Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast

. . . but so swarmed under I can’t even come up for a breath!  My presentation in Vegas went quite well (my computer only froze up once!)  If you were there, thanks for sitting in!  I am in the middle of a massive production project that has been robbing me of about 12 hours a day.  I will be out from under it by next week, and I’ll finally get a new episode online.  I’m pretty sure I will abandon the notion of a guaranteed episode every two weeks, because I’m right at the edge of not being able to single-handedly stay on top of all the work I have at Avalon Podcasting.  So until I take on some help in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be publishing when I get a moment to do so.  The good news is that on occasion, I’ll publish more often than semi-monthly.  Thanks for your patience - and I hope to see you at Blog World!

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Howdy - here I am nearly a week late with the new installment, and I can’t imagine how in the world I’ll get it up and online before NME, so I apologize to you.  I have been completely swarmed under with production work for the past two weeks, and I’m putting the final touches on my presentation at NME, which is coming up this weekend.  If you’re going to be there, please come by and see me.  We’re going to get into a boatload of advanced editing and mixing techniques (and frankly, my presentation is a preview of many topics we’ll be getting to here in this podcast.)  Thanks for your patience, and hopefully I’ll see you this weekend.  Viva Las Vegas!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #10 [7:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello everyone - and thanks for your patience - Episode #10 is finally here. In this episode, I take a look at the Heil PR35 microphone, and we wrap up the series of Tips segments on mic specs. I appreciate your patience. My workload has not subsided, but at least I’m in town this week! I’d also like to remind everyone that I will be speaking at the New Media Expo next month - the 18th to be exact - and this is the first year that the Expo will be in Vegas. A great time will be had and much will be learned by all. I’d like to invite you to attend - it’s not terribly expensive, and it’s worth way more than the price of admission and travel - you can register here. Come out and see me speak - I’m going to dig into some pretty advanced editing and mixing techniques - it will be fun. As always, thanks for listening!

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Apologies to all of you who listen to my podcast.  I have been swarmed under with a promethean amount of commercial work recently.  I have struggled to stay on top of it, and it’s still challenging.  The net result is that I was not able to meet my self-imposed deadline of last Wednesday in publishing Episode #9, and unfortunately, I’m not even going to be able to get it under wraps by this Wednesday, due to traveling to California for a remote recording.  It looks at this point like Episode #9 will be appearing on the date for which Episode #10 was originally slated.  Also, I have been in the process of moving Avalon Podcasting into new offices, which will facilitate taking on some interns.  Hopefully the workload will wane a bit and allow me the time to get the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast out in a timely fashion.  In the meantime, please bear with me - I have a whole lot of ground left to cover, and by the time I get through all I want to do, a whole new batch of technique and technology will have been developed, and we’ll have to start all over again!  Thanks for your patience, and see you next week.

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #8 [10:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re finally settling back into a normal pattern and I present Episode #8, in which I take a look at Kristal and dig into the details of microphone technical specifications. Enjoy, be in touch, and as always - if you need clear, credible audio production for your business or commercial venture, call Avalon Podcasting at 877-MY-PODCAST (877-697-6322) And be sure to tell all your friends about this podcast! Enjoy this episode of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast, and thanks for stopping by!

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Hello and thanks for stopping by.  This week’s episode is unfortunately going to be postponed until next time around for two reasons.  The main reason is that my father has had open-heart surgery just recently, and I have been in and out of town several times, and will be traveling yet again.  Also, and related to that, I have had a large volume of commercial podcast production work, and it has been a serious challenge to be with my family and stay on top of the work.  Nevertheless, the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast will return on Wednesday, June 25th with a brand new episode.  I appreciate your patience, as does my Dad and my family.  Thanks again!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #7 [6:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello - thanks for stopping by the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast! This week our tech segment briefly covers the latest beta of Audacity - 1.3.5 (go right away and make a donation at their website!) - and in the tips segment, we get into ribbon mics. The entirety of Episode #7 was recorded with an Audio Engineering Associates A-440 ribbon mic, developed by my friend Wes Dooley, and it sounds amazing! Thanks again for coming by.

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #6 [8:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello - and thanks for visiting the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast! I’m traveling next week, and rushing to button down a whole bunch of production before I leave, so there’s no tech segment in this episode, but some great stuff on condenser mics in the tips segment, and the whole episode was recorded with my trusty old SE Electronics Z-5600 mic. Check it out - it really sounds good.

I’d like to re-iterate something about this podcast and me in particular. Please be aware that my expertise is in the domain of audio production - I do not claim to be an expert at publishing podcasts, developing websites, creating RSS feeds, or writing HTML. When Avalon Podcasting produces podcasts for its clients, we usually deliver the final production to the client and they handle its publication, or we rely on third party experts with whom we maintain partnerships. Frankly, I struggle just as much as anybody else with the process of getting even this podcast online - that simply is not my area of expertise. So please bear that in mind. We go about the business of making the audio sound good - and we leverage existing mechanisms and relationships to get that audio on the Internet. I’ll never make the false claim that I’m a pro or an expert at publishing podcasts - only that I make them sound good. In order to continue providing my clients with a high quality product, my focus will remain on audio production and not podcast publication. This is an important distinction.

Thanks again for stopping by - see you again in two weeks!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #5 [11:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Finally! We have solved all of our technical issues, and we’re 100% back on the air. In Episode #5, I take a look at the M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 Mark II, the latest version of a nice handheld recorder that I reviewed in the February 2006 issue of Remix magazine. In the tips segment, we continue our discussion of microphones, digging into dynamic mics this time around. We’re glad to be back on the air, and I want to thank you for your patience. And as always - if you need clear, credible audio production for your business or commercial venture, call Avalon Podcasting at 877-MY-PODCAST (877-697-6322) And be sure to tell all your friends about this podcast! Enjoy this episode of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast, and thanks for stopping by!

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Howdy - as you can probably tell, we’re still suffering some technical difficulties here - specifically, we migrated from one host to another, and haven’t gotten everything buttoned down just yet.  We will do our level best to try to be back on the air with the 4/30/08 episode by Friday, May 2nd.  Bear with us - we’ll get further into microphones in the new episode, and we’ll have a review of the M-Audio MicroTrack II handheld digital recorder.  Thanks for your patience and see you here again soon!

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Just a note . . . the Avalon Podcasting website, where the audio for this podcast is actually stored, migrated to a new host on April 20th, so the audio will be temporarily unavailable. It will return sometime on Monday, April 21st. Please check back then. Thanks for your patience!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #4 [11:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello - it’s Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 - time for episode #4 of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast. In this episode, I take a brief look at the latest revision of Audacity - beta version 1.3.4. And please help keep those new revisions coming - make a donation or a purchase at the Audacity website. We owe those folks a huge debt of gratitude. In the tips segment, we start our ongoing discussion of microphones, and this topic will carry on through several episodes, so we can cover it comprehensively. As always - if you need clear credible audio production for your business, political, or commercial venture, call Avalon Podcasting at 877-MY-PODCAST (877-697-6322) Our audience continues to grow, and we appreciate you telling your friends about it. Enjoy this episode of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast, and thanks for stopping by!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #3 [9:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Due to the delayed arrival of this episode’s review product, there is no tech segment, so we dive right into the tips segment, with the next part of our discussion of room acoustics. This is some really useful information, so listen to the podcast and hopefully it will help you improve your podcast. And as always - if you need clear, credible audio production for your business, political, or commercial venture, call Avalon Podcasting at 877-MY-PODCAST (877-697-6322) And be sure to tell all your friends about this podcast - our audience is growing! Enjoy this episode of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast, and thanks for stopping by!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #2 [12:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the tech segment of this episode, I take a look at Digidesign’s Pro Tools LE 7.4 , which is a must-have for do-it-yourself podcasters who are ready for a vastly more professional sound (I reviewed Pro Tools LE 7.4 on page 38 of this issue of Blogger & Podcaster Magazine, as well.) In the tips segment, I continue beyond last episode with a discussion of how the size of a room affects acoustics. Also, I need to brag just a bit - as you may know, I spoke on the topic of quality podcast production at the 3rd Annual New Media Expo in September of 2007. Well - I’ve been invited to speak again. I’ll be speaking on more advanced podcast production techniques on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at the 4th Annual New Media Expo (here’s a link to my particular session.) The criteria for choosing speakers were more stringent this time around, and only 52 of over 700 potential speakers were chosen. Am I proud of this? You bet I am! I’d like to formally invite you to come join us at the New Media Expo - the biggest and most important podcasting conference in the world. It’s highly educational and a lot of fun. Seriously consider it. And as always - if you need clear, credible audio production for your business or commercial venture, call Avalon Podcasting at 877-MY-PODCAST (877-697-6322) And be sure to tell all your friends about this podcast! Enjoy this episode of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast, and thanks for stopping by!

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 Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast - Episode #1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Go ahead - hit the play button!

Hello and welcome to the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast! I’m your host - John McJunkin. Thanks for coming by to listen.

I’ll be publishing a new podcast every other Wednesday, and each will have two major segments - a podcasting technology product review, and a tip relating to podcasting technique - “Tech” and “Tips.” I invite your questions and commentary - you can e-mail me at john[at]techandtipspodcast.com, and I also invite you to comment here on the podcast website.

While corporate or business podcasting requires credible, professional production, I hope to help do-it-yourself, home-brew podcasters to improve their sound. Enjoy this podcast, and please come back and see me on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 for the next show, and tell 10 friends about us. I’m sure you know some people who could benefit from the information I’ll be presenting.

In this show - I review Audio-Technica’s new AT2020USB microphone, and I discuss the difference between acoustical isolation and acoustical absorption, and how it relates to podcast production. You can get more information about the AT2020USB at Audio-Technica’s website.

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