Complaints about church sound? Here’s how to handle it.
Mr. Opinionated is approaching the sound booth…again. Do you pretend like you can’t see him and walk away? Or, listen to his hundredth complaint about how loud it is and…
The Complete Guide to Audio Gating
I want you to imagine standing in front of a gate that leads to someone’s mansion and whispering, “Open, please”, but nothing happens. Then, you yell, “OPEN PLEASE”, and this…
5 Tips for Achieving Consistent Sound Every Week
Keeping sound at church consistent from week-to-week is tough. There are tons of variables that change every week – even temperature and humidity affect live sound. With everything changing, how…
The Key to Great Church Sound
When it comes to great sound, there is one thing that often gets overlooked – especially in churches. We run to the mixer to fix problems that arise while ignoring…
Top 3 Things All Church Sound Techs Should Know
So many of us got our start in audio by simply being a “warm body” that was willing to help. And what started as “just helping out” turned into a trial-by-fire…
The Complete Guide to Audio Compression
Audio compression allows you to limit the dynamic range of an input signal. If that went over your head, imagine the vast volume difference between a vocal singing softly versus…
A Better Way to Measure Loudness
If you have been in church for very long, you have heard numerous complaints about the sound being too loud. However, it seems a small percentage of people are doing…
How to Make Lead Vocals Sound Amazing
I have been in many church worship services where you can hardly hear the lead vocal. To tell you the truth, I have even led some of these services. There…
Mixing Live Drums: EQ, Compression & Gating
Drums (and bass guitar) are the foundation of a great mix. If the drums aren’t right, the mix lacks energy and loses its impact. With all the signal processing available…
Unexpected EQ for Better Bass Guitar
What’s the first thing to do when you want more of that big bass sound? “Boost the bass!” with a low shelf EQ filter. OK, don’t lie. We’ve all done…
EQ for Clean Backup Vocals
Backup vocals can add a lot of depth and strength to a worship team. But they can also muddy the mix if you’re not careful. The challenge often comes when…
EQ Tips for Keys, Pianos and Synthesizers
When it comes to EQ’ing keys, there is a big difference between what you will do for electronic keys/synthesizers and acoustic pianos. So, let’s go through both. Keys & Synthesizers…
3 Ways to Eliminate Feedback During Worship
So you find yourself in an intimate moment during worship, where song preferences, lighting effects, and out-of-tune vocals all seem to disappear, when all of a sudden, feedback (a.k.a ‘ringing…
Drums too loud at church? Try these weird drum sticks.
Like many other churches, we put our drummer behind a drum shield. We all wanted to set her free, but couldn’t bear the loudness of the drums. When my church…
How to Use a Matrix as a Crossover
If you have a digital mixer, you may be wondering, what is the best use of a matrix? An audio matrix should be used anytime you need to create a…
5 Tips for a Better In-Ear Mix
If you are new to in-ear monitors, chances are, they are not your favorite. It’s tough to get the mix just right and you often feel isolated from everyone else…
The Perfect Sound Check
Frustrated with sound checks? Are they taking too long? I am pretty sure that every worship team member has been fed up with sound check at some point, if not…
How to Achieve Great Sound in a Small Church
Achieving great sound in a small church is impossible, right? I mean, you have practically no budget and no one around with preexisting sound tech skills. I might have agreed…
How to Set Level on Amp (or Powered Speaker)
When setting up my first sound system, I vividly remember looking at the front of the amp, wondering why there was a level control, and then shrugging my shoulders and…
Where Each Instrument Fits in the Mix
As a sound tech at church, you not only have to possess a wide array of technical knowledge, but you also need an understanding of where each instrument fits in…