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.

Understanding and using EQ is essential for any audio engineer. Going beyond treble and bass and learning what frequencies sound like when they are too loud or missing from an input will allow you to shape the sounds into full, smooth, natural pieces of your mix. This post is going to focus on how to get some practice listening to different frequencies, shaping the sounds into the best they can be, and some common traps some fall into that you should try to avoid.

A common technique I see in churches, especially ones on a tight budget, is the use of a compressor on a subgroup. The thinking is that rather than having to purchase 4, 6, or 8 channels of compression, the user will just get a 2-channel unit, insert it into a subgroup, and then whenever something needs compressed, they will route it through that subgroup instead of straight to the master output of the console.

Ideally, if something needs compressed, you should insert your compressor into that input’s channel directly. By routing everything through a subgroup, the compressor can have some ill affects on your mix, and you may be adding more frustrations than your solving.

I guess I’m lucky. My church has 2 services on Sunday morning, and the band shows up an hour early to do a full blown sound check. This morning I posted a pic and comment on my Twitter about sound checking, and I got a reply that there are churches out there that do NOT sound check. How is this possible? I mean, my church doesn’t even use monitors and we take an hour! Yep. You read that correctly. We go old-school. Southern gospel style! Our main speakers are on the back wall, so everyone on stage uses the house mix as their monitors. Do I recommend this? No way!