Hi all - just stumbled here and I have a habit of jumping right in.

Tell me what I might do differently? I've worked a little bit with people at SweetWater and Musician's Friend. While I'm fairly technical in a 1980s C64 gamer who grew up kind of way - I don't have any experience in the A/V realm and my podcast host isn't around any more so it's time I jumped in the deep end.

Goal is corporate podcasts that I support in addition to the occasional music recording on the side - budget isn't really an issue outside of not spending an outlandish amount as this is marketing awareness cycle for us:
  • Mixer: PreSonus 16.4.2 (also looked at A&H Zed-R16)
  • Mic - Heil PR40
  • Mic pre-amp: DBX286s
  • Recorder for backup: Tascam DR680 or Ice-16
  • iMac maxed with Adobe Audition
  • MBP for skype callers (should I look for an appliance?)
  • External flash drive for recorder (Lacie 256G)
  • Could use a recommendation for a boom with good feet (sadly hardwood floor)
  • Could use a reco for recording seat that doesn't squeak (was looking at ROC-N-SOC but maybe it has too many parts)
  • For rackmounts I'm getting portable kit, probably just 6u for UPS, surge, recorder, maybe guitar effects and room to breathe - anyone know some that I can put wheels on at the airport?
  • Probably don't need a control surface but I'd be curious what people recommend if anything for podcasting versus live shows
  • Would love to find a nice desk that'll match the mixer, but studio desks seem to be overpriced


Thoughts? Am I missing anything glaring or over-engineering the solution? I could probably produce a reliable podcast for a lot less money, but I'd rather get it right or close to right first. If I'm doing music should I consider analog mixers?


/CJ Dailey, of the Cloud Computing Podcast and more to come . . . @cjdailey