded on separate tracks in stereo so we can manipulate different feeds in the edit. We can record in WAV or MP4 and runs off batteries or a plug socket. We also have the option to use this without the external microphones so it is quite versatile. This is the kit we use in the pub and fortunately cannot yet tell you whether it is waterproof.
Zoom H4
4x Behringer XM8500
4x Stagg SMC6 BL 6m XLR
2x TISINO XLR Splitter Cable (M>F)
Zoom Kit
The pandemic meant we had to switch to recording online. We got by for a while on our laptop mics but stepped things up with these USB microphones. The sound is much clearer with much more range, the quality is great but we won’t be taking these to the bar. It gives us good options both from home and out and about.
2x Rode NT-USB
Most Importantly
All the equipment above is great, but the most important piece of kit is your co-presenter. There’s no tool in post production to add chemistry. It requires a resilient relationship, enthusiasm, and occasionally a telepathic understanding to let the other pursue a particular point. Sometimes you have to let them lead and other times step in - that only comes with practise.
We split the various jobs which go with the show between us, and both really enjoy it.
Shop around for the best one.
Kenneth 4000 (Top of the range)