In taking with the sound operator at this church guy (a great guy with a servant’s heart), he explained that it was also common practice for the musicians to come back during rehearsals and make EQ adjustments. (And he had been instructed not to change it!?!)
I walked in, turned down the aux gains feeding the monitors by about 6 dB, and then hit the bypass buttons on all of the EQs.
The band started playing, and soon said “wow, the monitors sound great!”
The stage was also far quieter than it had been before.
Sometimes it’s best to just zero things out and start over.
Case #2
Problem: Vocalists/talkers who sound like “mini mouse.”
Solution: Dial back some of the radical adjustments on the channel strip.
I was testing out a sound system in a church for an upcoming event, and turned on the pulpit mic and had someone talk into it. The person honestly sounded like mini mouse. The channel strip showed a 20 dB cut at 800 Hz, and the low-shelving EQ was turned all the way down.
First I flattened the EQ, and immediately found out that, yes indeed, there was an issue at 800 Hz. The main loudspeaker hanging above the pulpit was dumping a lot of 800 Hz into the microphone.
I then began making minimal cuts at 800 Hz while the person was taking, taking it to the point where it sounded as good as it could without going into feedback.
My wife, who was also at the church with me, immediately noticed how much better it sounded, and she also said it was much louder.
The gain and fader on the channel were lower, but the cuts were less. In addition, because the voice was now more “full body sounding,” she perceived it as louder.
Bottom Line
Don’t get trapped into the idea that you can’t make any changes. If you’re really nervous about it, take a picture and/or write down the EQ settings. You always have the option to return to the place where you began.
Also, don’t let gain-before-feedback completely drive how you EQ (and mix). Yes, it’s important to not have feedback, but you can accomplish this by running the system a little softer with a more full sound.
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.