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Monday, January 03, 2011
Gary Zandstra 01/03/11 12:39 PM, 2 CommentsA sound check is not always the easiest or the most fun thing to do. However when it is done in an orderly and proper fashion it will set the tone for the service. Sound check vs. rehearsal There is often a debate of what constitutes a sound check and what makes a rehearsal, the lines between the two often get blurred. For me a sound check is a maximum of 15 minutes with the band where I check input… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Analog • Education • Engineer • Interconnect • Mixer • Monitoring • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System • Audio -
Monday, December 06, 2010
Gary Zandstra 12/06/10 09:00 AM, 0 CommentsGood church sound often crescendos or crashes at the mixing board. A new whiz-bang mixing console will not improve the quality of sound one bit if your sound system is flawed in design, doesn’t have enough amplification, delivers uneven coverage, or has poor system processing. But even if all of that is in sync, the board can still fail to orchestrate good sound if a sound engineer isn’t operating it properly. A Complex Board I’ve trained sound technicians in church… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Consoles • Education • Mixer • Sound Reinforcement • System • Audio -
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Gary Zandstra 12/02/10 08:24 AM, 0 CommentsIf you have already finished your Christmas Programs for the year you can file this away for next year. If you’re in the midst of programs right now few things can help you more than reading the survival guide below. 12: Start organized with a plan You know the saying, fail to plan and you can plan on failing. Guess what, it’s true. Talent will only carry you so far. The really great musician, technicians and artists know how to… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Education • Engineer • Mixer • Sound Reinforcement • System • Audio -
Monday, November 29, 2010
Gary Zandstra 11/29/10 10:04 AM, 1 CommentOperating the sound system from the mix position during a recent Sunday worship service, it all began when the first note from our grand piano was distorted. Hmm… We’d checked the piano channel and sound prior to the service, and all was fine. My first reaction to the distortion being produced was to reduce the gain on that console channel, thinking perhaps the piano player was nailing the keys very hard. Yet the problem remained. Next, I did a pre-fade… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Education • Installation • Interconnect • Sound Reinforcement • System • Technician • Audio -
Monday, November 01, 2010
Gary Zandstra 11/01/10 10:30 AM, 0 CommentsIf you’re a minister of music, a pastor of programming, a senior pastor, or even a volunteer then one of your responsibilities involves dealing with the technical aspects of worship. Technical, of course, meaning sound, theatrical lighting, video, props, production. These areas, when properly applied, can add great dimension to the worship experience. However these elements misapplied can destroy a worship experience. Nothing is more distracting than feedback, missed cues or “hokey” production quality. So how does one put a… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Education • Engineer • Mixer • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System • Audio -
Monday, October 18, 2010
Gary Zandstra 10/18/10 11:50 AM, 0 CommentsSometimes the best lessons we learn throughout our careers are those which we draw from parallel situations. Having said that, I’d like to tell you a little story. Stay with me, because I promise this all comes full circle in the end. About five years ago as I was planning a city-wide event to honor World War II veterans, the Mayor at the time shared with me a concept which has been rumbling around in my head ever since. Of… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Poll • Concert • Education • Engineer • Sound Reinforcement • System • Technician • Audio -
Monday, September 27, 2010
Gary Zandstra 09/27/10 11:01 AM,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 more churches are incorporating A/V and production into their weekly services. Churches spending big dollars on these installs are expecting big results. But a big 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… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Blog • Gary Z's Church Sound • Poll • Production • Audio • Education • Engineer • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System -
Monday, September 13, 2010
Gary Zandstra 09/13/10 01:00 PM, 3 CommentsWhat 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… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Blog • Gary Z's Church Sound • Poll • Study Hall • Education • Engineer • Monitoring • Sound Reinforcement • System • Technician • Audio -
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Gary Zandstra 08/10/10 05:49 PM, 0 CommentsA 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… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Blog • Gary Z's Church Sound • Education • Engineer • Sound Reinforcement • System • Technician • Audio -
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Gary Zandstra 04/14/09 03:14 PM, 0 CommentsTimes are tight. The last thing most of us want to do right now is spend scarce church funds on new audio equipment. The solution, however, lies not in completely shutting the door, but in setting clear priorities, choosing carefully, and investing wisely. In doing a complete inventory of what we have that works well, works OK, and works horribly to the point of seriously compromising our primary goal of the Word being heard. Because right now, as we grapple… View this story
Filed in: Church Sound • Feature • Review • Microphone • Sound Reinforcement
Articles Tagged Gary Zandstra
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