New Audio Equipment!
Mar. 29th, 2026 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jajalalaBack in college, I did a decent chunk of music production and enjoyed it, but I haven't gone very deep into it post-graduation. There's a lot of upfront equipment and software costs to it, and it's not as though I have a proper studio space, so I've ignored the thought/hobby for awhile. I have like, one USB microphone that a friend gifted me, which eventually I ended up using for my 2022 podficcing phase, but have not done much with outside of that.
Recently though one of my roommates has been doing song composition and asked about audio recording. I was like "Well I have the one mic, and GarageBand on mac computers is a pretty serviceable way to record music (Audacity too if you're very minimalist) but if you're trying to layer and line up multiple tracks on top of each other and make it sound NICE, we should probably get all this other stuff which is a lot upfront, let me google the costs..."
A fancy recording setup involves several different components, including:
Audio Interface: Literally a box that combines all the various inputs/outputs and does some other key things. It keeps them all aligned with minimal latency. AKA normally if you record with a microphone directly USB-connected to your computer, and then listen to it through a set of headphones connected to the computer, then the audio signal has to travel all the way from the microphone through your computer and then to your headphones--and your computer is not designed for/trying to be able to to deliver that FAST. That's fine if you're recording and THEN listening back, but if you want to do both simultaneously (for example, if you sing a harmony on top of your melody track) then you're gonna introduce a weird delay/latency that makes it super hard to line up the parts properly. Using an audio interface which is designed to have minimal delay and line things up with themselves makes layering sounds on top of each other SO much easier.
Microphone with XLR cable: An audio interface only takes certain types of inputs, and for microphones it takes an XLR cable (big round thing with pins inside) that allows for an ANALOG signal. A USB microphone translates the audio to a DIGITAL signal, which increases latency, so audio interfaces typically only take the analog XLR. This was frustrating for me bc I do have a USB microphone, but even if I bought the interface I wouldn't actually be able to use that mic with it unless I ALSO bought a new microphone that had that XLR capability/connection.
Headphones: You connect a set of headphones directly into the audio interface (again, to lower latency), and that ALSO has its own preferred connector (TRS, I think 1/4 in? Think a regular audio jack but Extra Thick). You can connect basically any headphones with an adapter, but (1) you have to buy that adapter (2) you need a wired headset in the first place... unfortunately, I did not really have this, as I don't love headsets and the one set I have is bluetooth.
Cables, mic stands, etc: There's some various peripherals necessary to connect all the stuff and actually hold it up (especially holding up the microphone). Not crazy, but adding on top of everything else, it can feel overwhelming to ALSO have to choose and purchase.
And so I googled the equipment I'd need and found that it would be Quite A Lot... So I despaired like "Yeah I'm never getting into a proper audio recording phase again, it's too expensive to justify..."
But then I remembered the treasure trove that is Facebook Marketplace. And podcasting/song recording is the kind of hobby that some people get into and then drop (or they get beginner equipment and then upgrade), and maybe some of them might be willing to part with that equipment at a good price, and lo and behold! At first I was looking for just one item, but discovered someone was actually selling a small suite of the exact equipment I needed in a bundle for a CRAZY good price.
It was still pricey, enough that I feel motivated to get my money's worth, but I looked up the individual components online and found that I was definitely getting some BIG savings overall, PLUS I don't have to go hunting around for all the different little pieces--I could just go, pick it up, and have it all (and likely all compatible with each other). AKA, I found a perfect beginner's kit for a steal of a price.
So I connected with the person, who was trying to get rid of the stuff before moving out of the country, and got #blessed to be able to purchase it all for probably half (or less) what it might have been retail altogether. Yay!!!
I tested the setup with my computer (and with my roommates iPad, which she'll probably use for her song recording) and it all works/is functional and is compatible with each other!! Big wins! I recorded a little bit of music AND read out a real quick podfic just to test things out.
I got really into podficcing back in 2022--I was experiencing a LOT of wrist pain, and podficcing was a nice activity where I just sat in a chair to talk and would barely use my wrist for 10-30 minutes per recording session. It gave me the satisfaction of a hobby and productivity, though I'll confess the EDITING and posting part involved perhaps a bit more wrist work than was ideal. Still, I got really into it and developed a whole workflow and method (especially for posting... do you know how few options there are to host audio where you can seamlessly embed the audio in AO3??)
However, I learned about some brilliant wrist exercises that eventually ended up saving my butt by bringing my daily wrist pain down to a manageable level. I'm extremely glad for that, but also the end result is I kinda dropped podficcing.
Well, now that I'm trying to get my money's worth for this audio setup, I'm hoping to get back into it again. After recording the test podfic, I went into my files and discovered I actually have SEVERAL podfics recorded from 2022 that I just never edited or posted... so while editing this new one, I edited one of the old ones at the same time and posted them both yesterday. I'm hoping to edit the few others that languished in my podfics folder as I do other new podfics as well. At this point, I've also become much more of an audiobook reader, so I think I may do an even better job podficcing in the future now that I've been more of a listener.
So I'm excited and going to try to get back into podficcing! I did a very quick slapdash test podfic with the new microphone, but I want to sit down and do one with a more organized physical setup. And then I'd also like to do a multichapter one... Oneshots are def the play for getting back into it, but I'd love to do a bigger long-term project. I've often enjoyed the investment of reading long fics, so I'd like for people who listen to podfics to also be able to listen to long fics too.
Unfortunately I've become much less of a fanfic reader in the past few years (been getting more into published books, life has been busy, tastes have refined so I'm pickier) and the end result is that most my AO3 bookmarks (where I would look for fics I might want to podfic) are just oneshots. On top of that, I generally prefer to podfic for people who have blanket permissions/transformative work statements that make clear whether they accept podfics of their work, which also limits my options in terms of authors.
I'd love to record a multichapter of like, 10-50k words. In the past I recorded a nice 15k, 3 chapter TogaChako fic that resulted in 1.5 to 2 hours of actual audio, and I found that a delightful little project that I'd love to replicate with something new. I also did the Ace Attorney behemoth (49k, 13 chapters) my best friend wrote where I recorded TWO versions--one where I was literally reading for the first time out loud and reacting along the way, and then a second where I read it normally/formally afterwards for ppl who just wanna hear the fic. The formal version ended up being around 5 hours I think? But it was a lot of fun to be able to engage and play with that fic for a long period of time.
I would love to have like... a Good Fic, That I Like, That's Relatively Recent (or like, I've recently read and aligned with my current tastes), that's a multichapter around 10-50k, from an author who allows podfic. But that's hard to find organically! So if anyone has any recs (especially if they're F/F within like, My Hero Academia, Fire Emblem Three Houses, or any other fandoms you've seen me yap about) plz let me know.
Anyway, I still need to figure out a good PHYSICAL set up. My roommates and I have a "hobby room", but it's already quite full of other stuff so trying to get a functional corner for audio stuff might take some time and additional little shelf/table stuff. All that is pretty cheap logistical management, though--not pricey and specialized equipment. In the future as I use it more and get comfortable I may discover I don't like different pieces or feel a need to expand... but at least then I'll have everything else set up, so I can just replace pieces bit by bit and still be functional instead of having to buy a bunch of stuff upfront.
Recently though one of my roommates has been doing song composition and asked about audio recording. I was like "Well I have the one mic, and GarageBand on mac computers is a pretty serviceable way to record music (Audacity too if you're very minimalist) but if you're trying to layer and line up multiple tracks on top of each other and make it sound NICE, we should probably get all this other stuff which is a lot upfront, let me google the costs..."
Slightly more technical details
A fancy recording setup involves several different components, including:
Audio Interface: Literally a box that combines all the various inputs/outputs and does some other key things. It keeps them all aligned with minimal latency. AKA normally if you record with a microphone directly USB-connected to your computer, and then listen to it through a set of headphones connected to the computer, then the audio signal has to travel all the way from the microphone through your computer and then to your headphones--and your computer is not designed for/trying to be able to to deliver that FAST. That's fine if you're recording and THEN listening back, but if you want to do both simultaneously (for example, if you sing a harmony on top of your melody track) then you're gonna introduce a weird delay/latency that makes it super hard to line up the parts properly. Using an audio interface which is designed to have minimal delay and line things up with themselves makes layering sounds on top of each other SO much easier.
Microphone with XLR cable: An audio interface only takes certain types of inputs, and for microphones it takes an XLR cable (big round thing with pins inside) that allows for an ANALOG signal. A USB microphone translates the audio to a DIGITAL signal, which increases latency, so audio interfaces typically only take the analog XLR. This was frustrating for me bc I do have a USB microphone, but even if I bought the interface I wouldn't actually be able to use that mic with it unless I ALSO bought a new microphone that had that XLR capability/connection.
Headphones: You connect a set of headphones directly into the audio interface (again, to lower latency), and that ALSO has its own preferred connector (TRS, I think 1/4 in? Think a regular audio jack but Extra Thick). You can connect basically any headphones with an adapter, but (1) you have to buy that adapter (2) you need a wired headset in the first place... unfortunately, I did not really have this, as I don't love headsets and the one set I have is bluetooth.
Cables, mic stands, etc: There's some various peripherals necessary to connect all the stuff and actually hold it up (especially holding up the microphone). Not crazy, but adding on top of everything else, it can feel overwhelming to ALSO have to choose and purchase.
And so I googled the equipment I'd need and found that it would be Quite A Lot... So I despaired like "Yeah I'm never getting into a proper audio recording phase again, it's too expensive to justify..."
But then I remembered the treasure trove that is Facebook Marketplace. And podcasting/song recording is the kind of hobby that some people get into and then drop (or they get beginner equipment and then upgrade), and maybe some of them might be willing to part with that equipment at a good price, and lo and behold! At first I was looking for just one item, but discovered someone was actually selling a small suite of the exact equipment I needed in a bundle for a CRAZY good price.
It was still pricey, enough that I feel motivated to get my money's worth, but I looked up the individual components online and found that I was definitely getting some BIG savings overall, PLUS I don't have to go hunting around for all the different little pieces--I could just go, pick it up, and have it all (and likely all compatible with each other). AKA, I found a perfect beginner's kit for a steal of a price.
So I connected with the person, who was trying to get rid of the stuff before moving out of the country, and got #blessed to be able to purchase it all for probably half (or less) what it might have been retail altogether. Yay!!!
I tested the setup with my computer (and with my roommates iPad, which she'll probably use for her song recording) and it all works/is functional and is compatible with each other!! Big wins! I recorded a little bit of music AND read out a real quick podfic just to test things out.
Podficcing tangent
I got really into podficcing back in 2022--I was experiencing a LOT of wrist pain, and podficcing was a nice activity where I just sat in a chair to talk and would barely use my wrist for 10-30 minutes per recording session. It gave me the satisfaction of a hobby and productivity, though I'll confess the EDITING and posting part involved perhaps a bit more wrist work than was ideal. Still, I got really into it and developed a whole workflow and method (especially for posting... do you know how few options there are to host audio where you can seamlessly embed the audio in AO3??)
However, I learned about some brilliant wrist exercises that eventually ended up saving my butt by bringing my daily wrist pain down to a manageable level. I'm extremely glad for that, but also the end result is I kinda dropped podficcing.
Well, now that I'm trying to get my money's worth for this audio setup, I'm hoping to get back into it again. After recording the test podfic, I went into my files and discovered I actually have SEVERAL podfics recorded from 2022 that I just never edited or posted... so while editing this new one, I edited one of the old ones at the same time and posted them both yesterday. I'm hoping to edit the few others that languished in my podfics folder as I do other new podfics as well. At this point, I've also become much more of an audiobook reader, so I think I may do an even better job podficcing in the future now that I've been more of a listener.
So I'm excited and going to try to get back into podficcing! I did a very quick slapdash test podfic with the new microphone, but I want to sit down and do one with a more organized physical setup. And then I'd also like to do a multichapter one... Oneshots are def the play for getting back into it, but I'd love to do a bigger long-term project. I've often enjoyed the investment of reading long fics, so I'd like for people who listen to podfics to also be able to listen to long fics too.
Unfortunately I've become much less of a fanfic reader in the past few years (been getting more into published books, life has been busy, tastes have refined so I'm pickier) and the end result is that most my AO3 bookmarks (where I would look for fics I might want to podfic) are just oneshots. On top of that, I generally prefer to podfic for people who have blanket permissions/transformative work statements that make clear whether they accept podfics of their work, which also limits my options in terms of authors.
I'd love to record a multichapter of like, 10-50k words. In the past I recorded a nice 15k, 3 chapter TogaChako fic that resulted in 1.5 to 2 hours of actual audio, and I found that a delightful little project that I'd love to replicate with something new. I also did the Ace Attorney behemoth (49k, 13 chapters) my best friend wrote where I recorded TWO versions--one where I was literally reading for the first time out loud and reacting along the way, and then a second where I read it normally/formally afterwards for ppl who just wanna hear the fic. The formal version ended up being around 5 hours I think? But it was a lot of fun to be able to engage and play with that fic for a long period of time.
I would love to have like... a Good Fic, That I Like, That's Relatively Recent (or like, I've recently read and aligned with my current tastes), that's a multichapter around 10-50k, from an author who allows podfic. But that's hard to find organically! So if anyone has any recs (especially if they're F/F within like, My Hero Academia, Fire Emblem Three Houses, or any other fandoms you've seen me yap about) plz let me know.
Anyway, I still need to figure out a good PHYSICAL set up. My roommates and I have a "hobby room", but it's already quite full of other stuff so trying to get a functional corner for audio stuff might take some time and additional little shelf/table stuff. All that is pretty cheap logistical management, though--not pricey and specialized equipment. In the future as I use it more and get comfortable I may discover I don't like different pieces or feel a need to expand... but at least then I'll have everything else set up, so I can just replace pieces bit by bit and still be functional instead of having to buy a bunch of stuff upfront.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-29 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-30 02:37 am (UTC)What would you say are the main differences/strengths between Garageband and Audacity?