New iMac 2020 for Podcast Production

New iMac 2020 for Podcast Production

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19 OCTOBER 2020

written by Mike

New iMac 2020 for Podcast Production

For the last five years, I worked on a 27inch late 2015 iMac system with 3TB Fusion drive and 32GB of RAM.

The system has served me very well, but it was time to update. 

At the beginning of August 2020, Apple released a new line of iMacs and when I checked out the specs I decided to get one. In this post, I will be looking at the performance and how much better the system is for podcast production.

I’ve upgraded to the 27inch iMac 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i7.

When shopping, there were a few options that I’ve selected as well.

But why, 27inch? 

I find it that one big screen is enough for my work. Anything less and I would probably need two screens, 27inch sits nicely on the desk. 

Also, 27inch iMac is one of a few Apple computers where you can still get 3rd party RAM modules which is very important!

But on that later.

When selecting the computer, I stayed with a standard glass monitor and CPU. With memory, I left it at 8GB, and I left the graphics card as is too. The storage is all SSD now, and it is costly. Like I mentioned earlier, my 2015 iMac had a 3TB Fusion drive, and I was using most of it. Basic 512GB would be too small, but going into 2TB or 4TB territory – very expensive. 

I’ve upgraded to 1TB for an additional £200.

Now with an Ethernet connection, I’ve paid an extra £100 to upgrade to 10 Gigabit. My connection is not that fast, but I did it to future proof the computer. If I work on it another five years and then want to sell, 10 Gigabit will be a good selling point.

I left Magic Mouse 2 and changed the keyboard to Numeric.

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Now, let’s talk about RAM and storage. The 27inch iMac is still one of the few computers that have upgradable RAM. That means you can access it from the behind and upgrade it yourself. 

The 2020 iMac was attractive because it supports up to 128GB RAM, which is a lot!

However, when you look at the shopping list, the upgrade from 8GB to 128GB will cost you an additional 2600 pounds! Which is more than the actual system! That’s insane.

The good news is that, just like with my old system, I could use 3rd party RAM, which works out much cheaper than 2600 pounds.

I usually go for Crucial RAM, but they were all out of 32GB modules.

After searching online, I found a website called Mr Memory, and they had 32GB Samsung modules in stock. I’ve ordered 4, which is 128GB.

The total cost was about 500 pounds, only 2000 pounds cheaper than from Apple!

The other thing was storage. I’m used to my 3TB Fusion Drive, and 1TB SSD wouldn’t be enough. The obvious option was to buy an external hard drive.

I use regular HDDs for archives, and after reading about the best one for work, it became apparent that I need to go for an external SSD, which is faster but more expensive.

Looking through the options, I decided on SanDisk SSD, which is a small, portable drive – I went for 2TB, which was 250 pounds at the time.

Back at Apple shopping site, 2TB was an additional 600 pounds and 4TB (they don’t have 3TB option) extra 1200. So I saved massively there as well!

That was about it when it came to purchasing.

Before the new system was delivered, I copied my work from the old one. I’ve decided to install software on the main drive; however, I would keep my instrument libraries (around 200GB) as well as working projects (over 1TB) on the external SSD. 

I copied everything over.

When the new system arrived, the first thing was to take the original 8GB RAM modules out and insert 128GB Samsung modules.

Once I did that I switched the system on, it asked me if I wanted to use their Migration Assistant to move files over from the old computer, but I declined. I then instilled my leading software that is Pro Tools, Omnisphere, plugins from iZotope, Adobe CC and the rest – I’ve linked the libraries to the external SSD.

The install was super fast – thanks to RAM and the SSD. I’ve copied my plugin settings and decided to test the system as I would when working.

The first thing is that everything opens much quicker; there is no lag at all. Pro Tools runs smoothly, opens quickly and commands work very fast. I run the sessions from an external SSD.

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iZotope RX – I mentioned in the past that I couldn’t work in full-screen mode as the old system wasn’t having it. Well, the lag is gone, and I can now edit in full screen without any issues. The modules are much faster as well, it still takes time to run the whole module chain, but it is quicker than before.

The other thing is bounces within Pro Tools.

My podcasting session is set up in a way that all my mixing, mastering plugins and reverbs run at all times – I would get system overload quite often, especially if I had a browser on in the background.

No such issues so far and bounces are much quicker too.

First bounce is Commit from MIDI to audio – it used to take at least a couple of minutes to commit a 5-minute long track, not it takes 30 seconds at most.

The big one is, of course, the primary bounce. That is the full episode bounce with all plugins running.

On the old system, the speed for offline bounce was x1.9. So for an hour of the podcast, it would take 30 minutes to bounce.

Now, when running from an external SSD, the bounce speed is x2.9 so more than 50% faster.

If I copy the session on the internal SSD, the speed is the same, so no change there. I can work from the external just as I would from internal.

I’ve also done some music writing running the libraries from the external SSD – the load time is much quicker than it was when working from an old internal Fusion drive on the old iMac, which is excellent news.

What’s the verdict?

As expected with a brand new computer and 4x the amount of RAM, everything runs much smoother, the bounces and renders are faster and internal operations quicker.

There are barely any load times – be it with keyboard shortcuts, libraries loadings or plugins.

Having the external SSD helps as I will use it as the main working drive and run sessions from there. It is much faster than my previous internal Fusion drive anyway.

Overall I’m happy with the upgrade, one thing I am a bit disappointed is that the computer design is the same as the old one. I would think that after so many years they would freshen up the system. It still looks good, but it’s not obvious that I changed anything!

If you are looking for an upgrade, remember that 27inch have the option to buy cheaper RAM, and it’s easy to upgrade storage with external drives too.

Apple will be soon moving to their ARM chips leaving Intel behind. If you are hesitant to upgrade because of that, remember that the transition will take a bit of time and also we aren’t sure that 3rd party software such as Pro Tools or various plugins will work with new chips straight away.

If you feel that your old system starts lagging a bit, I do recommend a new iMac (if you are looking at iMacs that is). It’s a substantial upgrade and will make the work faster and more enjoyable.

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How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time

How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time

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05 OCTOBER 2020

This article is originally published on descript.com

How to Record a Podcast Remotely And Get It Right The First Time

Remote interviews are a fact of life for every podcaster, and in today’s era of social distancing, more so than ever. Since you rarely get the chance at an interview do-over, nailing down your remote recording workflow is essential. We’ll show you how to prepare for and record a remote interview, so you get it right the first time — with some additional tips along the way to make sure all your bases are covered. 

Choose the right remote recording setup for your podcast

The first step is to determine the remote recording setup that best suits the format and content of your podcast and your production and editing workflow.

In most cases, your best solution will involve recording remote interviews on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or a similar online conferencing service. This low-friction setup makes it easy for guests or co-hosts to contribute, but you’ll need to make sure you have the right software to record these interviews.

It’s also wise to make sure you can record phone calls. Phone interviews don’t offer great audio fidelity, but they make a great backup option in case of technical problems or schedule changes. Phone interviews probably won’t be your first choice, but it’s a good idea to be able to record a phone call just in case you need to. 

If you’re recording with the same remote co-host on each episode of your podcast, consider a double-ender setup, in which you and your co-host record your own audio tracks locally and combine them in post-production. For most podcasters, this isn’t the most convenient solution, but it does translate into the highest audio fidelity for you and your co-host.

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The best way to record an interview is to prepare for it

When it comes to interviewing — especially remote interviewing — a little preparation goes a long way.

Do some research into your guest’s background, expertise, and projects. Who are they? Why is their work notable? What do you (and in turn, your audience) hope to learn from them?

Putting together a rough outline of the questions you’d like to ask will come in very handy. Write down a handful of specific questions and key points, but keep your outline broad and high-level. That’ll allow you to more easily adapt to the flow of conversation.

Maintaining that conversational flow remotely can be substantially trickier than doing so person-to-person. Prime yourself to listen more than you speak — in particular, try not to interrupt your guest. Editing out awkward silences between speakers is much easier than dealing with too much crosstalk!

When it’s time to record the interview, take a couple final preparatory steps to ensure a clean recording. Close all unnecessary software and set your computer to “Do Not Disturb” mode to make sure unwanted distractions don’t pop up (or worse: end up in the recording).

How to record a Skype call, Zoom interview, or Google Hangout

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

Both Zoom and Skype offer built-in call recording functionality, but Google Hangouts currently limits this offering to enterprise users. There’s an additional caveat: the file format (.MP4 or .M4A) that each platform outputs may not be what you want, depending on your podcast production and editing workflow.

For maximum control over your final product, you’re better off using third-party apps to record computer system audio directly into the recording software of your choice rather than relying on their recording functionality.

If you’re on a Mac, BlackHole is a great open-source tool that allows you to route audio between apps, which means you can record the audio output from Zoom (or Skype, or Google Hangouts) directly into your preferred recording software. On Windows, Virtual Audio Cable offers similar functionality. 

If you’re already using Descript to record, you won’t need to use additional audio routing software. When recording audio into Descript, open the Record panel, choose Add a Track, select your input, and choose “Computer audio.” Click the Record button whenever you’re ready, and audio from Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts will be piped into Descript. 

No matter which remote recording setup you use, make sure you test it — and test it again — with a friend or colleague before you’re actually recording your podcast. Troubleshooting when you should be interviewing ranks near the top of everyone’s Least Favorite Things To Deal With, so make sure everything is in order before your guest is on the line.

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How to record a phone interview with Google Voice

Social distancing means nearly everyone has gotten used to handling calls and meetings on Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. But maybe your podcast guest is really old-school, or their computer is on the fritz, or maybe they’re simply only able to access a phone during your scheduled call time. It’s likely phone interviews will never be your first choice, but being able to record an old-fashioned phone call will come in handy.

Recording phone calls can be tricky, but using Google Voice to make an outgoing phone call from your computer means you can use the same remote recording setup detailed above to record the call.

Follow Google’s instructions to set up Google Voice and then learn how to make an outgoing call. Once everything’s set up, you’ll be able to record phone calls with Google Voice just like you’d record an interview on Zoom or Skype. 

Again, make sure to test with a friend and then test again before your interview. 

If lossless audio quality is a must, record a “double-ender”

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

But if you have a remote co-host that regularly appears on your podcast, and you want to maximize the quality of your audio, a “double-ender” is the way to go: Each host or guest records themselves locally, and audio tracks are combined in post-production. For an additional cost, you can use third-party recording platforms that simulate double-enders without each speaker managing their own recording software. 

A traditional double-ender sees each speaker recording their own audio track using their recording software of choice (Descript, Audacity, Quicktime, etc.), and then the host or editor combines each speaker’s recording into a finished product. Each speaker should have a decent microphone — if they’re using a laptop microphone to record, you probably won’t hear a substantial advantage with a double-ender over a Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts recording.

Alternatively, you can simulate a double-ender by using a platform like SquadCast, Zencastr, or Cleanfeed. These services record lossless audio from each speaker, upload each track to the cloud, and combine them automatically. These platforms cost money, but they’re a great alternative to a double-ender when guests or co-hosts don’t have the time or wherewithal to fiddle with recording themselves locally. Again, make sure each speaker has a decent microphone — otherwise you won’t reap the full benefits of lossless audio.

Make remote recording hassles a thing of the past

Recording your podcast remotely isn’t painless, but once you get the hang of it — and nail down your workflow — it’ll become second nature.

This article is originally published on descript.com.

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