My review of the Rode PSA-1 boom arm was published today on Tools & Toys.
This was a fun product to review. As some of you may know, I recently launched a photography podcast alongside Josh Ginter and Marius Masalar, and choosing the right gear to get started was a crucial part of that process.
On one hand, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on gear, especially when there was no guarantee that this would be a profitable business. On the other hand, I didn’t want to sound terrible, either, and I definitely didn’t want to sound a lot worse than my two co-hosts, so it was a matter of finding the right compromise for me.
In the end I settled on borrowing an XLR microphone from my father’s FM radio station. It turned out to be an old Shure 10A dynamic microphone (now discontinued), which on paper is a rather basic model, but it just so happens to work incredibly well with my voice. I also needed to buy a Tascam US 2x2 audio interface to connect the microphone to my computer.
Being a dynamic microphone, though, the Shure 10A is extremely picky about my posture, and requires consistent technique to sound any good. It soon became clear that a traditional desk stand just wouldn’t do, so I decided to invest in the Rode PSA-1 boom arm and I never looked back.
The Rode PSA-1 is a great product: it is very solid, and it offers all the features of more expensive studio arms at a very reasonable price point. What’s not to love?
All things considered, I spent about $250 total for my setup, and I’m really happy with how well it’s working for me. I can’t recommend the Rode PSA-1 boom arm enough, especially if you own a dynamic microphone, or are planning to get one anytime soon.
As a side bonus, I recorded a short video for the review, where I go over the main advantages of having a boom arm vs a desk stand for your microphone. You can find it embedded below. I’m well aware there’s lots of things to improve as far as production goes, but for a first attempt at a multiple-camera video, I’m quite happy with how it turned out.
It’s not that bad, is it? Especially considering this was my first time ever working with Adobe Premiere Pro and I only had a couple hours to assemble the final cut before submitting the review to the editor. I cringe here and there every time I watch it, and there’s definitely a couple things I would have done differently had I had more time to work on the edit, but I think for a first attempt it’s pretty respectable.
If you want to read more about the Rode PSA-1 boom arm, head on over to Tools & Toys for the full review.