There is no doubt that Christmas and Easter are the two biggest and most celebrated holidays in the Christian/Catholic faith. And my church, like many others, always puts on a big production and celebration that reflects the importance of these special holidays. So, here you are with Easter just around the corner, and you suddenly realize that it will take a lot more gear to put on the event that you have planned for your house of worship. So, what are you going to do?
Renting vs. Buying
First, I am assuming that your Easter event will call for additional speakers, monitors, microphones (wireless or wired), outboard gear and, possibly, lighting. (You may not need all that gear, but I have to start somewhere.) So, you fill in the blanks on exactly what you will need. The next question is whether you will buy gear or rent it. But, of course, you will have to decide on what gear you will actually be getting first.
If you plan on only adding a couple of FOH speakers for your Easter event, I would suggest that you rent some speakers. Even if your house of worship also puts on an event for Christmas, I would still rent the extra boxes. It just doesn’t make sense to purchase quality speakers and take on the responsibility of storage and care if you are going to fire them up just twice a year. However, should you be planning on additional usage for those extra speaker boxes outside of the aforementioned holidays, then you may want to purchase some good-quality speaker cabinets.
In my opinion, powered speakers are more preferable. If you already use powered speaker boxes, you will just add the rented (or purchased) boxes to your existing cabinets. If your worship house uses power amps and non-powered speakers, you will not have to add additional power amps or worry about inappropriate ohm load by plugging in extra speakers to your current amps. All you will need for your powered speakers is an extra send from your mixing console. If your console doesn’t have an extra matrix output, you can use a mono send from the main outs, an aux send or even a sub-group. (By the way, if you have run out of sends on your snake, use a coupler and turn around one of your input channel lines, and you will create another send.)
Should your event require adding a monitor or two, again I suggest renting (or purchasing) powered ones. It just makes things easier. You should also consider procuring additional graphic equalizers for the mains and monitors if you don’t already have an extra in your console. If your house has a digital board, then you probably already have a variety of EQs on board. Of course, additional outboard gear can be rented or purchased, depending on your needs.
Now let’s look at microphones, specifically wireless mics. First, I think that every house of worship should have at least one handheld and one headset wireless mic. That said, I have been involved with Easter plays where the entire cast was wearing headset mics. In that particular case, I rented eight headset mics for the event. I have also rented handheld wireless mics for other Easter shows. With regards to wireless mics, and other specialty microphones, for that matter, I will just rent them.
Package Deals
Along with renting additional audio gear, you may want to consider renting an additional audio technician. The more gear you add to your holiday event, the more complex the setup and operation will be. You may find that you have a local company that will come to your house of worship, work with you on your needs and aspirations for your event and give you a reasonable bid that includes delivery, setup and operation by a qualified technician. That would certainly be the easiest way to go. My company regularly does this in the Los Angeles area, but I am sure you can find a sound company in most towns or cities that can offer this type of service.
Ultimately, if you need a lot of additional gear, this is a less-expensive way to go, rather than renting piece-by-piece. Also, if you plan on buying additional gear for your events it’s not a bad idea to bring in a pro to get some ideas on what equipment will best serve the needs of you particular house of worship. Now that you have all your audio needs met, you will still have to consider lighting.
I approach lighting the same way I do audio. First, you have to determine what your lighting needs will be for your event. Once again, you may want to get a pro out to you church to feedback. Just a side note here; don’t hesitate to get input from an outside company with regards to your sound and lighting. It will be of minimal cost (or free) to get some really qualified valuable information.
Speaking for myself (and my company), I will visit a worship house and give my professional evaluation at no cost; mainly because I am looking at developing a relationship, not just a one-time sale or fee. I suspect that there are many audio and lightning companies that operate in the same manner.
Okay, back to the question of your lighting needs. Once you have determined what you want to augment in terms of your existing lighting, then you only have to decide whether to rent or buy. Of course, you may want to enlist the services of a professional to operate your new lighting.
Now that you have your sound and lighting all figured out, there is one last thing to consider. You will want to get all the additional gear and any extra techs and operators to your house of worship for rehearsals. At least get everything assembled and set up for your dress rehearsal. This final bit of preparation will alleviate a lot of possible headaches and ensure a smooth-running production.
Well, my friends, that is all I have to say on this subject. I hope your Easter season is exciting and spiritually uplifting.
