Heil PR40

Vidac wants to build a podcast/voiceover studio in his den. Does Yamaha make good soundboards for around $500? Leo says Yamaha makes good gear. It's probably overkill, but a good choice. Vidac is also using Shure SM58s. Leo says that they are great mics, and practically indestructible. A great, economic choice at about $150. But he'll also need some form of a digital interface in order to get the mixed feed into the computer. Vidac also uses a Shure SM7B. Leo says that is a condenser mic that requires phantom power. But the board should provide that.

Jose is getting a buzzing interference in his USB mic. Leo says that's usually noise created by the USB cable. So try a different cable. Leo also says a cheaper microphone may also be the culprit, depending on how cheap the mic is. Leo uses a Heil PR40 with a SoundDesign USB Pre2. But the FocusRite Scarlet also works with an XLR mic. Leo also says the SHURE SM58 is an affordable mic that gives more bang for the buck. It all comes down to circuitry.

Todd wants to know why Leo chose the Heil PR40. He's planning to do a podcast and wants the best mic he can get for the money. Leo says that Bob Heil is a legend in the music industry, having created the quadrophonic sound for the Who, and the Vocoder for Peter Frampton. Bob invented the Heil PR40 originally for HAM Radio, but it's gotten very popular with radio and podcasters. Leo likes how his voice sounds. The PR40 is also a dynamic mic; it doesn't need phantom power or requires isolation like a condenser mics.

Roger would like to get into voiceover work and wants to know what equipment he needs that is high quality, but affordable. Leo says that breaking into voiceover is a challenge, but it's easy enough to build your own sound studio. Many work out of their house thanks to high speed internet and ISDN telephone lines. But the ISDN line can be expensive, so it's better just to record at home and then upload.

Mike would like to create videos for training and use them to train others on Adobe. Leo says that Adobe has a good utility called Captivate that is designed for e-learning. The monthly subscription to create e-learning videos is $30.

Jim was podcasting back when Leo was still on TechTV. Jim had to walk away from it a few years ago but now he's ready to get started up again. He sees that Leo had recommended the Sennheiser SMD25 and is wondering if its still a good option. Leo says he wouldn't go with that. He uses a dynamic directional mic instead. Leo recommends Bob Heil's HeilSound PR40. It's great for studio work and it'll make Jim's voice sound really great. They're about $350.