Better Audio, Smoother Edits: A Guide to Multi-Track Podcast Recording

There are a number of ways to create podcasts: you can go it alone, work with a co-host, interview guests, or produce panel shows. The quality of your podcast depends on how each participant is recorded, and if your podcast involves more than just you, then you need to record each participant separately, in multi-track.

In this article, we'll explain how to record great-sounding podcasts with two or more participants.

What is multi-track audio?

In a previous article, we discussed the different types of podcasts: see Choose the Best Format for Your Podcast: Solo, Interview, Narrative, and More. The type of podcast you create, and the number of participants, affects the way you record and edit episodes.

Multi-track audio is when you record each participant on their own audio track. This allows you a great deal of flexibility in editing and post-production. You can import these files into an audio editing app, such as Audacity, GarageBand, LogicPro, Adobe Audition, or any other DAW (digital audio workstation).

You can then adjust the audio levels of each participant, apply different noise reduction and compression to each track, and set EQ – equalization – that is appropriate for each voice. And editing is much easier when you isolate each participant.

How to record multi-track audio

There are several ways to record multi-track audio for your podcast.

One of the most common ways of doing this is to use double-ender recording, where each participant records their audio locally, on their computer, and then provides the tracks to the producer or editor. This has the advantage of each track being recorded at the best possible quality, not compressed by being sent over the internet in real-time. Back in the day, when a generation of podcasters cut their teeth with Skype, this meant that no audio files suffered from being downsampled by that app if the podcast host recorded their voice and the Skype feed separately on their computer.

Now, the tool of choice for this type of recording is Zoom. If you use Zoom and record to the cloud, you can have Zoom create a separate audio file for each participant. (Go to Zoom on the web, then go to Settings > Recording.) You can download these files after you've finished your recording session, and then use import them to your audio editing app.

If you use an online service such as Riverside or Zencastr, which allow you to view participants and record their audio, these services record separate tracks for each host and guest on your podcast. You can then edit these individual tracks on the same website you used to record them, or download them and import them into an audio editing app.

How to get the best audio quality for multi-track recording

It's important to have a good microphone (see Microphones 101: Selecting the Right Mic for Your Podcast), and any co-hosts or panel members should also have good hardware. But you may often encounter guests who have nothing better than the internal mic on their computer, so you need to work with their audio to make it sound good enough.

In some cases, if they're in a quiet room, the audio will be acceptable if you apply some compression and EQ to the track. But sometimes, the room reverb is noticeable. One solution is to use an AI tool such as Adobe Enhance Speech, which is part of Adobe Podcast. This can make guest recordings on internal computer mics sound like they were captured in a studio. (See AI Tools that Can Power Up Your Podcast Production for more on this and other AI tools that can up your podcast production game.)

It's crucial that each participant use headphones. If not, and they listen to the others through computer speakers, this audio can bleed onto their tracks, making their audio difficult to hear and making editing more challenging. They don't need fancy headphones; any kind of earbuds will do.

If you record in a studio, then you already have the equipment you need: professional quality microphones, and headphones for each participant, so you won't have to worry about how your tracks sound. You'll have a producer to manage the audio, ensuring that the levels for each participant are correct.

Editing multi-track recordings

Multi-track recordings provide the most flexibility for editing. As mentioned above, you can adjust the gain for each track, apply compression and EQ that is appropriate for each voice and recording environment, and easily cut out background noise on one track when another participant is speaking.

Start by lining up your tracks in your editing software; it can be helpful to have everyone clap at the same time when you start recording, though depending on how far apart the participants are, the claps might not be at the same time because of internet lag.

As you edit, it's easy to cut out background noise on a participant's track when they aren't talking, and move audio around or cut it out when there is crosstalk. Editing a multi-track recording is like sculpting a conversation; you take a spontaneous discussion and make it flow, removing pauses, cutting out ums and ahs, and cutting out phrases and sentences that don't contribute to the discussion.

The flexibility of multi-track podcast recording allows you to make the best-sounding podcast, and editing possibilities with this type of recording ensure that your discussions flow, keeping listeners engaged. Once you get the hang of recording like this, it's easy to multi-track all your episodes. Whether you use double-ender recording, Zoom, or an all-in-one podcast recording and editing service, multi-track recording makes your podcasts sound more professional and keeps listeners coming back.

Take Your Podcast Quality to the Next Level

Multi-track recording is one of the best ways to ensure crisp, professional-quality audio, giving you full control over editing and post-production. Whether you're hosting interviews, co-hosting a show, or managing panel discussions, capturing each voice separately makes a world of difference. Fireside makes podcasting seamless—helping you publish and distribute your episodes effortlessly. Sign up today and start delivering studio-quality sound to your listeners.