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Podcast Setup for Two People: What You Actually Need for a Co-Hosted Show

Podcast Setup for Two People: What You Actually Need for a Co-Hosted Show

Most podcast gear guides are written for one person at one desk. Add a co-host and the shopping list changes, and so do the ways it can go wrong. Here is what a two-person show needs and where people usually trip up.

Two microphones. Not one in the middle.
Sharing a mic sounds fine in theory and terrible in the edit. One of you will always be louder, and you cannot fix it afterward because both voices are on the same track. Give each host their own mic.

Pick dynamic mics
When two people record in the same room, each mic picks up a little of the other person. Dynamic microphones are less sensitive to sound coming from across the room than condenser mics, which makes them the safer choice for co-hosts. The Shure MV7+ and the SM7B are both dynamic.

An interface or recorder with at least two mic inputs
This is the piece people get wrong. Plugging two USB mics into one laptop is a headache, and many recording apps will only see one of them. The cleaner route is two XLR mics into one box that records each voice on its own track. Separate tracks mean you can turn one host up, cut a cough, or clean up crosstalk without touching the other voice. 

Two pairs of headphones, and two headphone outputs
Both of you need to hear the recording as it happens. Closed-back headphones keep the sound from leaking back into the mics. Check that your interface or recorder has a headphone output for each host, or plan for a splitter.

Stands or boom arms
A mic that sits at the right height, a few inches from your mouth, does more for your sound than an expensive upgrade. Boom arms also keep desk bumps out of the recording.

How to set up the room

  • Sit facing each other with the mics pointed away from the other host.
  • Keep each mic close to its own speaker.
  • Soft surfaces help. Acoustic panels or even just a rug, curtains, and a bookshelf beat a bare office.

Two-person setups, ready to go

What if your co-host is in another city?
Then you each need your own mic and headphones at home, and you record through a remote recording platform. A mic that works over both USB and XLR, like the MV7+, is a good fit because it plugs straight into a laptop now and into a mixer later.

Planning a show with a co-host? See every bundle here, or reach us at info@podcastprovisions.com and tell us how many people will be at the table.

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