
Learn how you can handle the thorn of house volume.
Photo provided by Miskatonic
If ever there was a thorn in the side of a sound tech, it would be one labeled VOLUME. A couple of days ago, I talked about balancing the stage volume with house volume. But that’s not the volume thorn I’m discussing. I’m talking about the right house volume level.
My favorite volume story comes from a sound tech working a concert. A person came up to the sound booth and said “it’s too loud” and another person walked up after them and said “it’s not loud enough.” He looked at both of the people and said, “You two talk it over and let me know what you want me to do.” Funny story but it really describes the nature of setting the proper house volume.
When It All Goes Horribly Wrong
The church environment, like any organization, has people who can determine the right volume level. For example, if the pastor says, “it’s too loud,” then you turn it down. This seems all well and good but then it happens. Someone in power gets the wrong idea about the right volume level.
I received an email, this week, from a tech who wrote “the church board believes more volume means better worship.”
Really?
It’s that simple?
Ok, how about I crank the volume to 120 dBa for every song. Oh, you want it “as loud as it can go?” NO! SETTING THE RIGHT VOLUME IS NOT THAT EASY!
Setting the right volume comes down to three things;
- Hearing safety
- The needs of the congregation
- Mixing to match the volume
1. Hearing Safety
Let’s get this one out of the way. You must provide a safe volume level so as not create permanent or temporary hearing loss. This doesn’t mean you can’t “mix loud.” It means you shouldn’t rattle teeth.
One problem with mixing on the louder side is when people bring up the OSHA’s (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) hearing level safety chart as a means of saying it’s too loud. You can see it here about half way down the page as “TABLE G-16 – PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURES.”
This chart lists the limits for sound levels over a period of time. I have actually had this conversation with a congregation member who contacted me, through this site, regarding their church, “I bought a sound meter and watched it during the worship time. They exceeded the OSHA numbers.” At this point, I asked them the question, “did you use A or C-weighting.” I didn’t mind having the conversation with them about their church’s sound, but I did want to make sure they weren’t comparing apples to oranges.
The problem with the OHSA chart and using it for comparison of live audio production is that the OSHA chart is based on constant noise as one would find in a manufacturing facility with constantly running machinery. For example, when their chart shows a limit of 2 hours for 100 dBa, they are talking about a constant noise for two hours. Worship sets aren’t apt to run for two hours and they aren’t going to be that loud the whole time. Therefore, don’t worry too much about the chart. Common sense should tell you went it’s too loud. You should also consider…
2. The needs of the congregation
The best way to set the volume level is by basing it on the number of people singing, standing, raising their hands in praise, whatever your congregation tends to do that shows they are fully engaged in worship. So let’s talk practical application. Consider this three step process for meeting the needs of the congregation regarding volume level;
- Set the volume during the sound check based on what you think is right.
- Once the service starts and the worship band starts, look at the congregation and slowly raise the master fader volume. At some point, you’ll see more or less people fully engaged in worship. Slightly raise and lower that fader until you find the right level. The more stoic the congregation, the harder this can be.
- Once you find that ideal volume, check to see what is it using a dB meter. The next time you run sound for a service, do steps 1 and 2 again and check again with the meter. You’ll find a few things happen from one service to the next and from one song to the next. First, your average dB levels will vary slightly from service to service and that’s ok. It means you are meeting the needs of the congregation for each particular service. Second, you’ll find that a soft song might sound better at a lower volume than a higher one.
Let’s talk real numbers. I won’t recommend volume level because it all depends on your room and the congregation. For example, in one church, I ran the worship sets around 86 dBa(slow). At the church I’m at now, I run around 94 dBa(slow). I know guys that run their worship sets around 104 dBa(slow). 86 dB to 104 dB is a huge difference. It’s a matter of what sounds right in the room and how the congregation reacts. All that to say you have to use your ears. You have to watch the people.
Mixing to Match Volume
Mixing music isn’t as simple as dialing in the mix and leaving everything alone. Not only do you have mix changes required from one song to the next, the volume of the song affects your mixing. This can be heard in the high-end and low-end sounds. As soon as you lower the overall volume of the band, the first thing you’ll notice is the highs and lows seem to have significantly dropped off. Therefore, when you are suddenly mixing a slow song that would benefit from a lower volume, listen to where you highs and lows have gone. You’ll likely have to boost instruments and vocals in those areas. You might find that a little EQ work in those areas is also helpful.
A Caution on Volume Creep
I must caution you on volume creep. If you have a rockin’ worship set, it’s easy to boost the volume. This can happen for two reasons;
- It rocks! You naturally want to ROCK IT like when you turn up the radio when a good song comes on. I’m guilty of this one.
- Temporary threshold shift. This happens when your ears get used to the loud volume and it registers differently. The same loud volume no longer sounds loud.
Boosting volume for effect is a valid use of volume boosting but don’t let yourself get tricked into boosting the volume because you suddenly think it needs it.
The Take Away
I’ve seen it all when it comes to the volume wars. I’ve seen techs have to debate about decibel numbers. I’ve seen it get ugly. “I want it louder.” “I want it softer.” Everyone from the congregation members to the sound techs to the musicians to the pastors has an opinion.
Focus your volume control in the areas of hearing safety, needs of the congregation, and mixing to match the volume. It’s through these areas that you’ll find the right volume for the congregation.
[As a side note, if you are in a situation where you have a volume cap that you’re not to exceed and you feel it’s too low of a volume, ask for a one or two-service reprieve. Use the above information for volume control during those services. Then see how the congregation responds during the service and what comments they make after the service. You might get that volume limit lifted.
If you are in a situation where you are told to run it louder, then bring a member of the church board into the booth during the service and explain how volume is driven by safety and congregational response. Let them watch you as you work.]
Check out this detailed article so you can find the perfect volume for your church:
I’ve been following your column for a few years now, and I’m glad you addressed this perennial problem. Although there will always be those who question your volume setting, they may give reasons if asked. First, I ask them (and the pastor), “Is the worship service a concert or a meeting?” If a concert (a la rock concert), then crank it and pass out the earplugs. If it’s a meeting, don’t we want to hear what others have to say—that is, don’t we want to hear the congregation singing with us? Are we listening to a band perform, or are we being led to raise our own voices in worshipful song? If the congregation’s function is to just raise hands and sway with the beat, then set the volume accordingly. But then the worship leader’s opener—“Let’s worship together. . .” is a little misleading. Your pastor may say, “The concert brings them in; then we hit ’em with the gospel,” or maybe not, but you need to have that conversation before you set a policy for loudness.
Hi Chris
Just a quick question. I started being technical intern at a church that i just started working at (about 2000 seater). And i have had some difficulty getting used to the system on the way it sounds. The normal Hi&Mid tops runs through the stereo fader and the subs runs through the mono fader also through the through the driverack. Only the kick, bass, are run through the subs. which sounds awesome, but the rest of the band and vocals lacks presence and warmth.
I could be wrong but it seems like the crossover frequency has been set more than 100Hz on the driverack. The reason for me saying this is that when sending a track (CD) trough the stereo and mono fader and then dropping just the stereo fader you still hear the track coming through the subs.
I tried running a vocal mic through the mono fader and then doing a good EQ. The sound i got out the PA was astonishingly better, i had a low cut fader on cutting out the lows to not make the vocal sound like a bass guitar.
My question is what sound i do about this? Should i run vocals and keys through the subs? Or should i run the subs on the stereo fader as well? I am not one for bass, but i would like the PA to have more presence and warmth.
Kind regards
Anri, there are a few things here to be addressed. First, the kick and bass need to also be run through the mains. The crossover will cut out the lows but you’ll find there’s quite a bit of definition in the higher frequencies:
https://www.behindthemixer.com/art-bass-eq-using-eight-key-frequency-ranges/
Next, the crossover has to be paired with what the speakers and subs can handle. Check out the manual for the loudspeakers for the crossover point.
The way it should be set up is everything is routed together, going to the crossover, and then out to the respect speakers/sub. You can also route (how depends on the setup), the kick and bass to a group so you can boost only those together (for easier mixing). Also, have a fader just for the subs.
The result is all frequencies are distributed to the proper place via the crossover and you can boost the subs or the low end instruments as desired.
I’d do that before doing anything else. If your other stuff doesn’t sound good, look at the house EQ which could be off. If you need more help, make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter so you can get the link to join our popular facebook group.
Great piece of advise. The theme is so familiar in most churches. I think you got the main points.
Now for every individual church to twig the optimal mix for clarity in different settings.
Thanks Chris ! God bless you !
Good stuff //A Sound Tech’s Thorn in the Side: House Volume Level – http://t.co/JqirZELN via @behindthemixer
A Sound Tech’s Thorn in the Side: House Volume Level – http://t.co/BkCW3MED via @behindthemixer
Good advice Chris. From our experience in our church we have found that good things start to happen around 90dba and bad things (multiple complaints) start to happen around 98dba. YMMV
I strongly recommend having volume discussions early and often with both the head pastor and key worship leader to build trust with them and so everyone is working as a team and is on the same page. If they trust your judgement, they will back you in a storm.
Cajundaddy, “If they trust your judgement, they will back you in a storm.” Wow, that’s great advice for all areas of life.