Behind The Mixer

The first part of knowing how to run church audio is knowing the equipment.  In the simpliest form, a person sings into a microphone.  The microphone then sends the audio signal to the sound system.  The sound is then processed and amplified and sent out to the speakers which then turns the audio signal into sound waves.  Therefore, there are input devices, processing devices, and output devices.  This article covers the types of input devices.  read more »

An acoustic guitar produces a wonderful range of sounds from warm bass tones to crisp high notes; a range of 70hz to 700hz.  Because guitars are made out of different types of wood, they can produce different overall sounds.  Some guitars have an overall warm sound, others are bright, and others might accentuate the midrange sounds.  How can you capture those sounds and amplify them?  read more »

When you hear a musical sound, let's say at 500 Hz, you are also hearing related sounds at 1 kHz, 1.5 kHz, 2.0 kHz and so on until the energy level of the frequency drops off.  Understanding harmonics will help you identify related frequencies and control your sound system's output accordingly.  Find out how...  read more »

You want better equipment?  Expect to hear some of these statements..."What's wrong with the equipment you have?  It's worked for all these years hasn't it?  Do we really need it?  It costs how much?  For that price, I think the church can live without it."  And my favorite..."ok, if you say it will help the church, then get it."

There are three steps in getting better equipment for your church.  read more »

When I first learned how to run a church sound system, the only thing I heard about phantom power was "the phantom power switch is right next to the power switch in the back of the mixer.  Make sure you turn on the power and not the phantom power."  Now, many years and a lot more microphones later, I know the reason behind the phantom power.  It's quite simple...  read more »

Mixing a worship team is more than just setting sound levels.  Mixing involves bringing out the particular frequencies in each voice and musicial instrument that, when combined together, present a high quality emotional sound.  A high quality sound means no low hums, no muddy sound, no high tinny sounds, and to better think of it, listen to a well eq'd classical music cd.  In classical music, there are so many unique instruments each with their own ranges and uniqueness.

Here is a simple 13-stage process to mixing;

Stage 1:  read more »

Could you EQ properly if your life depended on it?  I'm not talking perfect EQ'ing for CD quality recordings, I'm talking standard vocal and instrument EQ'ing that puts those sounds in the right ranges for a pleasant listening experience.  read more »

Gain, a.k.a. Trim, is a volume control for each channel of a mixing console.  The Gain knob controls the volume being input into the channel, not the amount of volume output through the channel.  Learn how to properly set these levels for better volume control.  read more »

Do you use headphones when you mix sound?  Many times, headphones are not used or used throughout the whole service.  Find out what works the best.  read more »

A simple 10 minute video on how to properly solder a RCA plug.  read more »