Record a podcast in Düsseldorf: your recording location with a production team

What makes a good podcast recording location

A room with a microphone doesn't make it a recording location. Four things decide whether your episode sounds good and looks good, and you won't hear most of them until it's too late.

• Acoustics: Bare walls and glass create echo that can't be fully removed later. A studio is designed for short, dry speech.
• Light: A video podcast needs even, flicker-free lighting that keeps faces looking natural.
• Quiet: Ventilation, the fridge, street noise. What nobody notices in conversation comes through clearly on the recording.
• Easy access: Guests are more likely to come when they can find you without any detours and know where to park.

The location at AREO Treibhaus

Our studio is in AREO Treibhaus on Graf-Adolf-Straße, right in the middle of Düsseldorf. The table seats up to four people, each with a Shure SM7dB, the microphone you know from many big podcasts. Every voice gets its own track.

For video, up to four cameras in 4K are ready to go (three are standard, the fourth is available as an add-on for single recordings and production days), plus studio lighting and live directing. The set is built to look high-end on camera and still feel relaxed while you talk. You'll find more about the picture and camera angles on the page Video podcast studio in Düsseldorf.

And most important of all: you're never alone in the room. A producer from our producer team sets everything up beforehand, sets the level for every voice and looks after the recording. All you focus on is your conversation.

Recording a podcast with a co-host or guest: what you need

Most podcasts are conversations. Two voices make an episode livelier, but they also make it more demanding on the technical side. Here's what matters:

• One microphone per person: Never one microphone for two. Only separate tracks let you adjust each voice individually in the mix, and separate tracks make laughter or interjections easier to handle.
• The right distance: The microphone sits a hand's width from your mouth and points away from the other person. That way it fully captures your voice and barely picks up the other one.
• Seating and eye contact: You sit facing each other at a slight angle. You can look at each other, talk naturally, and the microphones don't block your view.
• Camera axes: For video, we position up to four cameras in 4K so that you're clearly looking at each other on screen: three are standard, the fourth is available as an add-on for single recordings and production days.
• Even volume: The producer sets the levels for both voices beforehand. If you speak quietly, you won't get lost, and if you laugh loudly, you won't clip.

If a guest joins, the same applies: their own microphone and a quick level check before you start. Send your guest directions and a few talking points ahead of time. People who know what it's about speak more freely.

Recording with guests: how to have a great conversation

Guests are often more nervous than you are. Most have never been in a studio, and a microphone right in front of your face feels strange at first. So give them a few minutes to settle in before you start. A short chat off the record loosens people up more than any set of instructions.

Agree beforehand on who does what: Who hosts, who asks the questions, who steers toward the end? With three or four people, one simple rule helps: don't talk at the same time, and pause briefly if someone wants to jump in. The conversation still stays natural, and every voice can be handled cleanly in the edit.

And if something goes wrong, it's no problem. A sentence can be said again, a question can be asked again. The producer notes those spots, and they disappear in the edit. That's exactly what a recording location with a team is for.

Who has already recorded with us

People who have sat in our recording location include singer Momo Chahine, known from DSDS, Oktagon fighter Cihad Akipa, Martin Klingen and Dr. Alexander Bissels for Gi Group Holding, and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Minko for the expert podcast 4 French.

How your recording day works

1. Request. You book online: format, date and extras, and you see the price right away. We confirm within 12 hours and send you the payment link. Once payment is received, your date is locked in.
2. Date. Recording takes place daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., starting on the hour or half hour. Booking is by the hour, starting at one hour.
3. Arrival. Your producer has already set up, adjusted the microphones and done a test recording. You take your seats, do a quick sound check and get started.
4. Recording. You talk, the producer listens along. Slipped up? Just say it again. Nothing has to be right the first time.
5. Finished episode. Depending on the package, editing, mixing and mastering come next. You get the files via cloud link, either as raw files or as a fully edited episode, depending on the package.

Preparation: what you bring, what we handle

You bring: yourself, your topics or a few talking points and, if you're talking with guests, your guests. For video, it's worth wearing clothes without fine stripes or large logos, since those flicker on camera.

We handle: equipment, light, sound, cameras, support during the recording and, depending on the package, post-production. You don't need to worry about levels, cables or software.

Plan a little more time than you have material. If you have about an hour of material, for example, plan two hours of studio time. The finished episode includes one hour, and each additional hour costs €300. That leaves time for slip-ups and retakes. Recording several episodes in one session is welcome. The page How much does a podcast cost? explains how much work each service involves.

On site there are restrooms and a kitchen with a break room. Smoking isn't allowed anywhere in the AREO building, only outside in front of the entrance downstairs.

After the recording: editing, mixing, Reels

If you've booked a finished episode, a production day with editing or a series, post-production continues after you leave. In the edit, slip-ups and slow stretches come out, and on video the picture switches to whoever is speaking. In the mix, every voice gets its place, and in mastering the episode is optimized for Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Video also gets color grading.

You choose vertical Reels and Shorts with subtitles and thumbnails when you book. Lower thirds or your own intro are available on request. If you want to hand off production, from the recording to the finished episode, read on at Podcast production in Düsseldorf.

You'll receive a finished episode within 72 hours, including with a production day with editing or a series.

Getting here and parking

Address: Graf-Adolf-Straße 41, 40210 Düsseldorf, 5th floor (6th floor by US count). Out of the elevator, go left through the glass door, then right.

By car: The Edeka parking garage on Graf-Adolf-Straße is directly across the street.

By train and bus: Graf-Adolf-Platz stop, served by U71, U72, U73, U83, tram 709 and many bus lines. The main train station is about 750 meters away, around a 10-minute walk.

Good to know: The building has two very small elevators. Unfortunately, a wheelchair won't fit, and they hold about four people at most at one time. Let us know beforehand if someone depends on one, and we'll find a solution.

More about the studio