Welcome to Pocket-Sized Podcasting, brought to you by Alitu: The Podcast Maker. And on this episode, we’re going to talk about podcast equipment for solo shows. If you’re podcasting on your own then this makes choosing equipment easy. You’re just going to need a USB mic and some headphones. I say “headphones” but even your trusty earbuds will do the trick here. You’ll use these to “monitor” yourself as you record. That way, you can hear exactly *what* you record, as it’s recorded, and pick up on any sound issues there and then. On the USB mic front, it seems like there are hundreds of quality and good value options on the market these days. This can make choosing one tricky. With that in mind, we’re just going to recommend the one we think is ideal for 98% of aspiring and early-stage podcasters - the Samson Q2U. The Q2U can usually be bought brand new on Amazon for less than $70. You can also buy it in a special podcasting bundle along with headphones and a boom arm for around $95 - which is an excellent deal. Aside from being a great sounding budget mic, the Q2U works in both USB AND XLR form, so, if you want to upgrade to a mixer or digital recorder further down the line, you won’t need to spend more money on a new mic. The Samson Q2U’s availability varies depending on where you are in the world, but an almost identical mic is the ATR2100, so keep that in mind if you have trouble getting your hands on a Q2U. For a more detailed look at the Samson Q2U as the ideal solo podcaster mic, go to http://ThePodcastHost.com/solo
