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Gear and Software I Use to Record My Podcast Live

I’m pretty new to recording a live audio-only show. Truth be told, this show is a bit of an experiment so I can try this out. However, if you’re interested, here’s what I’m using right now. I also want to mention at the outset that some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may benefit from qualifying purchases.

Outline:

The Streaming Server

I use Podhome.fm as my live streaming server and podcast media host because they’re one of the few that currently offer this as a combined service. And their pricing is insanely low for what you get.

In case you’re nerdy like me, it’s an icecast server that serves up MP3 audio. That’s what I was looking for, so it’s perfect for this.

Computer Setup

I’ve been podcasting for over a decade and have edited hundreds of shows. As of right now, I’m using the Earthworks Ethos microphone into the RodeCaster Pro 2 mixer/interface and a pair of the Audio Technica ATH-M30x headphones. I spent a good bit of time trying to get my settings on the RodeCaster dialed in so that I get a nearly-ready audio feed directly out of the device. And by “good bit of time,” I mean… hours of recording, testing, tweaking, and doing it all over again. Because if I’m going to record live, I want it to sound as finished as possible right from the start.

On the processing and livestreaming side of things, I use Rogue Amoeba Audio Hijack to further process the audio so that I can get it up to the target loudness level of -16 LUFS and -1 dbFS True Peak. These are the standard targets for podcasting in most cases. I also use Audio Hijack to record a safety copy in both AIFF and MP3 formats in case something fails.

I then use the Audio Hijack Broadcast block to connect to the Podhome streaming server so that I can go live. Originally I had some challenges with this but it ended up being user error. Huge thanks to the support team at Rogue Amoeba for helping me troubleshoot it.

Once this is all set up, it’s just a matter of enabling Audio Hijack and starting the livestream with Podhome.fm.

I’ve also built out a Live page, which contains a “Latest Episode” player directly from Podhome.fm and a chat box from RumbleTalk.

Mobile Setup

While I’m not currently recording live from my iPhone, I do have the Backpack app, which I have connected to the Podhome streaming server. So, if I need (or want) to stream live while I’m away from my computer, it is possible. However, I’m not sure I’d be able to stay on top of the chat (if anyone joins me in the chat).

In a pinch, I could use my iPhone’s built-in microphone or Bluetooth headphones (not recommended). But for a better experience, I think I would use a simple USB microphone like the Samson Q2U, the Shure MV88+,  the Rode Wireless Micro, or something similar.

I do want to make sure that I’m clear, though… I’m not currently doing any mobile rig recording, so this has not been thorougly tested.

For the Future

One thing I would love to do is move from the chat box to more of a social media experience so that we can have dialog that is episode-specific, and that lives on a platform like Mastodon. There are currently some ways to do this (kind of) using ActivityPub (powers Mastodon) or Nostr. But for right now, I don’t think those are ready for prime time.

List of Tools (to make things easier):

(Qualifying purchases from these links may benefit me.)