Last week I gave a presentation on how to do fast and easy podcasts, and several people were curious about different methods of capturing voice. If you have a computer with a microphone, recording is easy, but it’s a little hard to walk around with even a laptop making recordings.

A digital recorder is the answer. I recommend one that does double duty recording audio and also functions as an MP3 player. That way, you can load up your favorite podcasts, and also create them while you’re out walking.

A few good options:

• Creative Zen does it all, music, photos, video and radio. I picked one up a couple years ago for $30 at Circuit City, and am still using it.
• >Olympus VN-900 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder is more for voice recording, but often sells for less than $30 on Amazon.
• >8 GB MP4/MP3 Player with FM Radio, Camera, Voice Recorder, USB Portable, and 2.8-inch Touchscreen Looks exactly like the iTouch, but sells for around $66 on Amazon.

If any of you have started podcasting or video blogging, you might have noticed a discernible difference between what you’re doing with your computer microphone and what the pros are doing when they’re making voice-overs. Namely, you’re likely to hear very pronounced P sounds as you talk into the mic.

We’ve addressed a couple different ways to get past this (such as talking past the microphone rather than into it or getting a good yet inexpensive headset), but this excellent article in Nextplease shows you How To Make Your Own Microphone Pop-Filter.

This article will show you how to make your own microphone pop-filter. A pop-filter is a small screen that goes between a microphone and your mouth to prevent sharp popping sounds (known as plosives) like “P” and “B” words from overloading the mic level and distorting.

The whole thing, which is essentially a pair of pantyhose stretched over a wooden embroidery ring, costs about $6. I’ve found similar results by stretching an old pair of hose over a hanger and placing it in front of the microphone when doing my own voice-over work.

You’ll be surprised how much this small adjustment can make a difference in the way your recordings sound.

A podcast might be the perfect tool for broadcasting your sermon or special event, but while they’re fairly easy to put together, getting good quality sound takes some thought. The standard microphone that comes with most computers – or heaven forbid the built-in version in your laptop – creates a tinny far-away sound that instantly cheapens your broadcast. If you’re doing any kind of recording on your computer, having decent equipment is a must.

If you’re serious about podcasting, you might want to set aside several hundred dollars to invest in a microphone and a compressor/limiter. But many of our clients are simply using whatever equipment they can get their hands on. if you’re unable to part with much money, you can try the Plantronics DSP-500 headset for around $50. (You might remember Plantronics from an earlier Gadget Monday where we told you how to get set up for using Skype – this headset will do double-duty.)

Plantronics DSP-500 headset

No matter which mic you’re using for your podcast, you can get better results with a few low-tech techniques. This posting from the O’Reilly Digital Media Blog has some useful demonstrations on how to get better results with your recordings, including how to tweak your mic position (hint: talk past your microphone rather than into it).

Also, see this article on how to make a pop-filter out of some old pantyhose.