And you know what? If you’re just looking to get started, even if you are somehow made of money, I wouldn’t recommend spending hundreds of dollars on the latest and greatest equipment. Many can start off with a gung-ho, full steam ahead attitude, but after a few episodes, the honeymoon wears off, leaving behind the reality of late nights and often grueling work. Podcasting sure isn’t for sissies! The harsh reality is the majority of would-be podcasters never make it beyond Episode #5.

With that said, let’s say you’ve made your decision, and you’re ready to upgrade from that cheap headset you picked up at your local big box store; you’re ready to make your first foray in to the wild world of professional audio equipment. Even as an audio production guy, it can be easy to get lost in the multitude of available options, and some people might have a tough time getting over the initial sticker shock of some items. There are plenty of great options that you really can’t go wrong with on the high end, but most people aren’t made of money, and don’t have hundreds of dollars (or even thousands of dollars) to spend to outfit their home podcast studio to challenge a professional radio station’s. Thankfully, in recent years, the market has exploded with countless affordable low-end options, but when it comes to microphones, I have found it difficult to give a definitive recommendation for those on a tight budget.

Enter the GLS Audio ES-58 Dynamic Microphone.

Visually, the ES-58 bears a striking resemblance to a certain similar microphone you probably see all the time. Essentially, it is a much more affordably priced knock-off of the industry standard workhorse Shure SM-58, which has been used the world over for the better part of the past three decades, especially for live performances. If you’ve ever been to a rock concert, chances are that you were hearing the singer’s voice through an SM-58. However, the downside of the SM-58—at least for us cheapskates—is its street price of $99, which can be a tough pill to swallow. So when I came across this little gem a while back almost entirely by accident, I knew I had to get my hands on my own and try it for myself. Many less-expensive microphones have attempted to take on the legendary SM-58, with varying success.

Upon first listen, with a price tag of just $30, it was easy to understand why the ES-58 has garnered such an underground following among home recording enthusiasts. Rather than trying to write here what it sounds like, take a listen to this test recording, and hear for yourself:

(Pure unedited, unaltered audio, with no post-processing applied.)

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, I do not have an SM-58 to do a proper A/B comparison with. Does it sound exactly like an SM-58? Maybe, though probably not quite. But does it sound very good? Absolutely! Will it replace a high-priced professional broadcasting microphone? Of course not—but it’s not supposed to.

The ES-58 is professional XLR microphone, and will require a preamp, such as a mixer and/or audio interface. (This is not a USB “plug ‘n’ play” microphone.) It has a relatively high output, so it does not require a lot of gain from the preamp (in my test, I had it set at around only 12 o’clock on my mixer). It does also have some handling noise, which is something to be aware of you’re planning on using it more as an “on the street” interview microphone, but if you’re going to be using it at home, on a stand, that issue becomes moot. Finally, as a dynamic microphone, it is not as sensitive as condenser microphones, and as such is not as prone to picking up unwanted background noise. (Indeed, when I recorded the above clip, the TV was blasting in the next room…)

If you’re on a tight budget, at $30 for a single microphone—or $80 for a three-pack—you probably can’t go wrong with the ES-58. You really can get a quality sound without spending a lot of money.

The GLS Audio ES-58 Dynamic Microphone is available with or without an off switch, and (as of this writing) exclusively available from Orange County Speaker, and can be purchased from them directly, or through Amazon.com. Combined with something like a Behringer Xenyx 502 mixer and Behringer UCA-202 USB interface, you get some pretty darn good quality for as little as about a hundred bucks.

Happy podcasting!

Budget-Conscious Podcasting Microphone is a post from Steve Riekeberg

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When I describe myself, you will see me list terms that list my interests, such as “podcaster,” “techie,” “gamer,” “science fiction fan,” “audio production nerd”—needless to say, I’m definitely a geek. But in a bold step, I recently added another label in to the mix: “wannabe writer.” While there are far too many to list here, I am incredibly lucky to have some amazingly creative friends, both writers and non-writers, who encourage and inspire me, especially on the Internet in the podcasting and new media space. In recent years, there have been points where I have expressed my admiration for my creative friends, and idly lamenting my lack of talent in this area, and insisted to myself (and others) “…but I’m not a writer.” I have had many creative ideas for stories to tell—”but oh, well, I’m not really a writer…” Well then, why the heck not? You are what you make yourself—so what if I haven’t been writing for years, so what if I didn’t want to be a writer back when I was a kid? No more “but.” I call shenanigans on my mind’s own insecure, self-doubting nonsense—because disbelief is the enemy.

Those who follow me on Twitter or hang out with me on IRC, you may have seen me mention my “super secret” projects. At least two of these projects—yes, I have a few secret projects, and no, I won’t say exactly how many—are, and have been, writing projects, fiction projects. Part of this “coming out” and declaring “I’m a writer!” is to give myself, through you, some measure of accountability. Today, a lot of people—some very talented, but unfortunately also many hacks—seem to like to claim to be a “writer” (fiction or non-fiction) if they can put a few sentences together. You almost can’t help roll your eyes at some people who claim to have been “writing” their “Great American Novel”—no matter how brilliant it might be—for years with little to show for it. I have the ideas, but maybe this year, I will have something to show for it. Wait, no, that’s not right. There is no “maybe”. I will, or I will not; “maybe” is a self-defeating excuse.

What I write might not be worthy of the bytes it takes up on my hard drive—and probably won’t be, at least at first. But if I don’t try, I might as well pack up all my toys, and go home, because I have already failed—and have nobody to blame but myself. To succeed, you have to first be willing to fail.

It’s time—no, past time—to come out of the creative “closet.” I am no longer simply a podcaster, techie, science fiction fan, gamer, audio production nerd. I, am Steve Riekeberg, and I am a writer.

Coming Out of the Closet is a post from Steve Riekeberg

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My previous forays into blogging were on again, off again, from about 2004 to 2008. People seemed to like reading what I had to say—sometimes to my surprise—but updates were sporadic, and there were frequently large gaps between posts. Looking back, I’m not sure what the problem was. While blogging had become a very popular thing at the time—and many sites from that period have long since disappeared—I wasn’t doing it for any sort of recognition. I had plenty of things to write about, but just didn’t get it done. Whatever the reason, after about a year passed since that final post in 2008, with the site fallow, I finally decided to retire it, though the site remained online, until recently. People grow and evolve throughout their lives, and I believed I had grown out of it, and it didn’t quite properly reflect who I am.

I podcast with Geek Cred, I post idle amusements, frustrations, and what have you on Twitter, I rant and interact with like-minded geeks on IRC—and love to, and will continue to do so—but life isn’t limited to 140 characters, or to plain text—I’ve been itching to return to such a rich-text, long-form format, but this time, giving blogging more attention as it deserves, and I have something to say more than ever.

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. In my mind—and, admittedly, based on some personal experience—such resolutions will all but certainly eventually be broken. While I can understand the sentiment behind them, if you’re really serious about changing a habit, or doing something new, you certainly don’t (and shouldn’t) wait until the beginning of another year. So I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. But if I did, they would probably include three simple points: More podcasting, more blogging, and more writing. You could even further boil this down to a single point: be more creative. And if anything’s worth doing, it’s worth doing now, so there’s no time like the present to get started.

Many know the slogan “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” As far as I’m concerned, that applies just as much  (and possibly even more so!) to creativity. I have already and will most surely continue to lose sleep due to late nights, and in the end, I may end up failing miserably. Some months down the road, this web site might face a similar fate as it’s predecessor, gathering virtual dust on a hard drive inside some server, but sometimes you have to stop worrying about failure, about what might happen, and just do it.

“Disbelief is the enemy.”

—J.C. Hutchins, Author of 7th Son & Personal Effects: Dark Art

Here’s to new beginnings. Here’s to creativity. Because it’s not about having a voice, it’s about using that voice—and that is worth doing, and worth believing in!

Let the journey begin…

New Beginnings is a post from Steve Riekeberg

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