Small Church Sound

Hi all,

I haven’t posted in forever. So, I’m going to give it another shot and will try to stay consistent. My problem is that I am a perfectionist. I think that I have to have a video or picture to make the post sizzle. Instead what I need to do is make this website usable and fun. Therefore, if you get a video or picture consider it bonus material.

You know, I think sound engineers, volunteers, whatever are perfectionist too. We work so hard to have everything perfect: the right amount of drums and bass, all the compressors set properly, not too loud for the audience or congregation. Then someone on stage plays the song in the wrong key. We get so upset that we take them out of the mix for the rest of the day … yep, it’s ruined so let’s just quit. Ok, maybe it’s not that horrible but maybe we just need to be consistent with what we have and work on improving that stuff. That is what I am going to try to do. Over the next couple of posts, I’ll give you some insight to a new program I have been using called Software Audio Console (SAC).

A couple of my previous posts were about keeping the stage volume down. Just a couple of days ago a friend emailed me a link to an article about 5 reasons to turn the sound down in church. While I do think it is important to keep control on the volume, because as the author John G. Stackhouse Jr. points out, its not a rock concert it’s church, this article had some added perspective. Very interesting read — tell me what you think.

“Memo To Worship Bands”

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Lately I have been preparing for a two day outdoor event for the fourth of July here at Heartland. In the process I have had to look at some lighting solutions for the last few performances on both evenings. The fun part has been the limited budget that I am on. After doing some searching I became very interested in LED lighting. One of the main reasons was the potential color changing abilities of each light. Upon further research other great benefits have become apparent — low heat, low power consumption, and of course there are some fixtures with lower cost.

Chauvet LEDrain 64 – Low cost color changing

I quickly began to realize that these lights could become very beneficial to small churches who can’t afford a large electrical bill but still want to enhance their worship with simple lighting changes. They could also be very beneficial in churches where there is a high demand for lighting and effects in plays or dances. I won’t bore you in this blog with the details, I’ll do that at a later date. But think about the possibilities for your church as you review the following lights that I am currently looking at (when I get them I’ll review them for you), and the video below. Happy lighting!

We are looking at the Chauvet LEDrain 64 for front lighting and use as par cans because it can also produce white light. The Chauvet COLORpalette DMX LED Color Bank System looks like a great option for back lighting, color washes for back lighting, and wall washing and wall back lighting. Plus, they have some cool effects that may be usable in dances and plays. Finally, we are purchasing the Chauvet COLORstrip DMX LED Linear Wash Light as an effect light, but it is also a good wash light. You can get a look at it and the overall flexibility in the video below. Finally, here is some computer controlled software that we may purchase soon to control these LED lights, it is from Innovate Show Controls and is called Bluelight.

I had a suggestion given to me to write about how loud is too loud for monitors. So here is the other side of the stage so to speak. In my opinion monitors are one of the hardest things to control. The sound engineer wants to keep them as low as possible so that the front of house mix is true for what the congregation is hearing and everyone on stage has another idea of how loud it should be. I know this probably never happens in your church, you know you have just turned on everything got all the levels set and the mix sounding good and then the guitar player wants to turn his amp up. Consequently, the next song and a half in practice results in the drummer playing louder, the bass player wanting himself turned up in the monitor, the keyboard player breaking one of the weighted keys because they have to play that hard to hear themself, and the singings asking for more vocal in their monitor. Of course, by the end of the song you’ve turned the mains all the way down because the monitors are so loud it’s killing the congregation. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that bad but you get the idea, and I’m sure it has happened to you in some form.

So how loud is too loud? Well, that it the million dollar question. From a purely technical standpoint I would fall back on what ear damage standards are for decibel levels. By the way OSHA has a great chart here that shows these levels. Basically though, if your stage volume or one particular monitor is over 92-95 db it’s probably causing some damage to the musicians. If this is happening I would suggest humbly talking to your worship pastor or pastor about having a meeting with the worship team about how to reduce stage volume for everyone’s benefit. Of course, everything in the first article is a valid reason for also reducing monitor volume. Among these one of the best reasons to lower stage volume is for clarity. Sometimes in small churches the musicians are too close to the monitor and the majority of the sound is hitting the musicians knees because of how close they are, so they want it turned up more so they can hear better. Unfortunately, everyone else on stage can hear that monitor better than the person using it. Additionally, pushing that much sound through a monitor can cause it to become muddy and distorted. At times it would be better to provide a basic clear mix and challenge the musician to focus on there sound in the midst of the context of the music.

At this point you are probably saying to yourself easier said than done. My response is – yep, but unless you can afford a nice drum cage, or a good set of electric drums, and in-ear monitors for everyone you are stuck with some stage volume. In-ear monitors do bring up one last partial solution to stage volume. Currently my church is using a combination of an Aviom Personal Monitor System and Shure Wireless Personal Monitor System . These are very good starter products, particularly the Shure system because you can buy just the pack and use it wired and later add the wireless transmitter. By incorporating in-ear monitors it is possible to lower stage volume. Adding in-ears can be done over time as well, so don’t think you have to go all or none with them. Every little bit counts.

Use the comments to tell me what you think, don’t forget to subscribe to comments to stay up-to-date with this article, and click on the RSS feed to have new articles from my website notify you…..thoughts?

Sorry it took so long to get another post up. I have been very busy with some personal things like homework. Today I have a link up for my first gear review. The review is over a JBL Eon15 powered speaker. This speaker is great for travel, small portable systems, fellowship halls, or even for use as a floor wedge. Because it is powered there is no need for an amp. Take a look and enjoy!

Click the following links to see the JBL Eon15 Powered Cabinet and the matching JBL Eon518S 18″ Powered Subwoofer. Remember if you have any comments or questions, fill out the information and leave a comment I will approve it when I can. Happy mixing!

JBL EON15 G2 Powered Cabinet


JBL EON518S 500W 18″ Powered Subwoofer

This last Friday findingBethel was at Quincy Christian School for a chapel service. While we were there a couple of us had the chance to tour the church building. This however was no regular church building it was an old Catholic Cathedral. Grandview Church in Quincy had just bought the entire campus which includes the church, school, and a house. They have been taking this old cathedral and remodeling it to have a more contemporary worship service. Of course you can see the awesomeness of God as you look at how they have redone the sanctuary. The columns, stainglass windows, and woodwork are detailed and enormous. Sounds like God right? Anyway, soon our discussion moved to how complicated the sound was going to be in that room. Trust me, you could snap at one end and hear it echo through the sanctuary, even with the floor already being carpeted. My mind immediately went to one of the first questions that was asked to me when I opened this site. Are you going to put subwoofers in here? If there was ever a place where subwoofers wouldn’t be a great choice this would be it, but subwoofers are going in.

Grandview 'Cathedral' – Simply Awesome

An ongoing discussion is when should subwoofers be put in a church. Is it dependent on the size of room? Does it depend on the worship team, or style of worship? Does it depend on who complains? Or does it depend on room acoustics? There are definitely a number of things to consider and issues to solve. Regardless of the issues it is my opinion that you can and should use subwoofers in any church setting. Let’s look at the arguements.

1. We worship in a small room, won’t the subwoofers be over-powering? My answer to this is, yeah they can be but they don’t have to be. Here’s what I mean, one of the great advantages to using subwoofer is that it gives the ability to hear the full range of frequencies being produced by the worship team. This supports the dynamics and flow of the music in worship by enhancing the sound being produced. Just because you have subwoofers doesn’t mean you have to break the glass in the entry way with them. Make them support and match the rest of the sound spectrum. This can be done regardless of room size. An additional argument here is that the actual cabinets are too big and bulky for a small room. Well, technology has developed some nice compact subwoofers that are physically small with good sound.

2. Does it depend on the style of worship? Ok, so the real answer is probably yes. If you don’t use bass, drums, or electric guitar you can probably hear everything without subwoofers. But, most engineers reading this are looking to improve their sound and one of the best ways to put a little more life in the worship music and shine on the overall sound is to have a little bit of air moving from the subwoofers.

3. What about people in the congregation who complain? Oh yeah, this one is difficult. The way to solve this problem is a lot of conversation, patience, and understanding. Researching information and listening are key in persuading people to try new things. But if you choose an appropriate size subwoofer and try not to make the first worship service a rock concert with it, people will get use to it. The may even end up liking it.

4. What about when our sanctuary is already pretty boomy and echoes a lot? Acoutsic room treatment. While this is a whole other discussion, room treatments will help tone the room down and make not just subwoofers usable, but the whole sound system sound tighter. This does cost a little bit more due to materials for the treatment but still improves the system.

When thinking about subwoofers the thing to remember is that a solid, tight bass response is what a sound engineer is looking for. Its not just about volume, its about the richness and clarity of the sound. However, they can help us worship God just a little louder.

For the last couple of days I have thought about some of my high school days. I can’t really tell you why, maybe just reconnecting with old friends through the massive internet. Anyway, my thoughts often end up centered around playing basketball for my high school, good times. Those days were a blast but one thing always got to me, my junior and senior years I hardly ever played. Even today I ask myself why did I play on the team? Why did I go to all those practices, work my tail off, and then sit at the end of the bench where no one could see me? At times it was easy to think that I wasn’t really part of the team or even needed.

LNE Varsity Basketball – State Champs '96

Running sound in church is much the same way. As a sound person I was usually required to be the first person there to turn everything on, set gear up, and troubleshoot any problems. Then the worship team would come in and lead the church in worship while I sat unnoticed unless there was major feedback, of course. It’s true the often sound people aren’t thanked for the hard work and commitment they give to the worship team. But, the time and effort is necessary to allow the worship team to do their part with excellence. Just like I had to realize that I was an important part of the basketball team, part of the secret of being a sound person is to recognize you are an important part of the worship team. We should be working towards the same goal as the people on stage, leading people in worshiping God.

That’s the conclusion I had when thinking about all the hard work I put into basketball. If I had not been faithful to practice as hard as I could, if I had not been committed to be a part of the team regardless of how much recognition or playing time I got, no matter how much sacrifice and serving I had to do, my goal was to help the team be better. How does that happen? Well, as a soundperson do whatever it takes to serve the worship team, if that means adjusting monitors or being a little early to change guitar strings then do it happily. If your not a soundperson then go out of your way to make the soundperson feel appreciated and part of the team. 

Just some thoughts from the ‘glory days’ of high school basketball……….thoughts?