Recording telephone conversations for your podcast can be quite tricky, so here’s the skinny on podcasters’ picks.

For interviews or calls, a huge number of podcasters prefer to use Skype. It’s free as long as you’re both on computers and it’s a one-on-one call. Plus, you can opt for video call, which you can also record! So I’ll be focusing on recording software that optimized for Skype.

Anyway, here are our prospects:

Call Recorder by Ecamm – This is actually a Skype add-on and not a standalone software. It records both Skype audio and video calls (MOV format). What users like about Call Recorder is that it records their and their guest’s voice in separate tracks. It has a utility that can split the sound input into separate files, so you can balance out the volume in the final product and hear the voices of both interviewer and interviewee in the left and right audio channels. It’s built for the Mac OS platform and comes in at about $20.

PrettyMay – Unlike Call Recorder, this one can only record audio in MP3 and WAV file formats. This too is a Skype add-on, and not a standalone software (for Windows). Aside from the free Basic version, it has 2 premium versions: Business, and Professional. Both priced at $25.

Callburner – Want something that’s totally free? Then Callburner is for you! It can also record each side of the call in separate WAV audio file (uncompressed = better quality), which gives you terrific flexibility when editing (e.g. amplifying one side, editing out noise artifacts, etc).

Pamela – I haven’t tried out this one myself but one podcaster claims that the quality is so good that it’s close enough to ISDN (provided that the person on the other line has a good microphone). But of course he also adds that you’d have to be a broadcast pro to notice the difference. Price ranges from $20, $25, and $40 depending on which version you pick.

So there you have it! Four recording software for your Skype calls during your podcast. Aside from Callburner, which is already free, you can download and try out the free trial versions of the other three to see which of them you’d think has enough features that are worth your money.

Tip: Experienced podcasters strongly advise against recording the voices on each end separately because it’ll be almost impossible for them to sync up.

American radio and TV actor Adam Carolla hosts The Adam Carolla Show. Listen to the hilarious episodes the comedian has to offer, with various personalities appearing on his show. Click on the image above to visit his site and see why this has ranked the most downloaded podcast ever in the Guinness World Records!

Leo Laporte of the popular tech-related TV show which used to air on TechTV is still very much alive, thanks to podcasting. If you’ve been a tech geek ever since the late 90s then chances are you’re familiar with who Leo is — he’s the reliable and very affable guy with the signature grey hair who takes in live phone calls from people across the country with various computer problems and queries.

This on-call whiz is the star of his aptly-named TV show. So if you’re one of many who’ve been missing his classic program as of late, don’t fret. You can catch podcasts of his information-rich program (dating as far back as 2004) from his site The Tech guy Labs.

The Sound Medicine Podcast is a radio show hosted by Barbara Lewis, which is sponsored by the IU School of Medicine, WFYI, 90.1 FM and Indianapolis NPR affiliate. This show discusses topics on health, medication safety issues, significant drug research and studies, dangers and side effects of medicines, restrictions, controversies about physicians’ practices, current news on different pharmaceutical companies, safe routines, cancer treatment, and more.

Click on the image above to start listening.

Today’s featured podcast is dedicated to all boxing fans – you’ll love listening to On The Ropes Boxing Radio Podcast! Join the lovely Jenna J with co-host/producer Geoffrey Ciani as they talk about the latest boxing news. Listening to their exclusive interviews with the trainers and the boxers is a definite must, especially if it involves the Mayweathers Floyd Sr. and Uncle Roger!

Keep listening to On The Ropes for your weekly updates on upcoming fight schedules, hear what the pundits and the fighters themselves have to say when it comes to the question, “who is the number one P4P king of boxing?” And if you’re lucky, you just might be able to find out just who really is ducking who!

Love is very much in the air and in celebrating the season of hearts, 101 Films brings you a special heartwarming episode where hosts Lewis and Ian discuss their all-time favorite romantic films, complete with synopses and reviews. Diehard romantic film junkies will love this one!

Click on the image above to listen to Lewis and Ian’s reviews!

Today’s featured podcast comes from The Escapist. For those of you who are not still familiar, The Escapist is an online magazine site that focuses mainly on videogame-related material.

Click on the image above to listen to Episode 1 with Chris and Kyle.

I personally enjoy watching their featured videos and their podcast show is equally entertaining! It’s called Media Sandwich, and it covers not only videogames but other media as such as movies, TV, comics, other media-related news topics. It only debuted December of 2011 and has already put up 3 or 4 episodes in two-week intervals. Stay tuned for more of  the site’s rich and interesting updates. Enjoy!

Live a healthy lifestyle with tips from America’s Health and Wellness expert Jillian Michaels. Her podcast, Jillian Michaels Show, delivers inspirational talks that will help you become fitter with a more positive outlook.

her show also features very informative and entertaining life-changing episodes that will keep you on track and updated with the latest health and fitness trends. So what are you waiting for? Listen to her podcast HERE!          

This year’s coming Valentine’s Day I decided to go against the flow and post something that’s actually against the season. I’m just going to lay it all out there and say that I’m glad and that I feel good knowing that there are other people out there like me who are not afraid to show their dislike for V-Day, and one of them would be Jen.

Jen is a long time blogger and podcaster who’s been posting her annual Anti-Valentine’s Day songs list since 2008. She’s been podcasting since 2007, and her show Inside My Head began as a part of NaPodPoMo 2007, which then eventually expanded to include not just audio podcasts, but video podcasts and blog entries as well.

Her posts are mostly stuff about music and this year marks a milestone as her post about her Anti-Valentine sentiments finds its way onto our list of featured podcasts. Congratulations, Jen, and welcome to iPodder!

The most common question among first-time podcasters is how to process the record for better and professional-sounding voiceover. As long as you have a mic and clear voice delivery, you can use any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to meet your standards since they all basically have the same functions for editing.

Consider also the following:

1. You should identify which audio part you would like to edit.
2. Select that part.
3. Edit the specific region of audio.
4. Listen to the playback and choose the best takes and compile it into one.

 Finding the Room Tone

The location plays a vital role in recording a podcast. Find a room that has natural sound temperature so there would be good acoustics once you begin recording. You may require some editing and splicing works if sounds overlap.

Automatic Dialog Replacement (ADR)

ADR is re-recording specific lines that can’t be done in editing. To get the way you want it, retake the lines with the same tone and approach you did in the previous take, using the same mic setup so it will match the original.

 Editing Tools

There are many DAW’s on the market today and they all have same basic functions and tools so you can use any of these for editing. Just select the one that you’re comfortable working with.

 Selector

By clicking or dragging the cursor to the audio track waveform, it will select the range you want to edit.

 Grabber

It lets you move the audio region you want to edit into a new location by simple click-and-drag technique.

 Trimmer

It allows you to easily cut or expand the audio region. To shorten, click the cursor at the right or left of the region you wish to cut then drag it to the center – this will trim off the region until you release the mouse button. If you want to lengthen it, click the cursor on the edge of the region then drag it outwards. The more you drag it the more it expands until the region is restored to its original size.

 Zoomer

If you click on this tool, the cursor turns like a mini magnifying glass. It gives a greater detail of the track as you click and drag.

For a clearer voice quality output, you may also do these tips:

1. Add a Noise Gate to remove unwanted noise while you record.
2. Cut the lows and boost the highs in your EQ.
3. Employ a light compression. A small amount can bring great output but don’t apply compression you don’t need it.
4. To make sure that there’s no clipping, add a little limiting in the limiter, tweak the EQ and fine tune gate controls. They add extra volume that will definitely get the listeners’ attention.