The tech(ie) behind the podcast

Recently, podcasting has (re)gained a lot of popularity and it still keeps growing. We therefore think it would be nice to learn more about the people behind the productional part of the podcast scene – people responsible for audio production? As sound technicians, these people have the responsibility of operating and maintaining the technical equipment used to deliver the best result. 

We got in touch with one of Gearbooker users – Joey, who has been a member of the platform since its beginnings. Joey specializes in audio post production and we thought it would be interesting to share his story with you! 


Meet Joey!

Joey is an audio post production specialist based in the Netherlands, primarily operating from his own studio – De Audiofabrique in Haarlem and also offers popuppodcast.studio services for on-location podcast recordings. Joey specialises in voice-over recording for social and corporate content.

“Ever since working for a local radio station when I was 10 years old, I wanted to be that guy that does all the technical stuff when it comes to audio recording and editing”.


Audiofabrique

Joey really got into the technical aspect of audio recording during his internship at TV8, at that time the first commercial regional TV channel. “For the most part after that, I’ve been touring nationally and internationally as a technical producer for theatre shows”. A few years ago, Joey thought to himself – “what can I do with my knowledge of studio recordings?”. That’s when he decided to switch to audio post production for online TV commercials and corporate event recordings. 

Smaller companies often don’t have enough budget for post production, videos or podcasts. Of course there are things they can do themselves to save on costs: “I’m always saying: one minute of talking takes six minutes of editing, so if they hire someone who knows how to do it properly – then they’re only saving themselves precious time. The recording part is quite simple, but the editing process takes a little bit longer”.

De Audiofabrique is located in Haarlem and is mainly focused on audio post production – so editing and making sure the audio is processed correctly. “Taking all the cares away is the added value I provide to my clients. If they ask me to fix it and I will fix it for them. They don’t have to think about anything about the technical stuff. That’s what I do”. 

A few years ago, a potential client called Joey and said they wanted to record an on-location podcast so they asked Joey if he could fix that for them: “And from there on, what has now become the PopuppodcastStudio, started. That’s mostly how I work now too – when the client needs recording equipment, I provide them with it on location”.


Popuppodcast.studio

Podcasting becomes more and more popular over recent years. It wasn’t really such a common and mainstream thing. Only about four years ago it started growing in popularity. 

If it hadn’t been for that one client contacting Joey and asking if it’s possible to record a podcast on their location, “I had probably not thought of this idea of a “on-location studio” – around 95% of the podcast recordings I now work on are done on location, where the clients are”.

“Taking all the cares away is the added value I provide to my clients. If they ask me to fix it and I will fix it for them.”

De Audiofabrique and Popuppodcast.studio operate together as the same company but under a different ‘label’. “It just helps to separate things for the clients. Most clients look for one specific thing and they get a little bit confused: are they doing audio production or are they doing podcasts? That’s why I gave both activities its own name”.

The concept of a popup podcast studio means that Joey will show up at the location, sets everything up and makes sure everything works. “All the equipment fits in a normal car and I can take it everywhere. In the fastest way possible, I can set up a studio at your location within 15 to 20 minutes and be operational”. Then all the client needs to do is sit down and record the podcast, which is afterwards edited and perfected in the post production.


Joey’s audio equipment top 3

Rode RODECaster Pro Audio Mixer. If you don’t have any technical background, this audio mixer is still relatively simple to use: “if you read the manual or look at their videos, it’s pretty self-explanatory and logical”. Why not see what mixer works best for your needs? Rent one from Gearbooker!

Use a dynamic microphone as it allows you to record everywhere because it’s less sensitive to other sources of sound. Joey advises to use the Lewitt microphones. “Why do I say Lewitt instead of for instance in SM58 even though the price range is about the same, is that the SM58 doesn’t come with a windscreen”. All in all – to find the microphone that works best for you, test a number of different microphones. Check out all the microphones available on Gearbooker!

Avoid using cheap cables. “Yes, it is tempting to get the cheapest cables, but the more expensive ones will give you peace of mind” Joey says. Cheap cables are made from cheap materials and therefore provide poor conductivity, and can easily get damaged too. “So why not invest in cables that are made from good reliable material and will last a lifetime”.

Joey also emphasizes the importance of having two or more SD cards so you always have backups of the recordings: “something can always go wrong, so it’s better to have a few backups”.


Test before you invest!

Over the years, Joey has gathered quite a lot of equipment and has a lot of gear he does not use as often anymore. So he started to rent it out on Gearbooker. “Although its a side thing for me, it’s very helpful and also it helps other creators to get hold of the stuff. So for me it’s really a win-win”. 

It happens quite often that people invest large amounts of money in gear they don’t know much about or gear that just has good marketing. Joey emphasizes: “People should only invest in gear if they know how to use it. Before investing, go and test out the gear by renting it before you make an actual purchase”.

Through testing is the only way to find out what gear works best for your needs and Joey says “that’s why Gearbooker is such  a great platform”.

Want to rent gear from Joey? Check out his Gearbooker page and see all the equipment available! Or maybe you of your company is thinking about recording a podcast? Check out De Audiofabrique and Popuppodcast.studio that Joey offers!


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