Do you need the best gear to record an audio drama? Do you need a full sound stage and the best microphones to record your voice actors? Do you need all your actors in that studio all at the same time? Or how about "that guy behind the glass" guy? The one everyone knows is moving around dials and switches to make all your actors sound amazing? Do you need that guy?

Do you need that big room behind the glass? Do you need any of it? The short answer is, No. You don't need expensive, fancy gear or a studio to start!

For me, I did everything with three key pieces of gear: ZOOM H4N-PRO hand-held recorder, Audio-Technica ATR 2100 USB microphone, and a Dell XPS 15 Laptop with Adobe Audition audio editing software. Those three things did 90 percent of the work for all my voice recording, sound effects, and editing for PAUSE for Dramatic Effect.

Will it be perfect? Maybe. But for a daily or homebrewed audio drama, sometimes, good enough gear can work. When you get yourself a budget and have the money to pay for better gear, you can afford to be picky. Until then, constraints are your best friend!

Introducing Part 7 of 13 parts in my Between the Pauses mini-series that explores my thoughts while making my first audio drama: PAUSE for Dramatic Effect! If you're interested in the complete first season of Pause for Dramatic Effect, you can download and listen to it for free at PAUSEforDramaticEffect.com or wherever you find your podcasts.

I would love for you to tell me how you think the story of Pause for Dramatic Effect turned out by giving it a rating and review or sending a Boost using one of the latest Podcast 2.0 apps, which you can find at Podcasting2.org. If you don't have a Podcast 2.0 app, I would highly recommend Podcastguru.io or Truefans.fm to get all the new podcast features you didn't know you were missing!

Meanwhile, I'm now the founder of a new podcasting education and technology company called Oncetold. If you're ready to tell your story and start your own podcast, then you need Oncetold at oncetold.com.

PAUSE for Dramatic Effect bonus episode #06 was originally published by Gagglepod on November 22nd, 2019. Copyright © 2025. PAUSE for Dramatic Effect, Gagglepod, and Oncetold. All Rights Reserved.