How to Record a Podcast with Zoom and the MV7

The past couple of years have seen a surge in people working from home, making video calls a ubiquitous feature of our daily lives. For podcasters, that means it’s now easier than ever to record remote guests via widely used apps like Zoom.

Fortunately, two great things have come together to make your next episode sound even better, as the MV7 from Shure is now officially the first Zoom certified microphone in the new Pro Mic category.

The MV7 is a professional dynamic microphone with Auto Level Mode and Voice Isolation Technology that enable perfect recordings in imperfect rooms. Its Zoom certification means the MV7 is going to give you great audio during all your video calls.

But there are a few key things to keep in mind before attempting to record a remote interview on Zoom.

Prep and plan

First off, it’s important to acknowledge that ensuring your podcast has the best audio possible requires a fair amount of planning and preparation. 

While most podcasters have kitted themselves out with top-shelf professional gear like an MV7 and good monitoring headphones, give a thought to the setup of your guest. If they are using the microphone on their laptop for a Zoom call, it could end up spoiling your whole episode.

To wit, many podcasters are now sending their remote guests a loaner mic with an easy-to-use USB connection before the interview. (If you do this, make sure you put an extra postage label in the package so it’s easy for them to send your mic back!)

If you can’t send them a microphone, discuss what options they have available long before the interview is scheduled. Should no professional gear be available, the built-in mic on wired earbuds will often sound better than the laptop microphone. And speaking of earbuds, you’ll need to confirm everyone on the Zoom call is using them or headphones so you’re not picking up audio from other speakers on a guest’s mic.

Now let’s fire up Zoom and make sure you have all the right settings for optimal audio capture.

Mic check

First, go into Settings under Audio to set up your mic and headphones, confirming that they haven’t defaulted to the laptop mic and speakers. Always take a moment to check each Zoom participant has this right after you’ve all logged in – there’s nothing more depressing than having a great interview and then finding out someone had the wrong mic switched on!

Then scroll down the Audio section a bit and select the Low option for Suppress background noise. Enable “Original Sound” under Music and Professional Audio and click High-fidelity music mode while deselecting Echo cancellation.

Now look a bit lower and find the Recording tab. Here you’ll want to select Record a separate audio file of each participant. Doing this will give you the greatest control during the editing process. If for some reason one person’s audio is too faint or there’s some pesky background noise, you’ll be glad you did this!

Speaking of which, do not be shy when asking your podcast guests to close a door, get closer to the mic or turn off a fan: Fixing audio in post is never as good as recording good audio in the first place. Add five minutes to the front of the interview to do a preliminary audio check before diving in with your first question.

If you happen to have a paid version of Zoom, you’ll get the added bonus of a transcript of your podcast. You’ll find this feature under the Settings menu in Recording and Advanced cloud options. Simply click Audio transcripts and then Save and you’ll be all set.

Lastly, out personal experience, make sure you’ve switched off any video filters while using Zoom: I was goofing around with my kids and the app’s Studio Effects one day and I didn’t realize I’d left on the lipstick filter. For about three months, on every call I looked either like I had rather chapped lips or was a Robert Smith superfan! (For the record, I do still like The Cure.)