PES 207: Michelle Levitt from Heil Sound

12/10/20 • 61 min

3 Listeners

My guest is Michelle Levitt - Creative Marketing Director at Heil Sound and podcast producer. She has performed many roles in podcasting over the years including being CEO of her own podcast studio in Buffalo, NY.

NOTE: Post-production on this episode was done by PES graduate Jesse McCune! Great job, Jesse!

NOTE-2: On next week's Daily Goody episode, I’ll be demonstrating and comparing the Heil PR30 and PR40!

We discussed SO MUCH, including:

In-ear monitors: “Ultimate Ears” Capital Studio Reference
Allen and Heath ZED-10 mixer (uses no EQ, effects or pre-processing when recording)
iMac computer
Adobe Audition
Various Heil microphones including the PR30 and PR40
Pop filter: BSW Re-pop (fits the PR40 and PR30 nicely)
When demoing microphones at shows or online she doesn't use any EQ or compression because she wants people to hear each microphones individual character.
Check out the presentation Michelle did titled Microphone Technology: Understanding Your Sound
Her advice to hosts who move around too much demonstrating bad mic technique: Put your chin or nose on the windscreen to always keep close to the mic. Also wear headphones so you can hear your volume change if/when you drift off-mic which will remind you to get back on mic.
Recently launched PR37 microphone -- a dynamic mic for Live sound
Bob Heil doing Live sound for the Grateful Dead, The Who, early ZZ Top, etc. even though he came from a broadcast background.
Heil Sound started in the 60s as a music store -- Ye Olde Music Shoppe (sp?)
Sony HD camera and running her local audio through Cam Link 4k thru HDMI cable

Thanks for being a great guest and sharing so much with us, Michelle!

NOTE: Post-production on this episode was done by PES graduate Jesse McCune! Great job, Jesse!

NOTE-2: On next week's Daily Goody episode, I’ll be demonstrating and comparing the Heil PR30 and PR40!

We discussed SO MUCH, including:

In-ear monitors: “Ultimate Ears” Capital Studio Reference
Allen and Heath ZED-10 mixer (uses no EQ, effects or pre-processing when recording)
iMac computer
Adobe Audition
Various Heil microphones including the PR30 and PR40
Pop filter: BSW Re-pop (fits the PR40 and PR30 nicely)
When demoing microphones at shows or online she doesn't use any EQ or compression because she wants people to hear each microphones individual character.
Check out the presentation Michelle did titled Microphone Technology: Understanding Your Sound
Her advice to hosts who move around too much demonstrating bad mic technique: Put your chin or nose on the windscreen to always keep close to the mic. Also wear headphones so you can hear your volume change if/when you drift off-mic which will remind you to get back on mic.
Recently launched PR37 microphone -- a dynamic mic for Live sound
Bob Heil doing Live sound for the Grateful Dead, The Who, early ZZ Top, etc. even though he came from a broadcast background.
Heil Sound started in the 60s as a music store -- Ye Olde Music Shoppe (sp?)
Sony HD camera and running her local audio through Cam Link 4k thru HDMI cable

Thanks for being a great guest and sharing so much with us, Michelle!

Previous Episode

PES 206: Chris’s Goody Bag

I overview recent Daily Goody‘s from Sep.4 - Sep. 17 (see list below). Don’t forget you can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

Be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces, the world’s best-selling USB interface range with over 3 million units sold worldwide. Choose from 6 different interfaces with 1, 2, 4, or 8 microphone inputs. Works with the recording software you’re already using and works with any type of XLR microphone. New unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Daily Goody posts that were discussed in this episode:

Announcements:

The start date for the next PES semester is January 12, 2021.
I launched a new smaller course for independent podcast editors and producers —> Getting New Clients at Higher Rates!
If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/

New equipment and plugins I bought on Black Friday / Cyber Monday:

Elgato Stream Deck
AMEK EQ 200
Trackspacer by Wavesfactory
Level Magic by Flux Jünger
dearVR PRO
Phil's Cascade
Unfiltered Audio TRIAD
bx_console N channel strip
Melodyne 5 assistant by Celemony
Quadravox by Eventide
Decapitator by Soundtoys

What did you learn in this episode? Let me know by commenting below.

Other notes:

Next week's episode features

Next Episode

PES 208: Chris’s Goody Bag

I overview recent Daily Goody‘s from Sep.18 - Oct. 1 (see list below). You can sign up to receive Daily Goody’s in your email every day or a weekly roundup. Sign up here.

And, in this episode I switch back and forth between the Heil PR 30 and Heil PR 40 for you to be able to hear the difference, which is subtle. Michelle Levitt and I discuss the difference between these two microphones in the previous episode.

*SPECIAL* Focusrite has a limited time partnership with Shure offering an SM58 along with a Scarlett 2i2 and a pair of SRH440 headphones at a discount with select dealers! Find all the details of this “Create and Cast bundle” HERE! And be sure to check out the Focusrite Scarlett series of audio interfaces -- 6 different interfaces -- works with the recording software you already use -- works with any type of XLR microphone -- new unique Air feature adds brightness and presence to your voice. Thanks to Focusrite for sponsoring this episode!

Daily Goody posts that were discussed in this episode:

Other notes:

The start date for the next PES semester is January 12, 2021.
VIDEO: Audio Cleanup and Processing Andrew Gelina's Voice Using Various Audio Plugins
Join the Podcasters’ Lounge Facebook group
If you’d like to share this show with any of your podcaster friends, feel free to send them a message saying, “Btw, here’s a show about podcast audio production you may find helpful” with this link: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/subscribe/
Daniel Hager did a STELLAR job revamping the PES website! He was my guest on episode 109, he's the host of Let’s Talk Re-Touching, and he's the owner of Hager Media. THANK YOU DANIEL for making the site amazing!
My other podcast -- The Mystic Show (I hope to publish new episodes soon)