Using Audio In Your Worship

Ok, you are thinking, “I know how to use audio in my worship service.” Don’t I? Well, do you really? Or are you simply making due with a microphone, maybe a Nady wireless lavaliere for your pastor? Or a Samson wireless handheld that also picks up the local classical radio station? Does your system sound like a transistor radio or more like a blown speaker where nothing is intelligible? The rule of thumb is to keep it simple.

We will go into many aspects of audio in later posts but right now here are a few tips. First, amplified sound should sound like the person or instrument it amplifies, nothing more. Second, make sure that you use quality equipment. When sound is concerned, there is a difference when it comes to microphones, amplifiers, and speakers. Third, keep the mix simple. Don’t get too many microphones and instruments into your mix until you know how to get a couple of microphones and a piano sound good.

So let’s cover the first three tips for audio in worship. Amplified sound should sound like the person or instrument it amplifies. The sound heard through your speakers should sound just like you were standing next to the person you are listening to. There are many aspects of electronic sound that can change the way a person is represented through a sound system. Try your best to listen, really listen to what is coming through your system. Use the equalizer on the channel of the mixer. Ask yourself, “Does this sound like a cheap, transistor radio or more like someone talking through a pillow?” If it sounds like a transistor radio, then add some lower range frequency on the equalizer of the channel. If it sounds muffled, like someone is talking through a pillow, then add some high frequency into the channel through the equalizer. One good way to work on your adjusting eq is to listen to a CD that you are very familiar with, preferably something with good high and low frequency. Play it through your system and then turn the high frequency knob on the eq. How does it make it sound? Make some adjustments so that the high frequencies are clear and crisp but not harsh. Next thing is to work on the low frequency. Adjust the knob so that the lows are rich and broad. Turn it one direction and then the other. Which sounds better? Lastly, work on the mid range eq. Are the vocals intelligible? Turn the knob until you can clearly understand the vocals.

The second tip is a variation on the old adage, “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” Cheap equipment, Garbage out, If you use cheap equipment, you get a cheap sound. Now, I am not saying buy the most expensive things. I am simply saying that Radio Shack is not the place to purchase your microphones, cables or amplifiers. Radio Shack is the fine to buy RCA cables, simple adaptors, battery testers, etc. The best thing to do is stay with the basics. Shure microphones, especially the industry standard, SM58 and SM57, are the workhorses of this industry. They are relatively inexpensive, about $100 each. Audio-Technica is another brand of microphone that is a little bit cheaper than the Shure microphones and will provide a comparable sound. Amplifiers and speakers are best kept to the major manufacturers. QSC, Crown, Crest, EV are a few of the solid choices in amplifiers while EAW, Meyer Sound, TurboSound are the Cadillacs of speakers,

The third tip is the KISS method. Keep it super simple. Ok, that isn’t the way it’s said but I am being polite. Keep the mix simple until your ability is able to handle a complex mix. Try mixing a pair of microphones, a piano, drums, and a guitar. Once you are able to work with that, add in another instrument, maybe a bass guitar or keyboard and a couple more vocal microphones. Keep the mix clean. Blend all the instruments as one including the voice. Keep working at it and you will improve.

Well, that’s it for today. We will cover other things like how to run a sound check or “monitors: when is it too much?” Keep sending questions that you may have regarding any use of technology.

Face it. We’ve all been there. Nice peaceful Sunday morning worship service, nice hymns, good message and then its time for the Offertory and the guest soloist who you can’t hear because the sound track they are singing with is way too loud or maybe in your situation all you hear is the vocals because the music is way too soft.
Either way this all could have been taken care of with two simple words. Sound Check.
No one expects the use of technology in church to be a full-fledged Broadway Production but the impression left on the congregation when the technology appears to fail is so critical to the success of future attempts to integrate technology.

Regardless of whether you are using audio, video or media via a computer, the Sound Check is the most important part of the preperation stage of the process. If it fails in Sound Check it WILL fail in the service, if it needs to be tweaked in Sound Check you will now have that opportunity. The guest vocalist doesn’t have to sing the entire song, they may want to though, but at least enough to set and note the appropriate levels for both the microphone and the music. If the audio of a video clip or a computer media file is too low the entire pint of the clip will be missed in the illustration point in which it is being used. The Sound Check will allow those levels to be set as well.

Now time for the disclaimer, just because you go through Sound Check doesn’t mean everything will run perfect every time. But it does give you a chance at a head start on how to resolve what issues arise and recover because you already tested the process earlier.

In the next installment we’ll talk about Timing and how important it is on so many levels.