How To Mix Podcast Audio: Step-by-Step Guide for Great Sound

Podcast mixing tends to be quite monotonous and annoying. But you cannot evade it too. It is an essential component of the podcast production process. That’s where you ensure all your audio elements are consistent, aligned, balanced, and clear.

So how can you mix your podcast audio to get excellent audio quality and a great sounding podcast?

Let’s share with you the audio mixing process to mix podcast audios in this read.

Step #1- Soundproof The Recording Setup

If a podcast’s audio sound is poor and full of background noise, be prepared for your listeners to bid you adieu. To ensure that doesn’t happen to you, always sound treat the podcast recording environment. 

The reason I always share it as the first step even for audio mixing is because if the environment is noisy, your podcast will always carry some background noise no matter how well it is mixed. And then you’ll have to spend more time on noise reduction post production than on audio mixing. With a soundproof recording environment, your effort automatically reduces.

Here are some easy DIY tips to achieve the goal.

• If you have made your recording setup in a cube shaped room, it’s time to change that. Square-shaped rooms are vulnerable to sound bouncing which results in ambient noise in the podcast. If possible, record in a rectangle-shaped room.
• Take a few thick moving blankets and hang them on the walls of your recording room. Blankets are quite effective in absorbing sound that reduces the sound reflections in the recording. You can easily find moving blankets on eBay for around $60 to $80. Try this hack, and the sound quality will improve by a staggering 70% to 80%.
• If possible, get sound diffusers and acoustic foam to absorb extra sound and prevent sound reflection in the room. Diffusers do a great job in decreasing echoes that gives a ‘live’ appeal to your podcast. However, go a little easy on the diffusers because too many of them do kill the unnecessary sound, but also make the sound feel dead in the podcast.
• Moreover, use pop filters with your mics to block out excessive background sounds especially plosives.

Try these hacks, and you’ll have a good enough, sound-proof recording space for your podcasts. If and when possible, consider hiring acoustical engineers to optimize your recording environment. 

Step #2- Organize the Mixing Session of Your Podcast Audio

So you have a sound treated recording environment, and presumably are done with recording your podcast episode.  Now it is time to kick off the actual audio mixing process of the podcast audios.

You need to have an organized project which is also properly labeled. You can arrange all your audio tracks in the following order:

• Reporter/ host audio
• Guest audio and actualities
• Room tone and ambience
• Music
• Master track (helps in measuring the levels of all the tracks in your audio mix)

Usually, this layout is used for audio storytelling, be it a 40-second news headline, or a 30-minute long podcast. You can use this layout for your podcast projects. It makes it quite easy for you to navigate, set levels, compression and EQ on every audio file.

Streamline All the Audio Clips

Go through all your recorded clips, and make sure every track contains similar clips only. Every audio file in an audio track needs to be from the same interview and person. 

Similarly, all the clips in the ambience track must belong to the same scene. Every scene should have its own track.

Typically, five or more tracks are required to manage all the clips. Ensure to name all the individual tracks. Keep the names descriptive so the tracks are easier to find. For instance, a track titled ‘Jackie’ or ‘Jackie’s answer 1’ is more descriptive and helps you find the matching audio better than a track titled ‘Audio 1.’

As for the clips in the ambience tracks, you can name the audio files according to the sound sources covered in them. For instance, if an ambience track has some sounds of electronic sound sources, you can name it as that.

Ensure Your Tracks Flow

After naming the tracks, group the similar-sounding clips. Next, you need to visually organize the individual tracks so they flow from left-to-right, top-to-bottom. For instance, if the ‘Jamie caller’ actuality comes before the ‘Isaac poetry’ track in the podcast, the former should be above the latter.

By cascading all the clips, you make the project more navigable and convenient to mix. I can understand how organizing your tracks may seem tedious, but honestly, investing some time in this task will help you quickly handle the remaining steps of the podcast mixing process.

Step #3- Adjust the Sound Level of the Tracks to Get Smooth Sound Quality

Adjust the sound level of all the tracks so all of them are more or less at a similar level. You also need to assess if any of the vocal tracks need some modification with their compression and EQ (equalization.) Keeping all the voices at the same level helps with that.

In case your organization has set a certain level as the standard level, keep it as the benchmark for your audio mixes. Normally, productions utilize loudness meters to mix podcasts. 

If you are just starting out with podcast mixing, don’t fret over making things perfect. Just keep the sound levels of all the tracks as similar as possible, and move on.

Now onwards, you need to deal with all the tracks one at a time. Use the ‘solo’ option to manage them in isolation and check their input level. You may be confused between the ‘mute’and ‘solo’ buttons and their uses. 

The ‘solo’ button helps isolate a chosen track, and silences the other tracks with a single click. On the other hand, the ‘mute’ option quietens only the chosen track. In this step, opt for the ‘solo’ button, but don’t overuse it like an on/ off button as that interrupts the routing. Plus, it can also affect how the audio editor functions.

Step #4- Check if the Audio Signal Needs EQ

Next, you need to assess if any track has any tonal issue that requires some equalization. 

• Solo every track, one by one, and listen to it very carefully.
• Check if you hear any sort of tonal problems such as hollowness, sibilance, harshness or rumble in it.
• Also, see if any frequency pops out too much on the frequency spectrum.
• In case, there are unnatural tonal problems with a track, insert the EQ plug-in on it, and modify its EQ.
• You can also use high-pass filters to get rid of any unnecessary low-end rumble in the tracks.
• Repeat the same steps with every track.
• Also, make sure that you match the tone of the recorded ambience with that of the track containing voices in it. When you adjust the voice track’s tone using EQ, do the same to its complementing ambience track. That’s how you get high quality audio with a consistent level.

Don’t forget that plug-ins process all the audio clips in a track. That’s why I asked you to organize all the complementing clips in the start. That’s how you save time and increase your productivity.

Once you are through with this step, keep your tracks soloed. Now you need to work on their compression.

Step #5- See if the Audios Need Compression to Enhance the Audio Quality

Not all podcast audios need compression, but some are in desperate need of that. So you need to listen to them again, and see if there is any requirement for compression to get professional quality sound.

Follow these steps to do so:

• First, you need to check the voice’s presence. See if the person speaks consistently, and whether or not he/ she sounds strong?
• Also, you need to check if you can clearly hear every word hemi/ she says even if you turn down the volume.
• If the speaker sounds present and strong, speaks evenly throughout the audio, and is audible enough even with the volume lowered halfway, you probably don’t need any compression.
• However, if the speaker’s tone varies, his/ her voice sounds muffled in places, and he/ she stresses on certain words, you likely need to use compression on the audio.
• Add a ‘compression’ plug-in to the track and configure it.
• You need to repeat this process for every track that demands compression.
• As for the ambience tracks, normally, they don’t require compression in most podcasts. That said, if you apply compression in any voice track, you should add it to its relevant ambience track as well. Focus on the audio of the sound sources. Sometimes, they do need some audio compression. That helps the audio track come off as harmonious.

Listen to all the tracks that you have applied audio compression to, once more after working on them. See if there is any room for improvement, and do the needful.

Step #6- Assess the Fades and Edits

Next, you need to run a check on all the fades and edits to make certain they sound natural, and are free of disruptions. The goal is to clear out any gasps, long pauses, unnatural edits, doubled breaths, sighs and anything of the sort that disrupts the smoothness of the audio.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Patiently listen to each and every edit in detail. See if it sounds smooth and natural. Also check if the tone changes, and if the words are upcut. Spend some time fine-tuning all the edits, one at a time especially if there is a big difference in the audio of the different parts of an audio file.
• Next, you need to examine the fades on all the audio clips. The beginning and ending of an audio clip is also referred to as its top and tail. Check that the top and tail of every clip has fades.
• Add the fades at both the top and tail of each clip. That helps prevent abrupt startings.
• You may need to double-check every clip to properly add in the fades.

It is best to take your time at this step. Rushing through it may affect the sound quality, and also disrupt your entire audio mixing effort.

Step #7- Balance the Levels

We are almost nearing the end of the audio mixing process, so giddy up! Now you need to work on balancing aka fine-tuning the levels.

Every audio clip on each track must complement the clip before it. It must not sound too soft, neither too loud. If you have added any music in it, it should match the clip.

Here’s how to go about this task:

• First, have a foundation ready that you can use as a benchmark to fine-tune levels of all the other audio clips. A foundation is basically any track that you have balanced. Once you balance it, you use it to balance the other tracks. That reference track serves as a foundation that you use to compare the balance of all the other clips in every track.
• So take the first track, and use it as the ‘host’ track.
• Mute the remaining tracks.
• Listen to the very first clip of the host track. If it sounds consistent throughout, you can move to the next clip. In case, it doesn’t, use the ‘level automation’ option in the audio editor you are using. Apply it to only the portion of the audio clip that needs balancing.
• Check the level of the host track on your mixing meter. If it hits the target, and the sound feels wholesome, move ahead.
• Switch off the ‘mute’ option so you can hear the host track along with the next track.
• Keenly listen to the few seconds towards the end of the host audio clip. 
• Then pay attention to the first few seconds of the next clip.
• Check if the two clips sound even.
• In case they don’t, modify the current clip to align it with your host track.
• Listen to the two clips again to see if any other improvement is needed.
• Also, transition out of the current audio clip right into your host clip to make sure the two sound smooth.
• Now work on all the other clips and tracks in the same way.
• Un-mute and modify one track completely first, and then move to the next one.
• After you have balanced all the clips on all the tracks, listen to all the tracks together.
• Double check the fine-tuning you have done.
• Note down the edits and transitions that you have to mask with the track’s ambience.
• Also make sure that you have balanced the louder sounds in all the audio files. If they are meant to sound loud, so be it, but they shouldn’t sound harsh to the ears.

For starters, the audio mixing process can be a bit frustrating. So take a quick time-out here, and then move to the last two steps.

Step #8- Smooth Out the Music and Ambience

It is crucial to make certain that the music and ambience sound doesn’t interfere with, or obstruct the voice tracks. Also, the two shouldn’t be so meek that they are not audible.

Listen to the podcast mix on speakers first, and then on headphones. You will notice that the balance sounds slightly different between the two.

You need to balance the ambience and music in a manner that they sound more or less similar when listened to on headphones and speakers. Also, do a double check on the fades on both, the music and ambience.

Step #9- Give the Mix a Final Listen

Yay! You are almost done with the audio mixing of your podcast.

Now, you just need to give your mix one, final listen. Go through it from top to the final tail. It is best to do it on your headphones.

Stay on a lookout for anything that sounds uneven, unnatural and disruptive. Closely monitor all the balances and transitions of the clips with voice to those containing music or ambience.

You are all done!

Wrapping Up

Audio mixing for your podcast isn’t that difficult. Yes, it will take you a few attempts to get the hang of the process.

But after a few sincere tries, you will learn it. The more you practice it, the quicker it will shift to your autopilot mode. When that happens, it will seem like a piece of cake only. So keep practicing audio mixing and keep your objective in mind: to create an engaging listening experience for your listeners.

You focus on that bigger picture, and you’ll start enjoying audio mixing.

Frequently Asked Questions