In a recent live stream review, we kept noticing the same issue pop up over and over again: ambience. Some churches had way too much of it in their mix, and others didn’t have nearly enough.
When I say ambience, I’m talking about the combination of reverb and room mics blended into your stream. It’s a subjective thing, but there is a point where it’s clearly too much or too little.
So in this post, I want to break down what to aim for and help you land in that sweet spot. See the video for audio examples throughout.
Before we get into how much ambience you actually need, let’s start with the basics: what reverbs to use, how to dial them in, and how to properly set up room mics.
If you want step-by-step training, our audio courses will walk you through all of this with confidence.
There are two types of reverb I recommend almost every church use: a plate and a hall.
See the video for an audio example of both.
To keep things simple, start by putting more plate than hall on your vocals. If you want to fine-tune it even more, try using heavier plate on the lead vocal and a bit more hall on background vocals.
The best way to dial in reverb is to turn it up until you notice it, and then back it down until it blends in. This approach usually gives you a mix that feels full without sounding swimmy or hollow.
This method works for both your room mix and your live stream. If your stream comes from a post-fader bus, dial in your verbs in the room first, then adjust how much of each reverb bus is being sent to the stream. You may find you need more or less depending on how dry the broadcast mix sounds.
If you want a solid starting point for your settings, check out the reverb cheat sheet linked in the description.
Room mics don’t have to be complicated. A simple and effective setup is placing them in line with your PA speakers and pointing them into the congregation. This captures both the room ambience and the congregation without pulling in too much direct sound from the stage.
Be sure to place a low-cut filter on these mics at around 300Hz. You don’t need anything below that in your stream mix.
When mixing room mics in, the same principle applies as with reverb: turn them up until you notice them, then dial them back until they blend. Ambient mics should be subtle. You really shouldn’t notice them until they’re muted. See the video for an audio example.
If you're getting started from scratch, check out our favorite budget ambient mics here.
Once you have reverb on everything and room mics mixed in, you’ll probably still need to do a bit of fine-tuning. Here’s what to listen for.
With too much reverb, vocals can lose clarity and start to sound hollow or unfocused. See the video for an audio example.
With too little reverb, the mix can feel overly dry and lifeless. See the video for an audio example.
For instruments that drive the rhythm like drums, acoustic guitar, and sometimes piano, be careful not to add so much reverb that they lose their punch. Too much reverb can make the band feel like they’re playing underwater, especially during faster songs. If the part is made up of short, fast notes, keep the verb minimal.
On the other hand, instruments that play long, ambient parts like swells or slow melodic lines can actually benefit from a little extra reverb. I love adding more verb to our electric guitar when he’s playing power chords, swells, or slower scales.
From there, have fun with it. Stay within these boundaries, but make it your own and tailor it to your church’s style. If you want your mix to feel more natural and subtle, keep the verbs low.
If you prefer a noticeable ambience, go ahead and push it a little, just make sure it doesn’t overshadow the mix or distract from your band’s actual playing.
