Help Buying Equipment for Renegade Podcaster...!

Haveyouzapped

New member
Hello! I am looking to buy some new equipment for my boyfriend who just started making podcasts. He's expressed some interest in recording onto cassette tapes and I wasnt sure what to get him as a gift so that he could start that process. I dont know the names of his equipment so I took pictures of what he works with to make podcasts in hopes that it will give A better idea of where we're starting from. Also i took a picture of my crosley record player that has a tape deck in it, I wasnt sure if we could use that for anything. I just ore-ordered one of the "burger buddy" tape players that burger records makes as well so he'd have a handheld one (which also converts tapes to mp3s which is nifty).

All that to say any tips would be appreciated and if I need more details regarding his equipment, let me know and I can do some digging!
 

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Hi there,
What sort of budget did you have in mind?
Without knowing specifics of his process it's going to be hard to make specific recommendations.

Maybe fairly generic items would make a safe gift. Cables, stands, pop filters, headphones, padded storage boxes, instrument stands (if he plays), etc?
Someone bought me quick-change microphone clip things a while back, so you just push a button and switch, instead of screwing/unscrewing the right clip/mounts. Handiest things, if you use multiple microphones regularly.

Failing that, you can't go wrong with a lava lamp. ;)
 
Oh okay! All of that I'm sure he'd appreciate. Sorry I wasnt as clear before but I'd like to try and buy him something that would allow him to put his podcast on cassette. Budget could be up to $200 probably...and as for the lava lamp I just might invest in one for myself! Lol

Also with his process he doesnt do much editing right now. Basically he records with mics and a mixer and keeps the file on the thing in the first picture, then uploads from that to soundcloud
 
Oh, I see. OK.
Well, it's a bit difficult because I'm not sure what his reason would be and that would inform any purchase.

Do you know, is it just a novelty whim, like "that might be cool" or does he intend to distribute to people who don't use online services?
There's a bit of a trend of wanting to record to cassette or use old hardware for some 'analog sound' but, if that's the case, you'd probably have reams of people suggesting alternatives likely to achieve a better result.

Companies like Yamaha, Denon, Marantz etc made good quality dual tape decks with all the ins and outs one would need but a: you're not going to find something like that new and b: it may be nothing like what he's looking for.

Heh...Sorry, trying to help - May not sound like it!
 
No, I definitely appreciate it! I think it's more something he'd Like to experiment with, maybe with poetry and comedy sketches on them just as a fun thing to distribute in small batches. I'd have to guess he'd enjoy that sort of "analog sound" as part of the experience.
 
Ok, sounds quite laid back so that's good.
If duplication is important then I'd guess a dual deck would be a good thing. 'Guess' has the emphasis there, though. ;)

There are probably modern units geared at digitising cassettes and, probably, vice verse, but the quality? I wouldn't be sure.
At least with an older deck from a known name you're getting a bit of quality and, if he has an interest in that kind of thing, it'll probably remain useful.

The fact that he has a functioning digital set with analog mixer means he's not relying on you picking something very specific, so a decent deck could easily find a place.

Hope that's useful. If you come up with any specific ideas and want some opinions, I'm sure someone here will be able to give a first-hand.
 
This is definitely helping me get a better idea of what I'm attempting to find! I'm looking at tape decks on Amazon right now and it's sort of hard to figure out what would be best. Most of them dont have microphone jacks, it seems...unless there's some sort of alternative, I guess that's my quest now: a (preferably dual) tape dec with microphone input if that is reasonable...
 
It all depends on so much, but most likely he wouldn't want a microphone input because he has his mixer there.
Depending what microphone he uses he may need phantom power, which the mixer would provide. A tape deck would not.

To be honest, microphone input probably isn't that common anyway, because most sources of music would have line level outs anyway. (record players, mp3, cd, computers, instruments...)

The mixer would also be essential if he uses more than one mic (person) at a time, or brings in other sources like music etc.
It lets him ride faders, eq, set volumes etc so it's probably a safe-ish bet that he'd want to use that.
It also gives him routing options, main outputs, headphone outputs, the ability to send/record to more than one device at a time.

Puts simply - mixer = versatility, but it wants to feed devices with line level inputs.


A tape deck with stereo line level input and output is a safe all-round bet, I reckon.
That way it'll be able to integrate with most other equipment and not tie his hands.

Same disclaimer as before - This is all educated guesswork.
If it turns out the guy wants a dictaphone, I just screwed you. :p
 
Did this thread wander into the wrong forum? :)

Just saying it might get more action in the Podcast sub-forum.

Thanks I wasn't sure, since he already has his podcast recording equipment and I just wanted to get him something for putting that onto cassettes. Mostly I just gave the example of what he'd be using it for as an indication for sound quality and stuff. I figured a lot of people might not be putting podcasts on tapes.... But maybe there's a whole subculture of that I didn't know about! So if I should start a thread in the podcasting forum I can do that!
 
You're welcome to but I think you were/are correct.
I don't imagine there's often a crossover between podcasting and cassettes.
 
It all depends on so much, but most likely he wouldn't want a microphone input because he has his mixer there.
Depending what microphone he uses he may need phantom power, which the mixer would provide. A tape deck would not.

To be honest, microphone input probably isn't that common anyway, because most sources of music would have line level outs anyway. (record players, mp3, cd, computers, instruments...)

The mixer would also be essential if he uses more than one mic (person) at a time, or brings in other sources like music etc.
It lets him ride faders, eq, set volumes etc so it's probably a safe-ish bet that he'd want to use that.
It also gives him routing options, main outputs, headphone outputs, the ability to send/record to more than one device at a time.

Puts simply - mixer = versatility, but it wants to feed devices with line level inputs.


A tape deck with stereo line level input and output is a safe all-round bet, I reckon.
That way it'll be able to integrate with most other equipment and not tie his hands.

Same disclaimer as before - This is all educated guesswork.
If it turns out the guy wants a dictaphone, I just screwed you. :p

This is starting to make a lot more sense. Thank you for the trouble of breaking it all down! Secretly I kind of go into a daze when he talks about the specifics of his recording equipment and this has taught me to pay more attention lol And if he wants a dictaphone, he's on his own!

Right now I'm looking at the first results that come up when I type "dual tape deck" into google. The Marantz Professional PMD-300CP seems pretty promising....As long as he can play with it using the equipment he has now, I think it might be a good start! Unless there are other recommendations or that one is no good for some reason...
 
This is starting to make a lot more sense. Thank you for the trouble of breaking it all down! Secretly I kind of go into a daze when he talks about the specifics of his recording equipment and this has taught me to pay more attention lol And if he wants a dictaphone, he's on his own!


Ha! Somehow I doubt it's a secret. ;)

Right now I'm looking at the first results that come up when I type "dual tape deck" into google. The Marantz Professional PMD-300CP seems pretty promising....As long as he can play with it using the equipment he has now, I think it might be a good start! Unless there are other recommendations or that one is no good for some reason...

That looks great. I'm not a cassette user but this has line inputs and outputs and a USB audio option.
Within the limits of what we know, I think he should be pleased with that.

Other members might be able to be more specific about the quality of particular models but, either way, I think you're on the right road.
 
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