My first portable setup included the iRiver 899 with two plug-in powered, computer head mics. I consider this my ultra-portable setup and often take this on my trips. When I began recording executives at my corporation, I wanted to improve my equipment. I had several requirements:

· Good audio quality

· XLR inputs

· Removable batteries

· Common storage medium

I purchased the Marantz PMD660 Professional Portable Digital Recorderand have been very satisfied ever since.

While I have used the XLR inputs, I no longer consider this a personal requirement. I have used a variety of mics to record conversations in conference rooms and offices. I learned I could get the best recording with little ambient noise if I used a head mic. Since I was using a wireless mic at several speaking engagements I purchased the AT-892 head mic for both the speaking engagements and my portable recording setup. The AT-892 is a great mic, but can only be purchased terminated for a particular brand of wireless mic. I chose the Audio-Technica brand. This then required an adapter to fit the A-T plug to the XLR of the Marantz recorder.

I was very excited to find the Samson SE-50 head mic which includes adapters for a variety of brands. This allows me to use the 3.5 mm plug which will fit in the iRiver recorder or the Edirol R-09.

TIP:  Clean up every aspect of the process.  Simplify, simplify, simplify.  Think speed and efficiency.  90% is good enough.  Get it out the door.  If you get bogged down in too many steps in your process, you will find it harder and harder to bring yourself to record another show.   Re-evaluate ALL the steps to see which ones can be dropped or combined to simplify the overall process.

The biggest combination of steps for me was to move the compression and EQ process to the front end, before everything goes into the recorder.  Purists will say that I’m losing the ability to selectively clean things up in post-production.  That’s the whole point. I don’t want to spend the time “doing it in post-production.”  My ideal show would require no post-production.  I want it out the door.

On TheDivaCast, I record five women.  We spend some time in the show planning process with the goal of recording it all in one take requiring no post-production.  Over time, we have cleaned up our process and moved some tasks around for the better.  Just so you know, we have recorded one show so far, where we did no post-production.  It’s still a goal…

Leave your best tips in the comments.