Over the last two months, we have spent time exploring the variety of microphones and the importance of having your ears as sharp as possible. This month, I would like to talk about basic stage setups and EQ scenarios. I know a lot of you have a basic idea of how to make your pastor, choir or worship band sound good. However, some of you don't, and we can always use a little tune-up, especially me. So, here we go.
Listen To What the Man Says
I think we can all agree that the words that pour out of the mouths of our pastors, priests, rabbis or whoever our worship orator happens to be is ultimately the most important part of the service. We will call the person talking about God the preacher to simplify our discussion. Your preacher either stands behind a podium or pulpit or travels freely about the stage delivering the word. Whether the preacher prefers a wired or wireless mic makes no difference. We are only interested in how clear and natural he or she sounds.
If you have time before a service, it's a very good idea to test the microphone that your preacher will be using — even better if you have an assistant on stage so you can remain at the mixing board. Start with your EQ flat and have your assistant talk boldly into the preacher's mic. Bring up the gain until your meters (LEDs) are in the yellow zone. If your board only has LEDs that show "signal present" and "too hot,” push the gain until you are too hot then back it off a ¼-turn. If your preacher has dynamic vocals, it would be nice if you had a compressor or limiter to handle the potential peaks. If you don't, just back the gain off a bit and plan on riding your channel fader during the message part of the service.
Now there is no reason for you to put the preachers' voice in the stage monitors unless it is specifically requested. You have good signal strength from the microphone, so just listen as your assistant talks and talks. Do you hear any boominess? If you do, engage your high-pass button or cut your low-EQ knob. Subtle adjustments always seem to work better than cranking the knobs up or down. Is the voice sounding natural? 315 Hz to 600 Hz is important for a smooth, natural voice. Cut or boost in this area; if your board does not have a sweepable mid EQ, try slightly increasing or decreasing the mid-frequency knob. Listen again to your assistant's voice. If the voice sounds harsh than the problem may reside in the 2 kHz to 4 kHz range.
These frequencies also cause ear fatigue so you don't want your preacher slamming the congregation with them. On the other hand, intelligibility also lives in these frequencies. Therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act. So, once again, listen closely. The spoken word can produce harmonics up to 8 kHz. Boosting those up can add some sparkle as long as you don't create a brittle sound with your EQ. By the way, if you don't have an assistant, plug your preacher's mic into your board and test it yourself.
Preaching to the Choir
Your choir’s voices follow the same audio rules as your preacher. The only difference is that there are more people and they are all singing. Let's say you have a dozen members in your choir: If your house has installed choir mics (generally hanging from the ceiling), I like to position the choir so the mics are two feet in front of the singers and about two feet above their heads. Same distances if you use mics and stands for your singers. Two good condenser microphones will work well, or use four if you want to mic the individual vocal groups (bass, tenor, altos and sopranos).
If you have condenser mics, that's good. Mainly because this type of mic is ideal for hearing a sound sources from a distance and is more sensitive than a dynamic mic. Did I mention that your microphones hear? It's good to think of them in this manner. Knowing how a mic hears can help you with proper positioning and, of course, using the right mic. The reality, however, it that you will be using whatever mics and configuration that your house has. Now, set up your microphones and bring up the gain. It's the same drill friends — flat EQ and signal strength in the yellow. Before you reach for the EQ knobs, listen to the singers. Sometimes just moving your microphones around can help with the overall blend and smoothness of the voices.
Tenors, Altos and Sopranos, Oh My!
With your mics set in the optimum positions, you can begin adjusting EQ as needed. Bass and tenor frequency fundamentals lie in the 160 Hz to 250 Hz range and altos and sopranos in 315 Hz to 500 Hz. As I mentioned before, 600 Hz to 1K is important for the natural sound of your vocalist. 630 Hz is represented by a slider on all 1/3-octave graphic EQs. So, if your house of worship is heavy on singing, this is a frequency that can be very important in the overall tuning of your worship space.
Your choir will probably have some sort of stage monitors. Be careful of feedback in the 1 K to 4 K area. Keep in mind that these same frequencies greatly affect intelligibility and also are responsible for ear fatigue. Actually there is a lot going on in this range. I suggest you listen carefully and adjust sparingly throughout this frequency band. Occasionally, I will boost a bit the 10 K to 12 K range. This can add "air" to the choir, but it also can add noise. As always, use your ears (twice).
I realize that I haven't gotten to the miking and EQing of the worship band and all the instruments that can entail. But worry not, next month I will be tackling that sometimes difficult subject. I will get into topics from drums to flutes and everything in between — not to mention the politics and etiquette of your average worship band.
Contact Jamie at jrio@fohonline.com.
