I love electronic gadgets! I have always had pocket pc phones, gps units, and I love my iPhone. My wife, however, always buys these kitchen gadgets. The irony in that is that I’m the one that cooks (and she cleans- it’s a good system).

Too often, the magic slicing and dicing gadget that costs as much as eating dinner out, is a disappointment to me. I’m no master chef. I’m not above being lazy sometimes. The honest truth is though, that most of the time, a good trusty knife does just as good and usually a much better job than the newest gadget. So what if the gadget is quicker if you are not happy with the results? Also, gadgets tend to be a pain to clean up!

So, you’re wondering what this has to do with your Sunday audio set up, aren’t you? Well, read on…

I want to discuss a technique that appears to be fairly simple, yet can lead to frustration. The basic concept is to create a mix that allows you to hear everything you see on stage. The concept is simple enough- Look at each input on your console and ask yourself if you can hear it in the mix. If the answer is ‘yes,’ then move on to the next channel. If the answer is ‘no,’ then the fun begins! Rather than just push the fader up until you can hear that specific input, I’d quickly ask yourself a few questions to help you determine how to best address the issue.

Have you ever experienced this? As soon as the band starts playing on some random Sunday morning, a concerned member of the congregation makes a bee-line for the sound booth, and you can tell by the look in their eyes, they are not happy. You quickly critique your mix trying to figure out what they are probably going to say. You think to yourself, “Can I hear the vocals?” and “Are the drums overpowering?” As soon as you start trying to zero in what your mix sounds like, the person arrives and demands your attention be pulled away from the audio! You don’t want to be rude, but you are doing a job and need to devote your attention to the band. 9 times out of 10, the complaint is always the same thing…

I was listening to some classic music today. I don’t mean classical music, but some stuff from the 60′s. I was admiring the sound of the drums, and it got me thinking about most of the drums I see and hear at churches. Drums seem to be the enemy of a lot of church audio volunteers. They try to tame the drums by confining them to cages, putting tape all over the heads, and telling the drummer to use small sticks and play ‘jazz’ style. Let me offer a different approach to the drums.

When you run sound on Sundays, do you show up before everyone else? There’s a lot to do! You have to turn the system on, fire up the lights, change the batteries, set out all the mics, check all the monitors, and try to find where the teens put the drummer’s sticks… Again. And then, if something does go wrong, like the pastor’s wireless having some serious interference, what do you do?? I know what you’re thinking though. You’re gonna tell me you couldn’t get anyone to show up early on Sunday mornings unless it was their turn on the audio rotation.