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…

You’re too old? You’re too close to the speakers? You’re too picky?? I see a lot of churches that have SPL limits for their services. In the touring world, we call this a speed limit. What is safe? What is too loud? What do the numbers mean? There are so many factors to consider before enforcing a speed limit at your church.

The most common complaint any audio engineer hears is, “It’s too loud.” When I hear that, I don’t reach for the master fader, I start asking questions. How close are you to the stage? Why is it too loud? It’s amazing that some people will try to meet a friend at a show, stand up close to the stage, then say it’s too loud because they can’t have a conversation while a rock band plays 20 feet in front of them.

In a church setting though, “It’s too loud” usually always means the exact same thing…