New Year's Resolutions: Getting a Better Mix

This is the time when everyone seems to be making plans and promises to do all the things they've been meaning to do and to stop all the things they've been meaning to stop. I'm sure that most of us in the church technical arts, particularly in the realm of audio, have a few New Year's resolutions of our own. At the top of many lists, including mine, is improving the mix. There always seems to be that elusive "perfect mix" where everything is tight and clear and in its place. If you're anything like me there are days when you walk away from a show and are just not quite satisfied with the end product. Well, here are a few things that I'm going to do this year to sharpen my skills

Listen carefully and analytically to a recording of the song(s) before rehearsal. Even if its a song you've done a hundred times, it never hurts to revisit a recording and listen carefully for the feel, how the instrumentation fits together, how the vocals blend, and maybe even where the solos are. If its a new song, then this exercise is indispensable. As I tell my volunteers, if you don't know what your aiming for, you won't know when you get there.

Experiment with new techniques. If there is a technique, feature, or effect you've never tried before, then try it out. If it doesn't work then fine, at least you know. But don't get stuck in a mixing rut. Try new routing, compressions, effects, panning, EQ, or even new snapshot uses (or scenes depending on your console). Personally, I'm going to experiment more with using the stereo plane to its fullest and work on tailoring vocals. Check out www.churchtecharts.org for some good tips on working in stereo.

Keep the big picture in mind. View the mix with the broad perspective of the audience. The average person doesn't walk away from a show humming the kick drum. (I must credit the great Robert Scovill with that one.) The point is, don't get bogged down in the intricacies of the individual instruments and loose sight of how the overall mix sounds. The bass may sound superb but if the people can't understand the vocals or are blown away by the lead guitar, no one will care. Focus more on EQing instruments and vocals to fit together well instead of EQing them to sound great by themselves. Check out this site for a helpful instrument frequency chart.

Lots of things can change in a year. I hope that my mix changes for the better by the time 2012 arrives, and I hope your's does too. It will just take a little bit of intentional effort.

5 Days Until Christmas Eve Services

Only five days left to prepare for that afternoon/evening of the year when churches have the largest crowds of the year (Easter may come in close). This can be a nerve racking service as well, when you start to think about all the people who will experience the Gospel message for the first time or experience your church for the first time. The desire to effectively and creatively communicate the most important message ever can understandably add to the stress of this already busy and hectic time of year. Those working in tech ministry are especially stretched, as we juggle Christmas productions, special outreach events, and special service days and times in addition to normal weekly duties. But, to put all this in perspective, this is one of the best opportunities we have all year to reach people for Christ. They are often open, they are coming to church for the first time since April, and they are often thinking about the meaning of the season.

So do put extra effort and creative work into your Christmas Eve productions. Do work on that special video or dramatic piece or extra stage element. But don't put so much faith in human efforts that you allow the details overwhelm the fact that God is the one who will bring all the elements together to work in hearts. I love for things to be perfect on the production and creative content end, so this is often hard for me. But we all have a great opportunity to be a part of what God is doing this Christmas season and I for one don't want to miss out because I was buried in worry over details.

TBC Lightshow Day 2

Today will be the second round of shows in the annual Topeka Bible Church Christmas Lightshow. The show runs 3 nights with 5 show per night. So far things have been amazingly smooth with almost no technical difficulties to speak of. Our musicians, parking lot crew, hospitality crew, and tech crew have been doing a great job. Unfortunately, the weather has turned chilly so tonight promises to be less pleasant than last night.

For those of you who may not know, the TBC Lightshow is a programmed Christmas light display that is synchronized with live musicians and narration that tells the Christmas story in an engaging and creative way. Click tracks, dedicated light programing volunteers, and careful timing are key in making the whole show work. A low-power FM transmitter sends the live mix to the cars in the parking lot drive-in movie style. This year we are expecting to have more than 5,000 people come to the show over the three nights.

Check out previous Lightshows on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFuEI8a50QM&feature=related

Thanksgiving services are here!

Tomorrow we role out our Thanksgiving services at TBC along with the start of our Christmas outreach campaign. By the way, the SC48 has been in operation for about two months now and worked flawlessly. Volunteers have loved the power and flexibility and are able to try out complex and advanced mixes more easily. One of the best features is, of course, the virtual sound check using ProTools. This is a great training and rehearsal tool. The routing flexibility also allows for us to accomplish some audio magic that we could never have done with our old Yamaha GA32/12.

Wiring up your stage the right way....It makes life easier

When you arrive at a stage set up and start pulling out gear, the temptation to just start plugging stuff in and tossing out lines is a big one. I'm sure you don't want to be there all day and I'm also sure that you want to do a great job. The trick is approaching the set up with a plan and with the understanding that there are right and wrong ways to wire up a stage. In the end, you and everyone else who has to use the gear will be happier if a little forethought goes into the set up. With that in mind, here are some basic guidelines for making life easier for you and the band, drama team, choir, pastor, and who ever else decides to trek across your stage.

First things first: Power. No one likes to show up to a gig and then have to spend 5 minutes hunting for a power drop and a place to plug it in. As you set up the stage, think through which musicians will need power (most do) and the most efficient way to deliver it. Typically you want to stick to an upstage power run and a downstage power run. For some groups you may not need a downstage drop but an upstage is a given. Make sure that all who need power, have it. Sound checks will go faster.

Next up is monitor cables. All of you who have gone to in ears get to skip this step, but I'm sure the case still arises where you have to throw out a wedge or two. The key is to keep cables out of the performance area, meaning the area between the drum riser and the front line of monitors. No one wants to be tripping on cables during a set. Start the cable run from the amps and end with the slack at the monitor. This allows the wedges to be moved if needed. Tuck the excess under the wedge or off stage if possible. Do not leave coils of cable laying next to wedges, its just not cool and looks bad.

When running mic lines and other signal cable, similar guidelines apply. Keep cables out of the performance area if at all possible and start your run at the snake or mic input box, not at that mic, amp, or keyboard. This ensures that the excess will be near the sound source if any rearranging or moving needs to occur. The excess cable must be NEATLY COILED IN A SMALL ROLL (this is important to a clean stage set up) at the sound source. Not piled or thrown or wadded! Also, please take the time to work out kinks, knots, or coils that may have snuck into cable, don't just lay it out in a mess. It's just not professional.

A few final tips:

-Wrap mic cable around mic stands to keep it looking neat.

-Keep all Velcro ties at the MALE end of the cable. No one wants to look at a little black strip of Velcro by the lead singer's face all night.

-Clean, straight cable runs are key. Run as many cables as you can together. It looks cleaner than having a dozen cables running all over the place.

-Keep power cables away from signal cables. Do not run them parallel to each other. If they have to cross, cross them at a 90 degree angle. This minimizes the potential for electrical interference in the sound signal from power cables.

-Hide DI boxes behind amps and risers and make sure that cable connections are not out in the open where they can be kicked, stepped on, or broken.

If you approach stage set ups with neatness in mind, you'll end up with a better end product and it will make tear down much easier. Trouble shooting and sound check are also much simpler if all cables are neatly arranged and organized. You'll feel great about your work, and all the other techs and musicians will be happier. Its just a win all around.