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Friday, December 09, 2011

Selecting The Right Contractor For Your Church Sound System Upgrade

Tips on selecting the company which will best serve your church audio needs.

Let’s pretend . . .

Imagine you walk into your next committee meeting and to your amazement discover that they have approved your suggestion to seek bids for a new sound and video system. 

You leave the meeting excited! 

Finally all of you problems will go away. 

No more buzz, no more hum, no more having to dim the lights and shut all the shades just to barely make out what you are projecting on the screen! 

You figure by next Sunday all of your frustrations will be gone. The next morning you immediately look in the yellow pages and see a large ad for Audio Services. 

You call and talk with “Blair” who informs you that he has on his shelf two of the latest, greatest speakers that will work in any room and deliver equal sound pressure and all frequencies.

To top it off he can have his guy there Friday to do the install! 

Then to seal the deal (or your fate) he throws out a price that is well within what your committee said you could spend.  Bingo we have a Deal! 

Blair and his hatchet men show up Friday afternoon.  You get out of work and excitedly head over to see the progress that has been made. 

To your surprise Blair and crew are walking around examining the sanctuary. They haven’t started a thing…

After many heated questions and answers, it comes to light that these particular speakers won’t possibly work in a room of this size (ie: average) without a needlessly costly add-on. Feeling boxed in, you agree.

Upon the completion of the “installation,” not only does the system not work, but now you’ve spent more than the committee approved. 

In fact you are so embarrassed you donate enough to make up the difference so that no one will know of you blunder….other than they hear it every week!

Rewind: What should you have done?
When deciding that it is time to upgrade the old sound system there are many options as to how to proceed. 

The first choice should be to decide to hire a design build contractor or a consultant to design the system.  Needless to say there are some very bad design build contractors and some very bad consultants. 

However there are also some very good ones!  My general rule (variables such as acoustics and complexity of the system also play into this decision) is that if the project is under $100,000.00 and in a room under 1000 seats I would explore a good design build contractor.  Most design build firms have good experience in these size rooms.

You also have the choice of using the local music store.  In general, unless the music store has a specific division that focuses on installation and has a strong proven track record, I would steer clear. 

Many of the poor designs and implementations that I see are from good intentioned “guitar shops” that have a great passion and understanding of gear and technology, but do not understand the laws of physics and just how difficult it can be to install a successful sound system in a larger room.

What does a design build contractor do?
A design build contractor should function in much the same way as a consultant. 

The only difference is that he is not going to bid the project out at the end of the design (the contractor will also be the installer).  I recommend that you once again do your home work and select the right contractor. 

What does a consultant do?
A good consultant will first and foremost find out who you are, what your ministry is like, future plans for the ministry and current challenges you are facing.

The consultant should take time to interview the sound technicians, musicians, worship leader and senior pastor to get a good understanding of your churches over all needs.

They should also take a good physical inventory of what equipment you already own and also your experience level with sound equipment. 

In addition blueprints and field measurements should be gathered to aid in the design of the system. 

Once the consultant has gathered this information the issue of budget must also decided. 

The best case scenario is to have the consultant help guide and establish the budget.  However this happens all too infrequently.

After establishing the budget the consultant should be prepared to do the first round of design. 

The design should be based on using tools like EASE (computer design simulation software that help predict many aspects of how a sound system will perform in a give space). 

The consultant should provide and equipment list as well as a descriptive narrative of how the system should perform. 

There are 4 main types of “contractors”

Music store
In general the music store is the least qualified contractor.  The person on the floor at the music store has more than likely not been exposed to all the tools and products that are available in the Professional contracting arena. 

In addition they have probably had very little if any training in system design, safety standards, proper grounding techniques and most importantly rigging. 

In addition they probably do not have software tools such as EASE or Star draw to aid in the design and documentation. 

Finally, you know that statement, “I wish I knew then what I know now.”  That usually applies greatly in this situation.  The person working the music store floor likely is unaware of what information they are lacking. 

Generally, unless the music store has a contracting division with all the proper tools and professional equipment lines, I’d steer clear.

Low Voltage Contractor
A low voltage contractor is a step in the right direction. They may (or may not) have the expertise required to do the project. 

Again, this has a great deal to do with whether or not they have a sound contracting division.

These firms usually work with telephones, networking, security and control systems. Their installation work is usually very good (unlike a typical music store install).

However, unless they have the tools and the correct people they may not be very adept at system design.  They may be good at copying the last installation they did, but they will probably have a hard time designing a system specific to your need.

Sound Contractor
The sound contractor is likely qualified to handle your project.  At the very least. they should be qualified to bid on a design if you go the consultant route.

When looking at the sound contractor is important to note the product lines that they carry and the type of work that they perform. 

Are they mostly a commercial contractor doing paging and public address systems?  Or are they geared towards night clubs and entertainment? 

Find out from their reference list and past jobs what they seem to do the most of and what type of systems they like to put in. 

For example if every install you visit is Brand X speakers, your installation will be using brand X speakers.  That may not be bad but you should be aware of it. 

With the sound contractor make sure you meet the people who will work on your project. 

They may have a great sales person and terrible engineers and project managers, so push to meet the entire team.

System Integrator
A true systems integrator should be able to take care of your design build needs.  They should have multiple product lines available to them and engineers on staff that have implemented many projects like yours. 

It is your responsibility to check the track record and confirm that these guys are qualified. 

Do some research and visit their installation and most importantly talk to as many users of their systems as you can find. 

Again with the systems integrator meet everybody that will be on the team of your project!

How do I select who to use?!

1. Decide if you are going to use a contractor or consultant

2. Select 3-4 reputable firms to ask them to present their capabilities to you on your project.  (ask around for names, visit the National Systems Contractor Association’s website NSCA.org to find members in your area)

3. Meet with the firms to explain your needs. Analyze…. Do they listen?  Or are they only interested in selling how great they are?  Do they give input as you describe your needs…?  “You may want to consider……….” or are they just taking down your ideas?

4. Set a specific date for the proposal to be turned in by.  (If they do not turn in a proposal on time chances are they will not install the system on time!)

5. While you are waiting for the proposal to come back.  Do your home work in finding out even more about these companies.

6. Let the companies present the proposal to you.  Listen carefully to see if they can articulate how they are meeting your specific needs. 

7. Evaluate the proposals based on how well the system meets your needs.  If the highest price is the only one that meets your needs you need to take it.  If it doesn’t meet your needs you need to change your stated needs so that you can afford them.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Lessons Learned In Blending Science & Art For Improved Worship Sound

A tale of keeping the mind open to learn unexpected and often beneficial lessons about audio

Over the years at various venues, many of them worship oriented, I’ve had the privilege of working as producer and technical manager for many touring groups as they come to town to perform. 

In that time, I’ve seen a lot of crazy things: mic’ing a snare drum with the rear (strongest pick up rejection point of a cardioid microphone) of the mic pointed towards the drum head; mic’ing a guitar amp with two mics placed tight together (and taped) with the mic heads side by side and then run in mono without putting them out of phase with each other (can you say ‘phase cancellation’?)...

Anyway, you get the idea.
 
But I always try to approach events and the people involved with the mindset that I can learn something in every situation. Although, to be honest, I have to admit that there have been times where a cantankerous sound guy practicing his own special brand of incompetence has caused thoughts of “every live sound guy is an arrogant idiot!” to cross my mind. 

Then again, I’ve been that arrogant so-and-so a few times myself. Like the time I was trying to “help” the seasoned road guy who was using two mics on a snare drum, one on top and one on bottom, and I told him in relatively brash terms that it would never work. “You’re gonna have all kinds of phasing problems” is pretty close to my direct quote. 

Fortunately this veteran, who obviously had a heart for and desire to educate the “arrogant idiots” that think they know everything, stopped mic’ing the drums and very calmly explained to me why he was using this particular microphone technique, even drawing polar patterns and phasing charts on the back of a set list as he explained it to me. 

In a nut shell, he noted that by placing the mic on the bottom of the snare out of phase with the mic on the top of the snare, and doing some really bizarre (at least it seemed that way to me) equalization on both mics, a great snare sound would be achieved.
 
During the show that night, I marveled at how it felt like every time the drummer hit the snare drum, the crack was crisp, and really felt like it was smacking me in the back of my head. So thanks to this patient soul, I learned that phase shift is frequency dependent, and that it can be used as a positive.

Anyway, about a month ago, another touring act came through town. The budget was tight, so the band (internationally known, Dove Award nominated) was only traveling with stage instruments and their in-ear monitoring setup. They’d be using our house system, and this meant I would work closely with their sound guy. 

Thankfully both the band and the sound guy were delightful to work with; in fact, they seemed to be kids at play, so happy to be doing what they were doing. But I found myself questioning the sound guy’s competence.

I tried many times to explain the left/center/right configuration of the system, how the aux fed subs worked, how to patch the compressors and effects… And the whole time he smiled and nodded his head and then proceeded to do something that made it appear as if he had no clue as to what I’d just told him. 

During soundcheck, I had other responsibilities and so left him to his ways, thinking, “oh boy. this is going to be interesting.”

At show time, as the band prepared to come out on stage, I looked at the console and noted - of all things - he had the kick drum feeding into one of the effects units. Scanning the effects unit that was patched to that feed, I saw that there was a reverb with about 2.5 seconds of decay on the kick drum. 

I thought he must have meant to turn the feed of the aux fed sub up and just twisted the wrong knob, and quickly tried to bring this to his attention. He just smiled and nodded his head…

Once again I was surprised - from the first note, the band sounded great!  They have a very different style and sound than most of the contemporary Christian bands that have come through the facility, but it worked very well for them. 

Now, would I recommend reverb on a kick drum?  No! (At least not under normal circumstances.)

Did it work for this band? Yes! I found myself wondering if the sound guy really knew what he was doing or if he just got lucky. 

After the show I had time to talk with him, and found out he’s a very accomplished musician, owns a tricked-out Pro Tools rig, and was only on the tour doing sound because his own band was on a break and he needed to earn some cash (I surmised that it was to feed his Pro Tools obsession). 

I also found out that he had a fascinating mix of technical aptitude intertwined with incredible musical and creative skills. As it turns out, I do think he understood most of what I was telling him.  The nod and smile were his nice way of saying “thank you, but I am going to try some different things.”

This experience brought to mind one of my favorite sayings: “Audio is the art that everyone thinks is a science, and audio is the science that everyone thinks is art.” 

It also totally affirmed to me that when you can both understand and mix science and art together, the results can bring sound to life!

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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More PSW Church Sound posts by Gary Zandstra:
Sometimes ‘Live Can Just Be So Live”
Seven Steps to Great Worship Sound
Maximize Your Mix: A Step-By-Step Guide Through A Mixing Console
Testing Cables Is Essential To Solid Church Sound System Performance
Two Simple Yet Vital Tools Of The Trade For Church Sound Operators

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Monday, November 15, 2010

Church Sound Files: Are You A Fader Rider Or A Fader Raider?

Why not replace them with a “fader rookie”?

A colleague of mine recently shared a term that took me by surprise.

The term was “fader rider,” which my colleague had given to one of his sound operators.

He went on to describe a particular operator that would show up and run the sound board only using faders. 

It didn’t matter what the board was set up for, this person would just use what was there and if something was not patched or the monitors were not right, too bad you get what he had and that was final. 

The problem is quite obvious. A “fader rider” is so intimidated by the mixing board that he is afraid to touch anything but the channel faders.

In the “fader riders” defense he most likely had a bad experience where he changed something else on the board and had catastrophic results.

Additionally, he was most likely chastised for touching that part of the board by the worship leader, pastor or head of the sound team (maybe all of them).

On the opposite side of that coin I have had numerous experiences with the “fader raider”.  This well-intentioned, arrogant operator not only feels comfortable changing the faders.

He also falsely believes that he knows exactly what he is doing and “raids” the rest of the mixing board, changing every knob in-site. When he ends up with catastrophic results he blames the previous operator for messing the board up.

One of the concerns that I have with the digital consoles available today is that many people are jumping on the band wagon assuming that with the memory and recall options on the boards the “fader rider and raider” issues will go away.

However, I think most of these beliefs are not firmly based on reality.

Unfortunately, the “fader rider” already intimidated by the mixing board is going to be more intimidated, probably so intimidated that he will not even touch the part of the board set up for preset recall. 

The “fader raider” now poses even a greater threat as they now have an exponential number of parameters to adjust and of course will write over presents and may even change the boards input and output configuration.

I know what some of you are thinking; with the memory function, even if the “fader raider” wipes out presets or even changes the entire configuration I can easily restore the board to its “normal” state.

True.

However the main point is being missed.

Training
Why is there a “fader rider”?
1) He has not been given proper training and guidance
2) He does not want to learn

Why is there a “fader raider?”
1) His understanding of the board is incomplete
2) He arrogantly thinks he knows everything and will not “subject or lower himself” to accept any training.

Good news!
If the reason for the “rider and raiders” problem is issue number one, there are a growing number of sound training options available.

Also, If the reason for the “rider and raiders” problem is issue number two, fire them. Without the right spirit and attitude they are no benefit and actually a huge hindrance to your team.  Once that’s done, it’s time to recruit some new blood!

Frankly, I’d rather have a “fader rider” or “fader rookie” that is open to learning over a “fader raider” any day!

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Friday, October 01, 2010

Two Simple Yet Vital Tools Of The Trade For Church Sound Operators

Preventing the preventable, and doubling your fun with loudspeakers.

How to Prevent The Preventable…

Sunday morning, 9:34 am: You’ve just made it through a solo vocalist performance - she was using a wireless microphone system.

No problems yet, and you’ve just finished up the last “tricky part” of your sound work for the service.

It should be all downhill from here…

The congregational prayer is underway, and you’ve joined in.

The pastor is readying to deliver his message, and he’s wearing one of the other wireless systems, this one with a bodypack transmitter and lapel mic.

At the close of prayer, you turn off the lectern microphone and bring up pastor’s wireless system.

You’re relaxed, sitting back in your chair, anticipating his message.

Wait - what was that? Did his wireless system drop out for a moment? Nah, couldn’t be…

But there it is again! You bolt upright in your chair – you’ve got a problem. What’s going on?

You instinctively look over at the wireless receiver rack, and the battery “fuel gauge” for pastor’s wireless is blinking low.

“I just put a new battery in that transmitter – how can this be?” you ask.

Been there, done that!  While it’s a hard lesson to learn, it’s important to remember that even new batteries, right out of the box, can be bad.

So, I find it’s worth saving yourself a lot of trouble by investing in a battery tester to check the status of each and every battery before it’s used.

Radio Shack sells a perfectly acceptable battery tester for a very reasonable price, and others can be ordered on-line as well.

It’s a very small price to pay for an invaluable tool that can help prevent a problem which should never occur in the first place.

Along these same lines, I also strongly recommended the use of new batteries for every public worship event (after you test them first).

Save the used ones for practices, rehearsals and less critical applications.

Not only will attention to detail spare you problems and the stress that comes with them, it’s good stewardship.

Double Your Fun (Or Amplification)

Let’s face it, time are tough, but sometime we really need (or have a want for) additional speakers.

Given the hard times, are you finding yourself having trouble justifying the expense of a new portable PA system?

It’s a shame, really, because they’re so useful for outdoor services and activities, or for use by the youth ministry in fellowship hall.

Is another item on your sound system “wish list” – and one that’s likely a higher priority -  an additional stage monitor wedge or two?

Consider meeting both needs with the same investment!

Numerous portable powered (the power amplifier is built-in) loudspeakers offer the solution, and a great deal of cabinets are now designed with an optimum angle for stage monitoring.

These systems are easy to transport, move around, and position, as well as mount on stands, while providing quality audio for multiple applications.

I’ve used this strategy for several years and haven’t been disappointed with the results.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Church Sound Files: Who Will Train The Tech Crew?

Obviously, training is necessary for a worship tech team, however with whom does the responsibility lie?

One of the most discussed topics in the world of church sound and A/V is training. 

Integrators are installing more sophisticated and complex systems as many churches are incorporating A/V and production into their weekly services.

Churches spending big dollars on these installs are expecting big results. 

The problem rears it ugly head as volunteers will little or no training try to operate these highly technical systems.

Whose Problem is it?
The technical advancements that have happened in the church market over the last 20 years have been astounding. 

The average church has gone for a 6-8 channel mixer to 32 channels and from maybe 1 wireless lav to systems of 8 or more.  The most impacting and profound change that have driven this have been the move from piano, organ and a single “minister of music” leading worship to contemporary worship. 

Today at a typical worship service it is common to find a worship team consisting of 4 or more vocalists, worship leader, guitars (electric, acoustic and bass), keyboards, piano, and drums.  This could also include a flute player, violinist, and even a brass section. 

Yes the typical worship has changed.  Now also add in to this the drama that takes place with 4 -5 actors and numerous sound effects.  At time church looks and feels like a cross between Broadway, touring concert and motivational seminar. 

I am not going to go into on a dialogue as to what is proper and appropriate.  That is for each congregation to decide and choose based on their mission and calling. 

The point that is being made is that in a short 20 years the church now has an expectation placed on it to provide relevant, entertaining, uplifting preplanned and excellent programming. 

The A/V industry has not necessarily had a great track record on training the end-user.  In fact it does not even have a great track record of training its own people.  Up until recent years and the attempt at NICET certification and now C-EST training the industry was primarily made up of home-grown, self-taught personnel. 

I would even argue that it is still that way as many integrators do not take advantage of the training offered by Industry associations like NSCA. 

In addition often the integrators that are installing systems into churches that are doing production have had no experience in what the demands of a production orientated church service is.

A friend of mine who has been a worship leader at churches that are very production orientated and have had millions of dollars of technical equipment stated “it (mixing for church) is not like mixing for a 2 hour rock concert.”

“You have a worship team, band, sometimes orchestra, the spoken word, video elements, lots of transitions, drama, loud moments, quiet moments, even silence….. and then to top it off you have unpaid volunteers who are the talent on the stage.”

I would add to that in most cases you also have an unpaid volunteer at the mix position.

I find it astounding that a church has no problem investing $250,000 sometimes over $500,000 on A/V systems (sound, theatrical lighting and video) and does not even consider hiring some one to run and maintain it. 

Every church that I have had the opportunity to work with has had a least one paid music person on staff.

Often there was a whole department that included worship leaders, orchestra director, choir directors and producers. 

Yet these churches who pride themselves on the quality of the music and production can’t even find in their bloated budget enough money to hire a quality person that will be the conduit to reproducing and pulling together the quality music and production.

How can it be solved?
It can be easy to sit back and point out a problem, but it gets a bit more difficult when you have to put together a solution to the problem. 

Before stating a solution a plethora of questions can be asked;

• Why are the Christian Colleges and music schools not offering degrees in technical ministry?
• Why are there not more vocational schools that offer training?
• Why does the A/V industry not offer end-user training?
• Why is the not a training school like the recording industry has?
• Why? Or Why ask Why?

The technical knowledge deficit that exists today is a result of many factors that include the rapidity that the church has adopted technology. An ignorance or misunderstanding of what it requires to operate and maintain technical systems. 

Integrators that have sold systems claiming the are easy to operate and then provided minimal or no training.  Volunteers at the church turn over often, an operator who was trained is no longer involved and did not pass the knowledge on to others or passed on incorrect or confusing information. 

Also, the church is filled with “experts”, the guy who works for the cable TV company as an installer so therefore is an authority on church sound and is too arrogant to seek training or input for qualified individuals. 

I have come to the cynical conclusion that most churches are controlled by the church secretary, custodian, and/ or sound operator.  For some reason a majority of churches seem to let this select group of individual dictate church policy and decision making.

What is needed to fill the gap?  First of all churches must take responsibility and be willing to fund and purchase training resources.

This could include hosting seminars, paying experts to come on site to do training, paying for technicians to go to seminars or purchasing books and materials that are relevant.

This is common sense stuff; would you buy a car if you did not know how to drive?  So why do so many churches purchase technical systems with no clue how to operate them.

Secondly, system integrators need to step in a provide complete comprehensive training.

If the integrator is qualified to install the system then the integrator should be responsible for training on the system.

One of my favorite arguments for design/build contracting is that if the integrator properly designs the system, properly installs the system and then properly trains the end-user, whose problem is it if the system does not work?

In my opinion an integrator in a design build scenario should offer at a minimum a 1 year no fault warranty on a system.  Baring the proverbial “act of God” there should be no labor or equipment charge to remedy any problem that arises, even if it is operator error.  After all it was the integrator who trained the users.

Thirdly, the industry and its associations should seek avenues to provide end-user education and training. 

An educated end-user makes wiser choices in selecting integrators and equipment resulting in better installations.  In addition a trained end-user would serve to raise the over all sound quality and consistency that the general public experiences.

Who is going to take the lead?
We all like to point out problems but who is going to step up and offer solutions?  Perhaps it will come through the church. 

Networks of churches, whether denomination or style based, are already in existence. It maybe that groups will form and churches will train other churches.  Maybe the industry will formulate sanctioned end-user training through one of the associations, like the C-EST training offered to installers.

Most likely a passion driven integrator or Mega Church technical director will develop a curriculum that is web based or video based that will serve to educate system operators.

The well know saying “it’s the service after the sale” that matters applies well here.  If the church is the customer then it is time for the integrator and the industry to stand up and service the daylight out of the customer!

Finally, before signing off, I should also mention that there exist resources like the How to Sound workshops that the end-user can bring to their area to provide comprehensive training, which currently help to bridge the gap in this education divide.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

A Brief Moment As King Of The World!

The biggest event of my career? Politics aside, it was fun to be on the "inside" of a Presidential visit.

For a brief moment in time, I, the lowly sound guy, had enormous power!

Our story begins late one Friday afternoon when I received a call from Andy, the technical director at the Breslin Student Events Center on the campus of Michigan State University in Lansing, Mi.

He wanted to know if I could be front-of house mix engineer for an upcoming event the following week.

Sure, I said, searching my calendar, half-listening as he described the event. Then, whoa, back up. You want me to mix for who, doing what?

Patient, Andy repeated the details of his request.

The farewell tour of President William Jefferson Clinton, better known to many of us as simply “Bill”, was making a stop at the Breslin Center, and could I handle FOH because Andy needed to provide event production?

Uh, sure, was my reply. Or at least something like that.

Why do they call it “red” tape?
First, the background check. Nothing to worry about, right? Perfectly understandable, in fact.

We certainly don’t want a raving lunatic with clear line of sight to the stage being given an all-access pass to a date with the leader of the free world.

Still, the background check was unsettling, kind of in the way that a cop following you on the highway is unsettling. You haven’t done anything wrong, aren’t planning on doing anything wrong, no outstanding warrants, but…

Fortunately, the great forces surrounding “Bill” deemed me worthy of presidential access. Or at least I hadn’t done anything horrible enough to find objectionable. And thankfully, they didn’t ask my voting record!

System set-up and testing, the day prior to the event, was laid back. Secret Service personnel were cordial, even friendly and downright chatty at points.

Not quite what we’ve heard about these folks. I was tempted to ask one for his cool sunglasses… but why push it?

Our set-up was almost ridiculously simple. We’d be using the house system that I had been involved with the design and installation of, and I’d be manning the house console.

Two Shure SM-57’s were attached to the Presidential podium and plugged in to an adjacent I/O panel feeding the system. Two more Shure mics (BG3.0’s) would be employed for off-stage announce.

In addition to the house mix, I was to supply two stage mixes (one for Bill, the other for dignitaries); a mix to four stage lip speakers for the front seating rows, two press feeds (one redundant).

A CD player supplied pre- and post-event music. (This is also called “rope” music, I found out, because it’s played when the president moves along the ropes, shaking hands with the crowd.)

So in comparison to live, festival-style events, this would be a piece of cake. Or so I thought…

Studies in the hierarchy of power
Event day dawned bright and sunny, matching my mood as I used my “special” parking pass to park right next to the Breslin Center.

Lowly sound guy as presidential heavy-hitter - you bet!

Just as quickly, the pedestal that is delusion of grandeur was kicked from beneath me.

No credentials at the gate. “No ticket, no entry” as they say. Fortunately, a Secret Service person passed by the gate, gave a “thumbs up” to the door personnel, and I was in.

Well, sort of… I found that the metal detectors used for presidential events are rather powerful Trip one: cell phone. OK. Trip two: keys. Of course. Trip 3: A stick of Juicy Fruit. Darn those foil wrappers!

As this played out, I noticed a heated conversation, the gist of which was the MSU marketing director arguing with security about admittance of a certain basketball player who turned out to be Charlie Bell, MVP of the national championship team, and who was supposed to present Bill with a team jersey during the event.

Hah, I thought smugly - lowly sound guy more important than big man on campus! (Fortunately Charlie was allowed in to make the presentation.)

All was set as I arrived at FOH, and then some White House Communications personnel asked me to lead them to some vending machines on the loading dock. Snack time. No problem.

Returning, I was told by the same security personnel who had seen me the day prior and in the time before the event and just five minutes prior (!) that my credentials didn’t allow access to FOH.

Perhaps intelligence, rather than diligence, should be of higher criteria with respect to security personnel. Sorry, just an observation… anyway, I looped way around the back stage area, encountered much more reasonable security people, and was back in my FOH loft with time to spare.

Plenty of time - it turns out that Bill has a promptness “issue” - on average, he was two hours late for every scheduled appearance throughout his two terms.

(Divulging the “high-placed” source of this information could result in trouble for the lowly sound guy, so my lips are sealed.)

Thoughts within the big moment
All White House and Secret Service personnel remained surprisingly laid back, even as event time approached. This was true even just minutes prior when a certain, specific press feed, overlooked by the communications team, needed to be provided.

Lowly sound guy sensed trouble, but fortunately the system installation at the Breslin Center created an easy solution. With tons of I/O plates around the main floor, we did a simple patch from the console’s Aux out into the I/O network and made this feed available where it was required.

No time for level checks at this point; the event kicked off within 30 seconds. As the show unfolded, things went smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that lowly sound guy got to thinking.

Let’s see - I can just hit this mute button and 12,500 in attendance won’t hear the words of our esteemed leader. Neither will the international, national and local press on hand, and they won’t have a recording either. Oh, the national archive recording being done, as at all official presidential events would be silent as well. Likely the most verbal president in our history, and I alone have the power to silence him.

Look at me, ma! King of the world!
Ah, well. Sometimes intelligence, and certainly professionalism, is indeed a factor in the qualifications of even the most lowly of sound guys. Or maybe I’m just not quite that stupid. Or brave. Whatever the case, no way was I touching that button.

My brush with sonic greatness concluded without a hitch. As Bill made his long exit over the course of 7-8 songs - surprised he didn’t get “rope” burn - a White House communications staffer leaned over and commented “He seems to live for events like this. I wonder what he’s going to do after he leaves office?”

To that, the lowly sound guy firmly offered no comment, choosing instead to bask in the glory of a unique opportunity to be involved with the flow of history.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Monday, September 13, 2010

Church Sound Basics: Turning “More Me” Into Quality

Sometimes when monitor needs reach a tipping point it's wise to remember the old adage "less is more."

What is it about engineers and musicians getting along? 

In my experience getting these two groups in sync is like putting angry cats in a room full of dogs.

More often than not there’s instantly enough tension it feels as though a fight is going to break out! 

While commissioning a sound system in another state, my friend Jeff saw the cats and dogs ready to brawl and picked up some new lingo that he passed on to me.

During the final rehearsal before the opening Sunday of a new church building Jeff, having finished commissioning the system was hanging in the tech booth listening to and watching the worship band rehearse. 

He watched as the typical scenario played out; the musicians on stage kept asking for more monitor.

The front of house engineer was struggling to get any clarity in the mix as the wash from the stage was overtaking the room. 

To remedy the situation, he was quietly and secretly backing down the level of the stage monitors as he boosted the level of the main system.  Not necessarily a bad plan, a bit sneaky, maybe even underhanded, but Jeff thought hey he has to do what he has to do.

If he kept escalating the stage monitor level there would be no hope of ever having a decent mix.  As Jeff watched this all play out he kept thinking that much like angry cats thrown into a room of dogs, a fight was brewing to take place.

Sure enough after a little while and a 9 decibel reduction in stage volume one of the singers said in rather short fashion “I need more monitor”.  The engineer, undaunted resorted to the ultimate sleight of hand move.  He calmly put his hand down on the mixing console and acted like he was turning up the monitor all well smiling at the stage.

It was as if his smile was saying are you all set now? Really, we all know that his smile was saying Hah! I tricked you!  You musicians can’t tell the difference anyway!  This sly move seemed to satisfy the singer for at least a few minutes, but then it happened the brawl was about to begin. 

In the middle of a song as the singer struggled to keep his pitch, he stopped singing and shouted into the microphone “More Me Monitor” as he was turning red in the face from shouting (and probably from anger) he emphatically pointed to the monitor in front of him and once again yelled “More Me Monitor!” 

Surprisingly, the engineer still undaunted calmly turned to Jeff and said “can you get me some M3 technology for this system?”

Jeff, perplexed by the question and thinking what the heck is M3 technology got up out of the chair he had been comfortably reclining in(all the while is some sick perverse way enjoying the events that were happening, even strangely hoping he would see a brawl). 

He sauntered over to mixing board to ask the engineer to repeat what he had said.

The engineer again asked Jeff, “Can you get me some M3 technology for this system?”  Jeff, trying to play it cool and act like he was in the loop on M3 technology asked back, “What kind of M3 technology are you looking for?” 

The reply back surprised Jeff and caused him to break out in great laughter, “The kind that shuts up a musician!  You know, the More Me Monitor technology, better known as M3 technology”.

After Jeff’s (and the engineer’s) laughter subsided, Jeff decided to use this as a teaching moment.  He first called the rehearsal to a halt and then gathered the musicians and the tech team in the front pews.

He then explained to the musicians how “less is more”.  By that he meant that the musicians did not need every instrument in every mix.  In fact doing that just cluttered the stage sound making it harder to hear what you actually needed to hear.

He went on to explain to the tech crew that if the musicians can’t hear themselves on stage you won’t even want to turn on the mains because the musicians will be off key and not playing well together. 

Jeff was then able to walk each musician through what he suggested that they have in their monitor, and at the same time help the engineer realize that some stage volume is necessary if you want the musicians to play with confidence and sing on pitch. 

At the end there were no hard feelings (though there could have been) and other than the shirts that the tech team now wears that say “powered by M3 technology” this potential brawl was completely forgotten about.

Personally, I think that to this day Jeff wishes he would have let it escalate a bit more before he intervened. However, its times like this which remind us to put technology to productive use in worship, and not the other way around.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Church Sound Files: When Our World Is Turned Upside Down

Sometimes things can be going so well that when something goes wring, your world is turned completely inside out!

Most of us who have been involved in church production have had at least one (I have many) mistake or failure during a service where you just want to disappear in the booth. 

One of my most egregious mistakes took place a number of years ago.  It was so significant that I still wear the scars from it. 

Back in “the day” when video projection was almost nonexistent because of the huge cost of projectors I was serving on staff at a large church that used 35 millimeter slides for the visual presentation elements of the service. 

All of our worship songs, hymns and even the sermon notes were made into slides and projected on a large rear projection screen centered on the wall behind the worship platform (we didn’t dare call it a stage in those days). 

On special occasions a slide presentation would be put together to tell the story about and highlight a ministry opportunity or special church event.

For the mission conference that year I put together a 4 projector slide presentation that highlighted the churches involvement in bringing to a remote group of people who had never heard the gospel a special radio program in their native language. 

On the first Sunday of the conference we showed the video, I mean slide presentation (the senior pastor always referred to slide presentations as videos). The mission’s pastor liked what I put together using charts and graphs to visually tell the story.  He like it so much that he asked me to transfer it to VHS video tape so he could have it duplicated to give to other churches that he was planning on asking to partner on this missions project. 

I was flattered and quickly set about transferring the slide show to video.  In “the day” we were so high tech that we transferred slides presentations to video via projecting the slides on the wall and recording them to video tape. 

No editing (we had no video editing equipment) or anything special, just tie the audio track into the camera’s audio input and let it rip.  So I went and flipped all of the slides around in all 4 of the slide trays (to record to video we projected via front projection on a white wall as it provided better color saturation than our rear projection set up).

The mission conference continued on all that week and was a great success.  The mission’s pastor was thrilled with the VHS copy of the slide presentation and I have to admit I was feeling proud of the work that I had done. 

If the accolades from the mission’s pastor were not enough, the senior pastor asked me about 10 minutes before the start of the closing Sunday night service of the conference if we could show the “video” ( I knew he meant slide show) again. 

He went on to say how he also, was impressed with the nice graphs and charts that made up about 80% of the slide presentation.  I was totally flattered! Wow, he liked it enough to have it shown again! 

Additionally, I could not believe he was going to add it into the service, because at the conference time was always at a premium!  We were committed to keeping the services to about 1 hour in length, and with missionaries giving updates and the recognition of the missionaries in attendance time was always a precious commodity.

Glowing with pride, just being affirmed for my work I immediately put together a plan to show the slide presentation during the service.  First I had to find someone that could go up in the projection room to switch the slide trays after the praise and worship section.

This would be about half of the way through the service.  The drummer for that night was also a tech volunteer, this was perfect!  After the praise and worship section and during the announcements he could go up in the projection room and switch the slide trays. 

I even thought ahead enough to double check to make sure the sync track on the audio recording was sending signal up to the slide presentation controller.  Everything checked out, the plan was in place and I was beaming!

For some reason the praise and worship that night seemed richer than normal, I was feeling blessed.  As the announcements started I saw the drummer quietly slip out through the worship platform door as he headed to the projection room.  Great, I thought, all is going as planned. 

The missions pastor concluded the announcements and began setting up the video (I mean slideshow) encouraging everyone to pay careful attention to the numbers on the charts and graphs as they really told the whole story.  As he wrapped up the announcements I had the lights beginning to dim, the audio channel open on the sound console and my finger on the 4 track reel to reel play button. 

As the lights hit black I hit play and looked down at the audio board to make sure my finger was on the right audio channel.  It was at this moment I heard the first chuckle, followed by many more and quickly some outright laughter. In my head I thought this is not a funny slide presentation, in fact it was particularly technical with all the charts and graphs.

This was much different than the typical slide presentation I put together where the focus would be on the human/emotional side and, often used very close up shots of people’s faces.  As my brain was processing the laughter I confirmed with my ears that the audio level was good.  I now could take my hands and eyes off the mixing console and look up to see what the laughter was about. 

As I looked up and saw the screen reality hit me like a ton of bricks….  I had never flipped the slides around from when I transferred the slide presentation to video.  I was projecting slides set up for front projection on a rear projection screen! 

Translated, all the slides were backwards. Every chart and graph and every number that the missions pastor asked the people to watch carefully was being projected backwards!  I realized my only options were to either stop the presentation and not show it or let it roll and hope people would get enough out of the audio track to understand it. 

Needless to say that was the longest 5 minutes and 37 seconds of my life!

When the presentation finally ended, the senior pastor (the one who asked me to play the “video”/slide presentation) got up and saved the day.  His comments were along the lines of the early church turning the world upside down. 

He loosely quoted Acts 17:6, and then went on to say how we were about the business of turning our world inside out! 

Laughter once again filled the room and as it died down he quipped, “And oh, by the way were taking applications for the position of director of technical ministries.” 

Thankfully I knew that he has a great sense of humor and was just shooting a jab at me.  In fact later during the week he told me that he wondered if perhaps the slide presentation was even more effective because people had to pay such close attention to it. 

He quickly followed that statement telling me I better not ever do that again.  I never have, but at least at the moment when all was awry and I wanted to disappear from the tech booth, my world had been turned upside down and inside out.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Church Sound Files: Quick Tips For Maximizing Your Monitoring

Excerpted from recommendations to a client following a worship visit, these are critical aspects of monitoring often overlooked by the worship team.

Often times, it’s only through the critique of others that we are able to see the deficiencies in our systems, which is why I’m often called to visit clients services “in action.”

In the hopes that you may find some of follows below is an excerpt from the recommendations I made to a church client following a visit to their Sunday morning service.

The most prevalent issue throughout the soundcheck was that while the band sounded great, it took them a great deal of time to get the monitors right.

My Advice
1: There is always this tension that exists between tech and talent about stage volume. Thankfully with the entire band (except, well, we’ll call him Jimmy, who was also singing) using “ears” the stage volume was really at a minimum.

2: Structured monitor checking. When using ears it is very difficult for the engineer to know what the musicians are hearing.

My suggestion would be to have the engineer (or someone who can assist him) ask each musician what they want in their mix before the rehearsal starts. 

After the engineer has roughed in those levels on the soundboard the band should play through one song (unless it is a total disaster, don’t stop).  After the song each musician in an orderly fashion should give the engineer direction as to how they would like their mix changed. 

The band should then play through two-three more songs before the musicians can make any additional requests.  This forces the musicians to be precise in their monitor requests and also gives the engineer an opportunity to work on the house mix. 

After the two-three songs, each musician can once again in an orderly fashion ask for adjustments in their monitor mix.  Once this adjustment has been made, the musicians will have to live with the mix allowing the engineer to forget about monitors and only be concerned with the house mix. 

Note: The engineer should not adjust the master gain on any channel (except for an emergency) after the completion of the first song.    All adjustments need to be made using the faders (for house sound) and the aux sends (for monitors). Assuming a pre-fade auxiliary send the levels of the monitors will then not change when the channel faders are moved.

3: Shield or no shield?  As you may or may not be aware, I’m not a big fan of drum shields (yes, sometimes they are necessary) as it has been my experience that when the shield is removed the drummer begins to play with more finesse and stage levels begin to decrease.

In a room the size of many worship spaces (including this one) I would say that a shield is not necessary.  In the drum mics, I find that around 90% of what is picked when using a cage is cymbals. 

I didn’t have much of an opportunity to look at mic placement, and there’s often some room for improvement, however overall I would say take the shield away.

While these recommendations were made after hearing a specific clients service, they’re the same recommendations I find myself giving more often that one would imagine.

So, take note, and remember that most of what an engineer does and thus how he is perceived comes from his attitude toward the musicians.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Church Sound Files: Sometimes “Live Sound Can Just Be So Live”

You can rehearse the band ahead of time; practice all of the transitions, lighting cues and video rolls, but it all still comes down to executing in the moment

A good friend of mine, Mark, is the technical director at a large local church. About a year ago he sent me an email describing the “disaster” he had on a Sunday morning. 

An excerpt:

“To our surprise we had a total audio failure during the first 1/3 of second service yesterday. The audio stuttered for a brief second, came back on for about two seconds and then went totally off…. To make the story short, I found the fault lights on for all three processors in amp world. We switched to the back-up system while I yanked the power to the three units.

“After reboot they showed green, so between testimonies we switched back to the main processors without incident for the rest of the day. At the same time one HH mic battery went dead and a choir mic flaked out later in the same service. Perhaps my car not starting earlier that morning should have been a warning to pray harder.

“Some days live sound is just so live.”

Mark really laid it out: on a Sunday, “live is just so live” is such a true statement!  You can rehearse the band ahead of time; practice all of the transitions, lighting cues and video rolls, but it all still comes down to executing in the moment. 

The moment is that space where you are experiencing life in real time. 

Mark later told me the whole story. While he and the tech team scrambled to get audio back, the associate pastor who was delivering announcements at the time of the system failure decided it would be best to pray, so he did. He prayed for people in the congregation who had specific needs, he prayed about global concerns, and he prayed that Lord willing, the sound system would come back on.

Just as he prayed about the sound system and felt it was time to wrap up the prayer, the tech team determined the cause of the failure and switched over to the backup system. 

As the pastor said Amen, back came the sound system. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I think not. Sometimes we just need to recognize that “live is just so live” and as much as we wish or think that we are in control, we live on God’s timetable - not our own.

Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.

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More PSW Church Sound posts by Gary Zandstra:
Seven Steps to Great Worship Sound
Maximize Your Mix: A Step-By-Step Guide Through A Mixing Console
Testing Cables Is Essential To Solid Church Sound System Performance
Two Simple Yet Vital Tools Of The Trade For Church Sound Operators

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