I was not running sound at my church last week. Instead I got to sit in the congregation in about the middle of the room. Since I’m always listening critically (I can’t really help it- it’s a curse), something really jumped out at me that I wanted to pass along to you. The kick drum and bass (guitar) weren’t fighting for the same space, which is rare.

(Bonus points if you can name this band…)

One problem I encounter in churches, is the sound engineer never moving out from behind the board. It should not be a surprise that most churches (and a lot of clubs I’ve run sound in too, unfortunately) have horrible ‘sound booth’ placement. So, if you’re under a balcony, in the back corner of the room, and inside a closet, and the sound is PERFECT from where you sit, you must have done a great job compensating for the bad acoustical enviornment where you are, but what about the rest of the room? Is the congregation being subjected to bad audio and holding your responsible?

If you’re in the band, chances are you don’t always see eye to eye with your sound crew. If you’re in the sound crew, chances are you think your job is impossible since the band is too loud/ demanding/ unrealistic/ pre-madonna-ish (sorry for making that word up). My take, is that most audio engineers have the wrong attitude and often want ultimate control of the sound. The band though, also has to realize, that they have an ultimate responsibility!