The title says it all. You can almost stop reading now if you want to. But, I find buying used gear to be one of the most valuable "life hacks" when it comes to buying audio gear for podcasting. Podhacks? Anyways, in audio production, with very few exceptions, you get what you pay for, and usually spending a *little* extra money can go a very long way. This is where buying used comes in! If we have a fixed budget, which most of us do, we can get MUCH higher quality gear if we buy used and spend the same amount of money.   With a couple extra dollars typically comes a better sound, better build quality, sometimes better features, and possibly better customer support from the manufacturer. Over the years I've saved tens of thousands of dollars by buying used, and many of these items I've bought from eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Guitar Center, or Sweetwater (yes the latter 2 have used sections to their websites!) are still working perfectly after owning them for 5-10 years. We should try our best to buy fewer things, and buy things of higher quality. I've seen several folks go through 4-5 low quality USB mics that kept breaking after 4 months only to finally realize they should be buying a more rugged and field tested microphone like a Shure SM58. These folks spent $200-300 on USB mics by trying to save a little bit of money (which totally backfired!) when they could have just bought a BRAND NEW Shure SM58 for $99, or a used one for $40, which is damn near guaranteed to last a lifetime.   Next time you want to buy a new piece of gear, check the used sections on Guitar Center and Sweetwater. Check eBay and Facebook Marketplace for a seller with good reviews. Check the manufacturers website for B-stock and factor refurbished gear. It's a super easy way to get great gear at an even better price.     JOIN THE FUN ON PATREON!       Episodes Referenced: 7. Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Podcast Equipment, Microphones, Interfaces, etc. 8. Comparing Preamp Noise on Interfaces, Mixers and Recorders  

My Signal Chain

Hardware:

Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble

Microphone: Shure SM7b

Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x

Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II

Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7

Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm

Software:

IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click

IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise

FabFilter ProQ3

Waves Vocal

Rider Waves CLA-2A

oeksound Soothe2

Waves L2 Limiter

Waves WLM Meter

Waves Durrough Meter

-Save 10% off the plugins above with this affiliate link from Waves!-

*most of these links are affiliate links

Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud

Closing Song: Hurricane by Joakim Karud feat. Andrew Applepie

http://www.joakimkarud.com

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