better sound. better podcasts.
CLEAN CUT AUDIO
Clean Cut Audio is dedicated to educating and inspiring higher standards of audio in podcasting. Every week, audio engineer and podcast producer Tom Kelly guides listeners through demos, tutorials, walkthroughs, listening exercises, lectures, and deep dive audio training that will teach the fundamentals of audio for podcasting, along with some more advanced techniques that can be implemented by even the most rookie of podcasters.
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THE SHOW
THE HOST
CLEAN CUT AUDIO started as a passion project with founder Tom Kelly helping his friends produce great sounding podcasts. He quickly realized people would pay him to do the same, and within months there were ~20 episodes/week coming out of the "Clean Cut Studios", aka Tom's basement.
As Tom became more active in Facebook groups, spending all his free time answering questions related to audio for podcasting, the demand for more and more information became apparent and Tom took it upon himself to cut back on production and start an educational YouTube channel to better serve the community.
But the people kept asking for more. Tom decided what better way to teach audio for podcasting than to lead by example. In less than 36 hours, the concept for the show, the artwork, and the first episode were complete and the show was already accepted by Apple Podcasts.
Each episode is a solo show, about 20 minutes in length, and geared towards rookie, intermediate, and veteran podcasters who are looking to increase the audio quality of their show.
Tom Kelly is an audio engineer, podcast producer, consultant, and audio educator of 10+ years. After completing a 4-year audio production degree in 2013, Tom spent the next several years assisting that Grammy nominated recording studios in the DC area, post production houses in Virginia, and recording bands out of his studio apartment in Arlington, VA.
Some time in 2016 Tom became obsessed with podcasts and the free exchange of great information he was finding within them. It quickly became obvious that the standards of audio in the podcasts he was discovering were all over the place, and he figured he could use his extensive knowledge of audio production to help a thriving community of creators take their show to the next level.
Before diving head first into consulting, he figured he had to learn the fundamentals of podcasting to better understand the idiosyncrasies of the medium, so he started his first podcast Reminiscent with long time friend and music lover Pat Holmes.
Within a couple of months, fellow podcasters began to notice the work and quality put into this show, and they started knocking down his door asking for production advice, and the rest is history.
MOST LOVED EPISODES
While we are all striving for the best audio we can achieve, learning all the ins and outs of audio can be daunting, especially when we really just want to be focusing on the content of our podcasts. This episode is geared towards the low hanging fruit, the techniques anyone can put into place with their current equipment to immediately and dramatically increase the quality of their show. A lot of what it takes to capture great audio is a good recording environment, proper microphone technique, and recording into software that doesn't degrade the quality of your signal.
Often times in life, the only thing holding you back from achieving greatness is yourself. I find this true to be for audio. In podcasting, there is this culture I can't quite wrap my head around that seems to always be aiming for the bottom. "Don't buy that nice microphone what you can totally get away with this $17 karaoke microphone from Radio Shack". Does that place still exist? Why are we trying so hard to get away with the minimal effort? This hack-a-thon mentality can be fun in some situations, but it shouldn't be the GOAL when you're obtaining your podcasting equipment.
What I'm trying to encourage is the mindset of aiming for the top, and working your way down if you're not quite ready for the "big leagues". There's PLENTY of great middle-of-the-road equipment out there that is very easy on the bank account, but it's important to note that one of the biggest factors in audio quality is the experience and skills of the person capturing and producing the audio. I can be wearing the best basketball shoes known to man, but Michael Jordan in loafers will still wipe the floor with me.