Hi. I’ve been reading my way through forum posts, picking up great information along the way. Thanks very much to both the questioners and those with the answers. You’ve all helped me define my issues.

I’m starting a new project which will produce podcasts (and, later, videos) along with a website, e-books and so on. I’ve run websites before but this will be my first foray into podcasting.

Here’s what I’m planning to do:

1. Single person (me), studio recordings (studio is optimistic, cupboard maybe)
2. Face to face interviews in interviewee’s office/workspace. Usually one to one but could be more as a round table discussion
3. Skype or other VoiP interviews, usually one to one but could be up to 4 people.
4. Simple intro/outro music

I’m after good quality within the framework of internet-delivery and mostly earplug/headphone using listeners. Clean sound, no wildly fluctuating levels, some body and presence - I’d be happy with this.

These are the constraints I’ve already identified:

5. The whole setup needs to be portable, I am often away from home for several months at a time, working from hotel rooms, short-term lets etc
6. I don’t have a dedicated space, even at home, to use as a studio
7. Later on, it needs to play well with a video camera (brand/type not yet identified)

Equipment I already own:

1. MacBook Air, mid 2011, 1.8GHz processor, Intel i7 Core, 4GB memory, Intel HDGraphics 3000 384, running OSX Yosemite
2. Assorted external HD’s of 1-3 TB
3. Apple PowerBook G4 (pre Intel chip) as a backup/second machine
4. Smartphone 5, 64 GB
5. iPad mini (Version 2: retina), 128 GB
6.Sennheiser TR220 headphones (very good quality but not closed)
7. ATR-2100 mic (on order)

I’ve started with the mic. That was relatively easy. I know I’ll need more. I’m thinking of a second ATR2100 and/or 2 Lavalier mics. perhaps Rode SmartLav+. Any comments on those or the usefulness of such a combo?

It’s the mixer that’s really giving me pause. I need it portable and hardy but still able to deal with multiple voices, whether over Skype or in the room. Standard mixers with 4 aux outlets are too big and heavy for my purposes. I’m thinking of the Zoom H6. I also checked out the Tascam DR-40 and DR-44WL. Their price is very attractive, it’s around half of that of the Zoom. But I didn’t think they were as flexible and, overall, Zoom owners seemed more satisfied with the performance of their units.

The H6 looks as though it would do most of what I need BUT it seems to have no mix-minus capability. What to do there? Could I use some combination of my various bits of equipment to isolate the Skype caller’s voice? And what if there is more than one Skype-r? I looked for software that might do the mix minus for me, but haven’t been able to find any to date.

I was temporarily excited by podclear.com which was mentioned on these forums, but it has been bought up by blab.im which seems wholly focused on video hosted on their proprietary platform. I saw that domineaux recommended Voicemeeter, which has mix minus capability, but it is PC only and I'm firmly in the Mac world.

This is the big thing I need some help with - finding preferably one robust piece of equipment to record interviews in the field and bring Skype calls into the ‘studio’. The whole kit and caboodle, together with my existing equipment, must be able to be easily toted around the world. I’m looking for the least possible equipment (total size and weight all up) consistent with good quality output over the internet.

If I go with the Zoom H6 (or an alternative that might be suggested), will that, plus software that someone may be able to identify for me, be enough for me to start with? The system has to include Skype to be viable.

There are many things that I might need or want to get later on. Right now I’m looking for the most basic combination that will get me started and let me do Skype calls. Hardware or software needs to work in the Apple environment. I’ll be really grateful for comments, ideas and suggestions.

Elle