Sound Sanctuary

In-ear monitoring systems are a very mature product in 2016. All types of musical performers, including those in houses of worship, have embraced in-ear monitoring as their go-to stage monitoring solution. The benefits of IEMs are well known, although there are many singers/vocalists who prefer wedge monitors. Without regurgitating what has already been written countless times about in-ear monitoring, here’s a quick overview of some of the pros and cons of IEMs in general, and we’ll examine some questions and issues that often arise when introducing IEMs into the H.O.W. environment.

Purchasing a new audio console is one of the most important decisions a church technical team can make. Sure, there are a handful churches that don’t flinch at the thought of purchasing a $100,000 board, but most of us struggle to convince church leadership to spend even a fraction of that amount. Even if you work at a church with big production and big budgets, every dollar counts, and you want to make sure that the console you purchase will meet your needs now and in the future.

The first time I heard the term “virtual sound check,” I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant. In fact, the idea of using pre-recorded multi-tracks as sound check material goes way back. I’ve been playing back multi-track audio as a teaching tool for well over a decade, before I even heard the term “virtual sound check.” I have no idea who came up with this or who tried it first, but certainly it has been around for quite some time, going back to the days when brave souls toured with racks of Alesis ADATs and Tascam DA-88 tape drives.

If you have purchased a single piece of digital audio equipment over the past few years, you’ve likely had to consider audio networking when thinking about how it would connect or integrate into your sound reinforcement system. Sure, you could continue using analog audio interconnects, or even AES/EBU or MADI, but the ubiquitous nature of protocols like Dante and AES67 must have you wondering about their benefits. In fact, audio networking has come a long way since CobraNet’s heyday. Not only is networked audio more affordable than ever, it’s easier to configure, easier to manage and within reach of any sanctuary with a reasonable audio budget.

I have to be honest, choir miking, choir mixing, just dealing with our choir in general, is something that I’ve always struggled with. I’ve been struggling with it for the past 10 years. Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but seriously, like many others, the church I work for suffers from some aging technology in our main sanctuary, and it seems like we’re always “just about to upgrade.” Not that I’m blaming the gear or the people, it’s actually a confluence of several factors that makes our choir particularly challenging. So perhaps by writing this article, I can get some of this off of my chest, and hopefully impart some wisdom and things I’ve learned.

An RTA (Real Time Analyzer) is a tool that most of us have used at some point in our audio careers. The proliferation of software-style RTA’s on phones, tablets and computers have made them ubiquitous. Practically every engineer has an RTA in their pocket, or at least has one close by. Although I feel that RTA’s are an invaluable tool for any audio engineer, I’ve also spent many years listening to people knock the use of RTA’s using that old refrain of “we never had RTA’s back when I was learning sound” or “don’t use an RTA, use your ears.” In fact, a simple RTA can be a very useful tool if you understand what influences its measurements and what its limitations are.

So your church has made that rather large investment in a digital mixing console. Are you using it to its full potential? One of the most misunderstood and overlooked aspects of digital consoles is snapshot automation. Ironically, over the past decade of teaching digital consoles, I’ve heard people say things like “snapshots are cheating” or “the console is mixing for you.” Those statements couldn’t be further from the truth. Snapshots allow you to focus more on your mix, and less on the tedious process of muting and unmuting channels and getting faders into position. Anything that allows you to “listen more and look less” is a great tool.

Roughly a year ago, I started writing this monthly House of Worship column for FRONT of HOUSE. One of the first articles I wrote was about wireless, so it only stands to reason that coincidentally, a year later, I’m revisiting the subject to provide some additional insights that will hopefully improve your wireless operation.

When it comes to creating show paperwork and documentation, there are two types of people. First, there are those who view paperwork as the bane of their existence. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, some people’s brains just aren’t wired for doing tedious, repetitive tasks like creating diagrams or spreadsheets. Then, there are people like me — people who see creating paperwork as a labor of love. Some sick part of me really enjoys creating documentation like input lists and stage plots, and personally, I especially love creating wiring diagrams. I know, call me crazy, but it’s something that I’ve grown to really enjoy.

What is the most important thing you do as a church audio engineer? I think all of us would agree that having the message heard clearly by each and every individual is the single most important thing we do. With a properly designed sound system, the average person should be able to hear the message without any problem, but what about those in our congregation who are hearing impaired? What can we do to make their experience better and ensure that they hear just as well as everyone else?

It’s an age-old question, and it’s one of the most common questions that I get from audio students. “Do you use VCAs or subgroups? How are they different, and what are they used for?” I usually try to start right off by answering that it’s a false question. VCAs and subgroups (often referred to simply as “groups”) are two totally different tools, and they shouldn’t be compared to one another. For the most part, that’s a true statement, but like anything about audio, the real, in-depth answer is nuanced.