Sound Sanctuary

It's a New Year and it might be time to rethink what's in your rack. There is something always exciting about cleaning out an old closet, giving away what you don't really need and finding a whole lot of space. The same can be done with that audio rack!

I think you'll see that if you are tired of overprocessing and getting poor results, it might be time to go digital. There are exceptions to every case, and I don't deny that an extra piece of outboard gear at FOH can be handy for the experienced technician. What I am talking about is a paradigm shift in technology and equipment management, not the odd "what if…?" situation.

No, it's not what you think. What we're talking about is getting a controlled drum beat we can mix with the rest of the worship band.

It's no secret that many church music programs have been incorporating more aggressive/contemporary live music into some–if not all–of their services over the past several years. While the amplified guitars, bass, keyboards and drums help add energy and passion to a service, many organizations are now fighting a new problem: The problem of overpowering sound levels, with acoustic drums seeming to be the main culprit.

There are certainly plenty of times when clients behave badly, when products don't ship on time, technicians have fights with their spouses and disappear for three days, when electrical contractors forget about those last 40 circuits–and we have all been there. But once in a while, the clouds part and the sun shines through and God's grace touches a project. This happens now and then…. even at churches.

The last several houses of worship we have done were typical, both in terms of technical requirements and the installation process. There were the minor yet expected frustrations of redesign, product returns and reprogramming of DSPs. There is almost always a point however, when budgets collapse and technical requirements are set aside as more urgent needs like carpets and chairs go into cost overrun mode.

Many months ago, we discussed the challenges that churches go through when moving from temporary facilities to permanent locations. This is typically a challenge, both in adjusting operational methods and taking equipment out of road cases and bolting it down (or hanging it up) properly, safely and efficiently. I'd like to take one look even further back and see how we got the gear going in the first place.

Something I have said often is that many churches are willing to pay for a new sound and lighting system, but few are willing to actually own it. At the time, I was discussing the lack of willingness to train staff and really get involved in overall technical learning. But there may be different reasons why not owning is a good thing.

Depending on the financial organization of a church, especially if it's reasonably healthy, there are options available other than paying cash for technical systems. Using the credit card may lessen the burden on cash flow–and garner enough travel points to help a sponsor a long-desired mission trip or church retreat–or you may consider leasing (and making the payments with the credit card).

Remember in the last article we said, "First, the person can only mix what he gets, and second, he can only mix what he gets!" After much discussion, we decided to add a little more to the subject. Once again, it was off to Ron Ross' home studio to see what we could simplify into a few hundred words–yeah, right.

Keyboards are the subject we seem to get asked about most besides drums. How do we mic them, and how do we mix them? It is immediately important to distinguish between electric pianos, electronic keyboards and acoustic pianos. They may look the same on the stage plot, but getting them hooked up to the FOH console can be very different.

So many times we have discussed the evil trinity of church sound: incorrect speaker placement, stage wedges and live drum kits. These always seem to be a dark and persistently integral part of the learning curve when it comes to getting great sound to the congregation. There are many reasons why this is the case, but there are only two general reasons why this destroys the faith of the FOH volunteer and his ability to do a great job. First, the person can only mix what he gets, and second… he can only mix what he gets!

One of the main purposes of this column has always been to instigate, implore, motivate and at least hint softly that Houses of Worship need to strive for their own levels of excellence and knowledge when it comes to their technical systems. We can't do it all for you… but we can help.

More often than not, there is a distinct lack of brand names mentioned here, for the simple reason that deciding on function is usually the primary problem and that brand names mean little if the technical task can not ultimately be accomplished. And there are more than a few parameters for every technical task, including things like operator proficiency and budget. On an item-to-item situation these things are usually handled fairly well, but when it comes to a system-wide equipment choice, where even a modest level of integration is involved, it's nearly impossible to click the Internet and make good choices. This is where many good consultants usually end up clashing with otherwise good and sensible church elders.

Please don't touch the dial; there is nothing wrong. At the time of this writing, Richard Rutherford is immersed in the House of Worship portion of Pro Production 2005, so yours truly is sitting in. Yes, some magazine editors/sound guys actually go to church and therefore get tapped with the inevitable requests for donated gear and services. This is my latest take on that sticky subject.