As the holidays grow near, you’re undoubtedly becoming more aware of potential issues within your church sound system.
While now might not be the best time to completely re-tool, there’s never been a better time to make small improvement sand plan for the future.
Here are my top 10 tips to improving your worship audio.
1. Use proper microphone placement
• Choir mic’s that hang from the ceiling are set there expecting the choir to be in a specific location.
• Vocal microphones should be held by singers close to their mouths. Remind them they don’t sing from their navel.
• If you have to crank the gain so much that you are fighting feedback, the microphone is not set in the right location.
2. Use proper gain structure
• Don’t use the fader to do something the gain control is supposed to do.
• Don’t change the gain during an event, that’s the job of the fader. That gain can also control the volume level to stage monitors so any mid-event change can be disastrous.
3. Check the monitor volume
• Stand near the stage and listen for the sound of the band. It should sound like it’s coming from the mains, not the monitors. The exception is those in the first one or two rows can hear some monitor sound.
• Monitor sound you hear in the sanctuary is indirect sound and thus negatively effects the house sound.
4. Spread out the instruments
• Mix the instruments so they take up a wide range of sonic space. Too much in the same frequency range gives a bad sound.
• Consider cutting ranges before boosting; cut a little midrange from a guitar instead of boosting the high.
5. Group the singers
• Use subgroups on the mixer to control the instruments and singers in separate groups. Therefore, when a song calls for softer music or louder vocals, you don’t have to move four or five faders, you only move one.
• By favorite color…just kidding.
6. Know the music
• Listen to professional recordings of the songs before you mix them. This way, you have some idea of how it should sound.
• Talk to the musicians (the worship leader) about each song to determine the vibe they want. Mix it accordingly.
7. Use the best equipment available
• You shouldn’t be praying your lead singer’s XLR cable will make it through the service. If equipment is broken or unstable, do not use it.
• Just because you’ve been using the same microphone / amp / house speakers for fifteen years, it doesn’t mean the quality is the best. You might be able to buy new equipment that is better and within a very affordable price-range.
8. Get there early
• Arriving early gives you time to talk with musicians and worship leaders about any concerns or issues or even changes to the lineup.
• Arriving early means you aren’t rushed and stressed.
9. Stay late
• Talk with people in the audience about the sound quality – just a few friends. Find out what was good and bad – finding room for improvement.
• Talk with musicians and worship leaders about the event. Did they have any problems or concerns?
10. Build good relationships with musicians and worship leaders
• The most trust that is built, the more each of you can talk freely with the other. One day, you could be making suggestions to musicians and (here’s the kicker) they might even follow your suggestions.
• Good relationships mean you are working as part of a team. Teams work together to produce a great sound.
Do you have any tips for improving church audio? Let me know in the comments below!
Ready to learn and laugh? Chris Huff writes about the world of church audio at Behind The Mixer. He covers everything from audio fundamentals to dealing with musicians. He can even tell you the signs the sound guy is having a mental breakdown.
