So many times we have discussed the evil trinity of church sound: incorrect speaker placement, stage wedges and live drum kits. These always seem to be a dark and persistently integral part of the learning curve when it comes to getting great sound to the congregation. There are many reasons why this is the case, but there are only two general reasons why this destroys the faith of the FOH volunteer and his ability to do a great job. First, the person can only mix what he gets, and second… he can only mix what he gets! This has been the lively topic for a couple of our employees who have a good understanding of the subject (and recording studios in their homes). The conclusion of these discussions is that the key to a good live mix (as in recording) is to capture as much of the source material as possible, as "untainted as possible." The following recounts a typical system review and training mission to a local church with one of our technicians, Ron Ross, where the case was self-evident.
The facility is a large one-story warehouse house affair with 14-foot acoustic ceilings and a reasonable amount of wall treatment. Overall, not too reflective, with a good chance for high intelligibility of spoken word and vocals. We had done the original installation, so we knew that the combinations of LCR speakers, amps and main processing were solid and mathematically correct without much compromise. (One third of the evil demons cast out!)
As we neared the stage, I could almost see Ron's brain as he gave me that look that said "Why is there so much stuff cluttered all over the place?" The stage was cluttered with drums, amps, mics, wedges, keyboards, cables, etc. Ron gave me another look when he spied the personal monitor system, then the wedges. Another look came as he inspected the live drum kit, surrounded by Plexiglas (good) but sorely lacking in any kind of proper mics (bad). Ron soon realized that his list of pros and cons about the setting couldn't fit on his legal pad! And the client's problem? "We can't seem to get a good mix…"
Ron immediately reset the drum kit with the available mics, making sure that they were actually pointed at the skins and with close enough proximity to get all the sound. This is where you have to read specs and know what the mic can do. (You'd be surprised at the difference even a half-inch can make!) He also reset all the EQ channels on the board for those mics at flat position and began getting as tight a sound as possible before adjusting the individual gates and compressors. Ron always suggests, "Don't try to fix your sound with your EQ until you have all the sound you might need to fix! And if you find that you are adding more than a couple dB here and there, you should probably go back and reset your mics first!"
With this done, we were ready to proceed. Like many experienced mix and recording folks, Ron feels that since drums are typically the loudest instrument on stage and typically the most variant dynamically, starting here is an absolute necessity. Drums are the root of the rhythm section, and, especially where live kits are used, the rest of the talent must play "around" them. Having well miked live kits within an isolation shield can lower stage noise by as much as 40dB in the first few listening rows. Where else can you possibly gain that much overall headroom in the mix? We have now gotten to the source, gained lots of headroom and done so with little effects and no cost!
Ron also suggested that the players simply get over the PM issue and spend the time and money to get ear buds or headphones they like. Every time you can eliminate a live wedge, the players have more control over their own mix (eliminating hands-on time for the volunteer at FOH), eliminating more potential feedback problems and giving the poor FOH person less "acoustic" clutter to deal with. While Ron empathizes with the players who feel the need to get chest compressing levels from a wedge, he also notes that this is simply not the best way to get maximum source through open mics, either for playback or recording. With a hundred manufacturers of ear buds and headphones, you'll find something you like. Please try.
With some final checks on the main gain structure, much improvement on the drums and a bit of progress with the stage wedges, Ron began to further his quest for more and better sources on stage… Oh no… will you just look at those guitar amps…
Ron Ross is an associate with Rutherford Design and will from time to time contribute to the Sound Sanctuary column.
