Podcasting’s emerged as a powerful medium, helping people share their voices, stories, and expertise with the world. But with the podcasting landscape becoming increasingly crowded and competitive, your show needs to stand out from the crowd. One way to make that happen is by setting up your own podcast studio, helping you create a professional and captivating soundscape for your listeners.

At Rivet360, we are lucky to have partnered with Emmy-award winning composer, producer, mastering engineer Andy Mitran, who’s set up multiple Rivet studios in which we’ve created award-winning audio—and he’s advised our clients on  home studio set-ups, too.  Here’s his expert advice on how to create great recordings at your home.

Picking your home podcast studio’s location

Before buying equipment and rearranging furniture, take time to find the right spot for recording. In this PodWell episode, Geneen Harston, Rivet360’s head of production, walks us through her home to hear how recordings sound in the different environments. Ideally, you’ll find a smaller space with sound absorbing components, like carpeting or curtains. Or my personal favorite – a closet filled with clothes.

Optimizing your recording space

Creating an acoustically optimized environment is crucial to producing high-quality podcast audio. We'll cover practical tips for optimizing your home studio, including soundproofing and managing echo and background noise. With some simple adjustments and strategic placement of sound-absorbing materials, you can significantly enhance the audio quality of your recordings.

Depending on your studio, you may want to consider soundproofing treatments. The most basic simple and least intrusive form of acoustic intervention is the addition of corner bass traps—triangular pieces of diffusing and absorbing foam fit into the corners of the room at the ceiling. Corners create the most intrusive resonances in a room and if you muzzle them, you may not ever need to address this issue again.

Selecting essential equipment

Then you can select your equipment. The core components: Microphones, headphones, speakers, audio interfaces, mixers, corner bass traps, a computer and recording software. By understanding the pros and cons of various options and finding the right balance between quality and affordability, you can ensure that your podcast sounds professional and engaging. Specific recommendations include:

Microphone:  Electro-Voice RE20 broadcast announcer microphone with variable-d
Microphone:  EV RE 20 radio standard large diaphragm dynamic mic
Pop filter/wind screens:  BSW REPOP
Speakers/Monitors:  KRK ROKIT 6 G3 - 6"
Headphones:  Sony MDR7506 professional large diaphragm headphone
Headphones:  SONY MDR-7506 closed-back professional headphones
Mixer:  Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen USB audio interface for recording, songwriting, streaming and podcasting
Corner base traps: CornerAuralex LENRD 1x1x2 foot Studiofoam Bass Trap

Audio editing: Audacity, which is open-source and free.

Computer specs: You’ll want at least  16GB RAM, a 2TB system hard drive (preferably solid state), 2 TB data external hard drive (Western Digital Black recommended), P7 processor, an Nvidia video card for dual monitors. 

Now you’re ready for the fun part: Making your podcast!