As the title suggests, this month’s column is all about miking of your instruments, vocalists and/or choir to enhance the overall message delivered to the congregants at your house of worship. I am not concerned with what make or model of microphones you’re using. I do have a list of manufacturers I like and use myself, but this month’s column is not about those companies. I am more interested in where you place your mics and how you use them.
Drums: Keep it Simple
Let’s start with your drums. I approach drums for churches differently than drums for concerts (rock or otherwise). Usually, the drums in a house of worship are too loud. Here, surrounding the drums with Plexiglas or other isolating materials would be advised. Then I put a mic on the kick drum and one or two overhead mics. That’s all! I realize many of you think I’m out of my mind, but this really works. Back when drums were first being recorded, using one or two microphones was the norm. The amazing drum sound on Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” was recorded using two microphones. The drum mix on that record is one of the most significant in history. Of course having a great drummer like John Bonham performing helps, but still, it was recorded in a very minimalistic fashion. Try it yourself and listen.
Bass & Keys
Next we have the mighty bass. I like to run my bass direct — either through a direct box, or directly out of the bass amp. A loud bass can step all over a nice worship band mix. So I want to control my bass sound on the platform (stage) and through the FOH mains. Once again, Plexiglas or other isolation materials can be helpful. For my keyboards I always go direct into the sound system. Occasionally, I will have players who use their own keyboard amps. As long as the amp is not too loud, there is no problem with this practice.
Electric Guitar
I guess that brings us to the electric guitar and miking guitar amps. One mic on a stand in front of a speaker is my standard set-up. I also will hang a mic in front of a speaker (through the amp handle) if a stand isn’t available. It’s been my experience that most worship band guitar players can get “their sound” without blowing the doors off the church. So I simply mic the guitar amp and away we go. Occasionally, I put an amp behind Plexi if the guitar player is just overpowering. For that matter I have put guitar amps (and bass amps) in a closet, or offstage at times. If you have good monitors, you can put your amp wherever you like and just fold their sound back through your monitor system.
Voice and Vocals
Now that you have your band miked up perfectly, let’s work on the singers. Do you have a choir? If I have a large group (more than eight singers), I use condenser microphones. Some churches have these mics suspended from the ceiling and some use mic stands. Ceilings or stands, the techniques are pretty much the same for these mics. So if your choir members stand on a riser (one or two steps), set your microphone two feet in front of the first step of the riser and two feet above the head of the tallest person in the back row. This means that your mic will be on a stand or swinging from the ceiling about 10 feet off the floor. It may seem high but this works. Point you mics at the center mass of the choir to get even coverage. You may only need a few mics — one for every 16 to 20 people. Less is more in the choir microphone world. With fewer mics, you will avoid phase cancellation and hot spots. Once everyone is in place and singing, listen through a set of headphones for any standout voice or absent voices. If you need to move a microphone, please do so. The distances are just a starting point.
If you have a small group of singers (less than eight) in a single line or semicircle, one or two mics set directly in front of a singer but the same distance from end singers often does it. So if you choir is six feet from side to side, you will set one mic in the middle of the pack, three feet out. This position will also be three feet from your end singers. Now that your band and choir are miked, you will still have your pastor and possibly a lead vocalist.
I pretty much let my preachers do whatever they want. Whatever microphone type (handheld, head-set or lav) my pastors are using, I concentrate on making every word out of their mouths as crystal clear as possible. This may mean I am riding the fader, equalizing as we go or adding compression and possibly effects during the presentation. Most people come to church to be inspired by the word, the sermon, the message. If the congregation can’t hear the message or sermon clearly, the best worship band in the world is a waste of time. So I put the preacher at the top of the food chain (in a spiritual sense).
I also let my lead singers and solo vocalists do what they like. As long as they are not pointing their microphones directly at a floor wedge or tossing it in the air, I can give them most of my attention and mixing skills during their performance. They are obviously a notch down from the pastor, but a good vocalist can really bring the meaning of a song home for the congregation. Of course, a good worship band is a great asset, but it is a fact that most people listen to the singers’ voice first. That said, I want my singers to sound as good as they can. That about sums it up. Happy miking.
