Canadian Musician September / October 2019 | Page 20
ROAD
TEST
Rode PodMic & RodeCaster
Pro Production Studio
By Drew Robertson
I
recently had the chance to try out a pair of
new podcasting tools from Rode: the Pod-
Mic, a podcast-ready dynamic microphone,
and the RodeCaster Pro, a fully-integrated
podcast production studio.
Build Quality
Both the PodMic and RodeCaster have great
build quality. The PodMic boasts an all-metal
body and grille, which gives it a hefty, robust
feeling. It stays in place very well though the
weight may cause stand sag if you use too much
extension.
The RodeCaster is also notably robust, with
smooth linear faders for each of its channels. I
find the slight resistance on each fader quite
nice as it makes them feel very precise. The Solo
and Mute buttons are made of silicon rubber
like the pads and Record button (more on that
later) and are easy to use and distinguish even in
bright light. The pads are customizable both in
terms of what they trigger and their LED colours
for optimal ease-of-use during a session. The
touchscreen is fast and responsive and head-
phone pots have a nice ratchet feel to them,
which keeps the theme of precision going.
Elaborating on the silicon buttons, down
the entire right side of the unit are eight LED-lit
sample pads. They come preloaded and ready
to go and have a nice, rubberized feel to them.
Personally, I’d prefer at least the master Record
button be a physical switch, though I do appre-
ciate that it glows a bright red when engaged.
The unit boasts multi-track recording capabilities
to either an SD card or to a computer via USB.
There are four locking XLR inputs located on
the back panel for your use as well as a stereo
3.5-mm jack to connect a mobile device. The
RodeCaster also has built-in Bluetooth on its
own dedicated channel, meaning you can eas-
ily take calls live without any extra equipment.
Sound Quality
The sound quality of the RodeCaster is fantastic
and when paired with the PodMic, they make a
great-sounding and practical combination. The
preamps are smooth and clear with no notice-
able noise floor. The gain is set via the touch-
screen when using the channel selector button
and the setup submenu. I found this a bit cum-
bersome, but overall, the setup process is fairly
20 C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
straightforward
and you’ll have
no trouble getting
up and running.
Included on each
channel are various
effects, like a compres-
sor, de-esser, and noise
gate. Each dynamic
processor sounds good
and does what it should;
however, they don’t have
much in the way of user
control. Each effect has a
simple on or off function
and that’s it – great for some-
one who’s looking to up their production value
without much knowledge of audio processing
but potentially limiting for the more advanced
user that’s looking to tweak their sound.
Also bundled with the unit are the onboard
Aphex effects: the Aural Exciter and BigBottom.
While there’s no technical documentation that
indicates exactly what the effects do, they add
a certain warmth and sound good.
The included headphone amps are nice and
loud and allow for each person on air and the
engineer to hear the mix. If you’re mixing from
another room, there’s a set of 1/4-in. outs for
monitors with a dedicated volume knob.
Another feature to elaborate on is the pre-
set sound modes on each mic channel. The
RodeCaster has dedicated presets for the most
common Rode mics used in podcasting and
broadcast, as well as generic settings if you’re
not using a Rode mic.
Ease of Use
The RodeCaster Pro offers quick and easy set-
up. I had it plugged in and ready to record audio
in under five minutes. The touchscreen works
well, making it easy to access most features
quickly, though gain changes weren’t as simple
as I’d like. It would be nice to have dedicated
preamp knobs in a future version.
I should also address the lack of detailed
metering. While I realize the RodeCaster is de-
signed to be plug-and-play for novice users,
aiming to give them things they need with-
out bogging them down with overly complex
features, metering can benefit everyone. It’s
important to know how loud you actually are
and what that means for your audio. I do like
the included target box on each mic channel
that helps you get the volume right, though in
the future, it’d be helpful to know where 0dB is.
Each mic channel has a complement of
audio effects, the most notable of which are
the aforementioned Aphex effects. They’re all
extremely easy to use as they only have simple
on-or-off switches. Pairing a phone via Blue-
tooth was also fast and simple to do and the
audio quality was quite good, though that can
depend on call quality.
Summary
I liked both of these products. They achieve ex-
actly what they intend to and offer a great way
to pump up the production value of a podcast
or similar audio production in an affordable and
very easy-to-operate package. Plus, the Rode-
Caster Pro’s ability to directly interface with
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) makes it a
great streaming solution for any host, be it for
Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch. The built-in Blue-
tooth means you can take calls on air and use
your device for playback. The voice control is
very user-friendly and the onboard sample pads
and basic effects put everything you need for a
slick production value right at your fingertips.
Drew Robertson is an audio engineer, live sound
tech, and educator. He is based out of London,
ON, and is the co-owner of Prosperity Audio
Works. He can be reached at
[email protected].