As a podcaster, the quality of your audio is key to maintaining listeners and attracting new ones. One of the biggest audio problems that can plague a podcast is clipping, which occurs when the volume of your recording is too loud and distorts the sound. In this article, we’ll discuss what clipping is and how to prevent it from ruining your podcast episodes.
When setting up your microphone to record an episode, it’s important to adjust your gain or volume level appropriately. If your audio recording is too quiet, you’ll struggle to hear it during editing, but if it’s too loud, it may clip and become distorted. Clipping makes your audio virtually impossible to fix and make it sound good.
To avoid clipping, there are two things you can do. The first and easiest is to adjust the gain on your microphone mixer or interface. You want your voice to stay comfortably in the green/yellow range of the level meter, which is between negative 12 and negative 6 decibels.
The second way to avoid clipping is to adjust the volume input in your recording software. For example, in GarageBand, you can adjust the input volume on the left side of the track using a volume slider. Audacity also has a similar input volume slider for your microphone or audio inputs. Speak into your microphone while adjusting the volume and aim for the sweet spot of negative 12 to negative 6 decibels.
It’s a good idea to do a few test recordings to get your ideal levels right. Once you’ve found the right levels, you should write them down or remember them for next time. A general rule of thumb is to “record softer than you think you need to.” You can always add a bit of gain in editing, but you can’t remove the distortion that comes with clipping.
In conclusion, preventing clipping in your podcast recordings is essential to maintaining a high-quality audio experience for your listeners. Make sure you adjust your gain and volume levels appropriately and do a few test recordings to find the right levels. Remember, it’s better to record softer than you think you need to and avoid clipping altogether.