Audio for Radio

Standman

I am in the process of producing an interview-based audio documentary with the view to getting it broadcast on local or national radio, and was wondering if anyone has any general advice on what radio stations would expect in terms of recording techniques/audio quality?

I have a good quality microphone and am quite proficient in audio editing, mixing and mastering, but at the end of the day I am still an amateur with no experience in this field, so if anyone that does have some experience with this could chime in it would be greatly appreciated!

landsleaving

What's the microphone?

They'll accept field recordings on a Zoom H2/H4 or similar device - as you can imagine the cleaner the audio the better. Background noise is ok, as long as what's being said is clearly audible. Mic 6 inches from subject's mouth is a rule I've heard a lot - works in most situations.

If you're recording voiceover, try to get into a studio. If you can't, a quiet room without much echo - sound bounces off flat, hard surfaces, so close curtains, put blankets on the ground, etc. A room with lots of books or other clutter is great. You'll be expected to have much better sound if you can control what you're getting - so be aware of that. A local station will probably help you out if they want to broadcast it.

Standman

landsleaving wrote: »

What's the microphone?

They'll accept field recordings on a Zoom H2/H4 or similar device - as you can imagine the cleaner the audio the better. Background noise is ok, as long as what's being said is clearly audible. Mic 6 inches from subject's mouth is a rule I've heard a lot - works in most situations.

If you're recording voiceover, try to get into a studio. If you can't, a quiet room without much echo - sound bounces off flat, hard surfaces, so close curtains, put blankets on the ground, etc. A room with lots of books or other clutter is great. You'll be expected to have much better sound if you can control what you're getting - so be aware of that. A local station will probably help you out if they want to broadcast it.

Thanks for that! The mic I own is a Blue Yeti USB Mic. It probably wouldn't be ideal for field recordings, but for interviews & voice overs it should do the job.

I will most likely rent a studio for a few hours to do the VOs but the interviews will be elsewhere.

As far as reducing reverb, vibrations, pop filtering etc I think I have that covered. Just wanted to make sure I'm not overlooking anything out of the ordinary that radios require from audio recordings - I know for example that radio stations prefer to use mics that have good proximity effect to increase the low end of the audio - things like that which could easily be overlooked.

landsleaving

Proximity effect would only be a concern for voiceover, but you're set if you're using a studio.

I think you'd want to look at getting a Zoom H2 or H4n though, don't think that mic would be considered broadcast quality for your interviews - willing to be corrected though! But a Zoom would be far handier in practice either way, and if you can find a good recording space, would be ok for voiceover. Probably work out cheaper than renting a studio too.

You may also want to look at what format you'll be sending to the radio station, e.g. 16bit wav 44100hz stereo would be fairly standard, but worth checking out so you can set up your equipment accordingly.