So far this year I’ve been to a few church services that are more traditional- piano, organ, choir, hymnals, etc. In a way, it’s been a little nostalgic for me, as I grew up in small churches that only sang hymns with piano accompaniment. It occurred to me how a lot of traditional churches on the surface appear to not suffer from the frustrations of audio problems because they aren’t trying to amplify drums, electric guitars, etherial keyboards, pop-style vocals, etc. The reality though is that there are still issues that need addressed and sometimes, the simplicity of the mix can make problems even more noticeable.

If you’ve been to a show recently or been to an auditorium with an updated sound system, you’ve likely seen the single column speakers hanging from each side of the stage, called line-arrays. These have replaced the large grids of speakers used not that long ago that may (for example) use 3 columns of speakers- 1 angling away from the stage, 1 straight ahead, and 1 facing towards the middle of the room. There are many advantages to these line arrays, but don’t assume that your room needs these new shiny toys, or that they will fix all of your audio issues.

http://bit.ly/98r5M9

Here’s a quick link to an article at Pro Sound News on recording a show live and selling it on USB immediately after. The YouTube video is interesting.

(Blogged from my iPhone)

It’s a great thing that technology has become more and more affordable. A console 3-feet wide can now do more than all the gear you could cram in a 20′ x 10′ FOH area! Digital boards, smaller circuitry, computer-assisted all means many more sophisticated tools right at your fingertips, for the church audio guy to either masterfully shape your worship band mix… or destroy it by trying to use every tool available! This topic alone could be a book, but I’m going to focus in on one specific tool that I think gets waaaaay overused: Mute Groups, or Scenes (depending on your board).

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…