A few years ago, I attended a play in our town's brand new multi-million dollar high school.  Walking into the auditorium, I was thrilled at the beauty of the room.  I knew the audio electronics were all new and that this play was going to SOUND great.  Boy was I wrong.  read more »

The Shure SM58 Microphone is a sturdy, well-made, and might I add excellent, dynamic microphone.  I've used the SM58 for years as both a vocal microphone as well as an instrumental mic (in instances where it's preferred over a condenser).  The sm58 has held up wonderfully and given the quality of sound that I desired.  read more »

The djembe (a type of drum) is a great musical instrument that blends well into the church worship setting.  However, microphone placement for the djembe is not a hard and fast rule.  Here are the guidelines you can use for providing the best amplification.  read more »

I recently received a message from a reader concerning a statement I made.  I stated dynamic microphones are preferred to condensers for live vocals because, in part, dynamic microphones can withstand high sound pressure levels without damage or distortion.  My reader disagreed with me.  read more »

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 »

Check out the post of Basic Mic'ing Techniques for Piano from ChurchAudio.

I'm finding some worship team pianist's like to play a regular piano instead of an electric such as the Clavinova.  While a baby grand does have a great sound, toss in a guitar, some drums, and a whole congregation singing, then you see why you need to mic the piano.  JB shows in his article that it usually takes more than one microphone.

This sound engineer covers a lot of material regarding types of microphones, microphone placement, eq, etc.   read more »

Here's a free ebook from the Shure microphone makers.  This covers microphone usage in a live environment.

A microphone stand is a key piece of equipment for a worship team.  Even the use of a standing microphone for a guest speaker makes the stand itself very valuable.  Dispite the low cost, it's an important piece of equipment.  But aren't they all the same?

 read more »