Why Your Studio Acoustics and Remote Interview Audio Quality Matter

To succeed in the world of podcasting, there are a few non-negotiables that you must tackle. The quality of your idea is one, just as the quality of its execution is another. No matter how smooth your day-to-day podcast production may be, everything will fall apart if you don’t have a solid foundation for your studio.

This doesn’t automatically mean overly-expensive equipment. But it does mean having the right microphones and audio interface for your needs. Having previously tackled the topic of high-quality studio foundations, let us take a look at the next foundational steps: your studio acoustics and doing remote interviews.

Looking into Studio Acoustics

Just going by its basic definition, acoustics is the science dealing with production, control, reception, and effects of sound. There is a cause mechanism (someone speaking into a microphone, for example), a wave propagation (how that sound travels through the air of the room where the person is speaking from), and the reception (how another person might hear the first one, or how an audience might hear the quality of the eventual released audio).

Echo and Reverb

The issue now for podcasters is having the right kind of room sound for them to produce high quality audio. To do that, being able to identify and minimize both echoes and reverberation is key.

Budget-Friendly Fixes

The most effective steps you can take involve introducing surfaces that are soft, thick, and non-reflective. This is because harder surfaces tend to reflect sound waves, which then bounce around the room creating echoes. For the floors, it can be as simple as adding a thick area rug or a carpet. This is especially useful if you have hardwood, concrete, or tiled floors.

For windows, you may need to install heavy, fabric curtains. Take note that glass is a highly-reflective surface, so it is absolutely necessary to cover it with a thick material. Then, if there is a need to add furniture to your studio, be sure to use upholstered ones rather than wood, leather, or metal. Filling the room with objects of varied shapes and sizes can also help reduce any flat, reflective surfaces.

Professional or Targeted Solutions

If those simpler fixes won’t do, you can also strive to get specific acoustic tools for any need you may have. Acoustic panels are common fixtures in more professional-grade recording studios, and are placed on walls at the primary reflection points. Not only can these reduce reverberation, they can also eliminate any flutter echo as well.

Then, you have base traps, which are acoustic panels that are designed specifically to absorb any low-frequency sound waves. These are the ones that accumulate the most in room corners, which can affect room modes and various other sound field anomalies. Without base traps, you run the risk of having problems such as uneven bass distribution and resonance issues.

The Art of the Remote Interview

While you may be ready with your podcast’s studio, it is worth mentioning that any guests you have may not be. For most shows, the reality is that guests are often interviewed remotely. Therefore, poor audio is common and should be both expected and adequately prepared for.

Utilizing the Double-Ender

One common solution is to bypass compressed internet audio completely. This technique, known as the “Double-Ender”, is considered the golden standard for podcasters and professional broadcasters alike. What this means is, both the podcast host and guest record their own audio tracks individually.

Live calls in this case only happen to communicate the visual cues and for the host and guest to properly sync. During post production, the podcast editor is then handed two separate (and hopefully crystal clear) audio files. The video call audio during this time is mainly used as a guide in order to help make sure the final output is in perfect sync.

The Tools to Use

Although a Double-Ender can easily be done manually, there are also platforms that can now automate this process. Two specific platforms are Riverside and Squadcast. Both were designed with the Double-Ender technique in mind, which should make the subsequent podcast editing much easier to do.

Both of these run high-quality video calls for communication but are also capable of recording individual participants directly into their own local computers. Using these tools also makes it easier for a podcast engineer to ensure exceptional sound quality in the studio without having to worry about the audio quality provided for by the interviewed guest.

If this was an interesting and informative read for you, then it is clearly in your best interest to book a call with the good people at Podcast Engineers. With their expertise and experience, you’re bound to gain even more insightful lessons. Stay one step ahead of the competition and take advantage of your free discovery call today!