Good audio is often overlooked but oh so important. It’s even transformed into a huge medium with podcasting and many creatives are coming from other fields, such as video and writing, to join in.
One of the best products in recent history to serve this audience is the RODECaster Pro, essentially an all-in-one production studio. Also, believe it or not, the tool is useful beyond it’s most obvious purpose.
Educator and creator Tom Buck loves the RODECaster Pro and uses it regularly. And today, he is bringing us five tips and tricks to make the most out of the tool and help you improve your productions.
1. More than Just for Podcasts
High-quality audio is important to a ton of stuff. And the RODECaster Pro can serve as an amazing audio interface for a computer and various software. This could mean using it to record VOs for a video or simply using a high-quality XLR mic for your Zoom calls.
The RODECaster Pro is often seen as an audio device without much effort. All you have to do is head to settings in your app and select it as your input. It even works with USB-C-equipped iPads!
iPhones also work but require a bit of cabling fun. You’ll need to make sure it’s a TRRS connection into a Lightning adapter. Using the smartphone channel on the RODECaster should send the audio directly into your phone for any audio work you choose to handle there.
Image Credit: RODE
2. Mix Minus
Mix minus refers to the ability to take an input and not output it as part of the final mix. One key reason for this is to record yourself without outputting yourself, something you might do for a live stream or Zoom call where you want to hear yourself but outputting it will cause bad echo.
There are two main ways to do this, and the first is USB mix minus. Make sure it’s turned on in the menu. All it does is make sure the USB channel is not in the final recording. Since that’s likely the output to the stream you shouldn’t need it.
Mute & Solo is the other method. Soloing a track selects it for the final recording. You can solo multiple tracks to record them all while ignoring the other tracks. Just hit the solo for the channels you want to record in the final tracks. Now, if you don’t want it to come through you can mute a channel. Soloing and muting will make it come through your headphones while preventing it from recording.
When a remote guest is recording high-quality on their end, you may not record their audio but still want to hear it.
3. When to Use Multitrack
A common question is when to use the multitrack feature. Also needs to be turned on through the Advanced menu. You have options for microSD card, USB output, bypass processing, and post fader.
The times to use it are when you have multiple tracks you want to mute and solo. It helps since you can more easily work with individual tracks. If you want to work on each person’s audio independently you would want to use multitrack. You can also just have everything ready in a stereo file when you want to work quickly.
4. How On-Board Effects Affect your Audio
A big advantage of the RODECaster Pro is built-in processing tools and effects. It’s important for live streaming to make the audio sound good instantly. There’s a ton of stuff in the menu and you might want to just go crazy with it when you first pick up the RODECaster.
Generally, what you want to do is keep it subtle. This will clean it up a little while still giving plenty of space for editing later. It also can quickly overtake the natural sound and come across as unnatural if you push it too hard.
Take it easy with the effects.
5. Use a Cover or Case
Even if the RODECaster sits on your desk all day you will want to consider a protective cover for when it isn’t in use. Dust, accidents, and other random things could damage your device when you aren’t paying attention. A basic cover is an easy way to protect it.
Bonus: Notes on the Headphone Preamps
Apparently, the headphone preamps are not that great on the RODECaster. You may end up hearing a bit of hiss or noise in the background and while you may want to test out and review the recordings, it seems like this headphone hiss is not representative of the actual quality of the final audio.
If you want an audio device for your PC the RODECaster Pro is incredibly hard to beat, especially if you want to start a podcast. It’s amazing and comes in at a great value for the features compared to any competition.
Even video shooters might want one to boost their audio.
Have you considered getting the RODECaster Pro for your projects?
[source: Tom Buck]
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