The RODECaster Pro: Worth the Hype?
Last updated on April 8th, 2020
The RODECaster Pro burst onto the scene in November 2018 as the latest piece of drool-worthy podcast equipment, including a podcast mic and mixer. (Well, first of all, it’s technically the “RØDECaster™ Pro.” We won’t give Rode too much grief for the Ø).
Demand is high, so units have been somewhat hard to come by. But I’ve had one for just over a month now and have some strong opinions. Now that podcasters like me are putting it through its paces, how does it fare?
Related reading: best podcast microphones, podcast mixers, podcast hosts.
The grand promise was that podcasters would be able to significantly upgrade their podcasting quality and workflow within minutes of unboxing. Some podcasters were giddy with excitement upon hearing the announced features. Other podcasters were hesitant based on a few key, missing ones.
It’s a mixer and an audio interface. It’s a compressor and a noise gate. It’s a hardware recorder and even a soundboard. It does numerous things well. It does not, however, slice or dice tomatoes, or make julienne fries.
So, is it worth the hype — and the $599 price tag?
The tl;dr? Yes, it’s worth it. But let me tell you why. There are four important reasons.
1. The RODECaster Pro lightens the production load for indie podcasters
Recording in real-time can lighten podcasters’ load from a production standpoint by allowing us to do more in real-time, less in post-production. The addition of intros, outros, ad reads, and even dropping in interviews or other segments can happen instantly through savvy use of the RODECaster Pro’s eight, on-board sound pads.
Your episode workflow will be faster, podcasters. If you let it. But if you’re determined to spend hours scrubbing every trace of an “uh” from your podcast, applying a podcast version of plastic surgery to make it fit some arbitrary definition of “perfect,” I don’t know what to tell you, other than this: you’re going to burn out.
Load your pre-recorded standard intro, your outro, and your ad spots to individual sound pads. Record your interview, if you have one. Load it to a sound pad as well. Then start recording your episode-specific intro, triggering any of these elements at the proper time. Thank me later.
Letting go of the urge to purge every pause, or every “um,” is important for your long-term love of podcasting. You’re not recording an audiobook where precision matters. You’re recording a conversation. Conversations include these human moments of reflection, of hesitation, where people collect their thoughts.
This piece of equipment will make it much more realistic for you to produce an entire episode on-the-fly.
The RODECaster Pro was initially built without multitrack recording built-in. All tracks were automatically mixed down to a single stereo file. While Rode has since backtracked on that and, as of this writing, allowed for recording to multitrack via USB, the initially perceived weakness should have been seen as a blessing in disguise.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t run through your show afterwards to pull out the wild distractions and tangents in an episode, or even over-reliance on crutch words. But I am saying that rehearsing more so you can record “live-to-tape” will dramatically lighten your production load with your podcast over the long haul.
The time savings will preserve your sanity.
2. The RODECaster Pro will sharpen podcasters’ broadcasting skills
The RODECaster Pro has a clean and simple interface. That’s so important for indie podcasters. And it should make you a better on-air personality.
As an alternative, look at this competitive product:
It’s the Zoom LiveTrak L-12. A wonderful piece of equipment, I’m told. Around the same price point, maybe even cheaper now with the RODECaster Pro’s emergence.
Imagine conducting an interview with a guest, or producing a show with your cohost, while simultaneously having to glance at the multitude of options this board presents you. Buttons, switches, LEDs, faders.
By contrast, here’s the RODECaster Pro:
The settings are far more manageable on-the-fly. Turn this mic on or mute it, or put it in solo mode. Fade that sound in or out. Tap that sound pad to unleash that pre-recorded track. Boom, that’s it.
Owning a RODECaster Pro allows you to focus on other things in the moment, like connecting 1:1 with your cohosts and guests, and conducting your actual show. That should be valuable to a podcaster.
With so many professional storytellers, journalists, and celebrities rushing to podcasting, as an indie podcaster you need to up your game. That doesn’t mean just drinking MORE beer during your podcast. It means improving how you communicate or entertain, and how you bring out the best in your guests, if you have them.
I think devices like this play their small part in doing just that.
3. The RODECaster Pro will upgrade your audio quality but won’t require you to become an audio engineer
This point is a continuation of the previous point.
It’s one thing to have an easy-to-use device. It’s quite another for that device to also provide professional sound. That starts with you, your mic, and the settings you select on the RODECaster Pro.
I’ve owned several of the most-recommended pieces of equipment for podcasters beyond microphones: from mixers, to noise gates/compressors, to audio interfaces. The number of dials and settings to perfect your sound is mesmerizing.
Should your dbx 286s De-esser be at a frequency of 4K or two ticks beyond? What about the Expander/Gate — does negative 30 sound about right, or maybe it should be three ticks past?
Oh, the constant tweaking.
These devices weren’t designed for podcasters, lay people like you and me, just wanting good, consistent audio quality without having to watch eight-minute videos on the settings for one piece of equipment.
You’ll get better audio but you won’t have to worry about your nine-year-old daughter getting excited by ALL THE DIALS AND THEN SHE STARTS TURNING THEM FOR FUN. Sorry, got a little too personal there.
4. The RODECaster Pro will force innovation from other hardware makers
I was surprised to see so many people rush to take down the RODECaster Pro for its lack of multitrack recording at launch. Rode built the device — either knowingly or unknowingly — to nudge podcasters to produce higher-quality podcasts. Not handle every single scenario a podcaster may face.
It’s hardware that can’t be modified without a firmware update. And firmware updates can’t solve all problems.
My feeling was this, however: It’s version 1.0 and it does things, in one piece of hardware with software, entirely dedicated to podcasters, that no other single piece of podcasting equipment does, and it does them easily, right out of the box, with very little configuration. Those aforementioned sound pads and faders; the purposeful lack of buttons and dials; taking calls via Bluetooth; piping in a call or sounds from another device that’s tethered via TRRS, these things.
Could it have more sound pads? Sure, though I’d hate to see an increase in physical size. Could it have even better sound quality? I suppose so, though I’m getting solid performance from it and I’ve heard others’, which sound great.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Mackie, and Presonus, and Tascam, and especially Zoom come up with in 2020 in response to Rode’s offering. Maybe those julienne fries are coming after all.
Summary: Yes, it’s worth the hype
Is the RODECaster Pro for everyone, no? It’s $599, to begin with. It’s a next-level device. Brand-new podcasters: you shouldn’t rush to buy it if your budget is lean, or if you’re just testing the waters.
But my own production time, for a podcast I produce that was narrative-driven, was cut nearly in half the my last two episodes of season six, as I mastered recording my portion and layering in other snippets with it. In fact, after two years, I just switched that show to weekly starting in May as I officially felt confident I could use the full force of the RODECaster Pro’s features in real-time with my guests.
If you have even the slightest desire to produce better shows on-the-fly in order to lighten your post-production load, it’s absolutely worth it. And I suspect it’s going to fuel competitive products that are equally powerful.
Specs
Frequency Range
Mic Inputs: 20 Hz – 20 kHz, -3dB at 20 Hz (high-pass filter)
Monitor Outputs: 20 Hz – 20 kHz better than ±0.5dB
Input Impedance
600Ω (Mic Preamplifiers)
Equivalent Noise
–125dBA (A-Weighted, measured as per IEC651)
Maximum Output Level
+3dBu (Monitor Outputs)
Headphone Output Power
Max output power at 1% THD: 32Ω –> 220mW | 300Ω –> 31mW
Dynamic Range
100 dBA (Mic Preamplifiers)
Gain Range
0dB – 55dB (Mic Preamplifiers)
Power Requirements
External DC power supply 12 – 15v DC, 1A
Output Connection
USB-C, 1/4” Balanced TRS STEREO (Monitor Outputs)
Computer Connectivity
USB
Bit Depth
24-Bit
Sample Rates
48 kHz
Storage
microSD™ card slot, 512MB internal memory for storing sounds for programmable pads
OS Requirements
macOS 10.11
Windows 10
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