by Adam Fisher
I love to visit new churches:
new to me anyway.
As an in-demand player
in the upstate SC
area, I spend a lot of
time at different
churches and ministries.
Each one has strengths
and weaknesses. The one
major factor that
spreads like the plague:
poor quality in
the worship service.
If you are the creative
director of a church
or the sound or lighting
tech, there are
a few easy and inexpensive
things you can
do to fight this epidemic.
Let's look at
some common things to fix
with your sound
board.
Get rid of reverb and delays
- they should
only be used sparingly.
I recently visited
a local church plant (we'll
call it Church
A) and was shocked at the
poor quality of
the service. The vocals
at Church A were
dripping wet in reverb.
You could barely
hear the worship leader
talk, let alone sing.
The reverb was also soaking
the electric
and the acoustic guitars.
If you are going
to use reverb or delay,
start with only a
little on the vocals and
make sure to turn
the effects off when the
music stops. Church
A left the booming reverb
on for the announcements
and the speaker sounded
like he was in a
baseball stadium.
For a cleaner mix, cut
out the bass frequencies
of all instruments and
vocals except the
bass guitar and kick drum.
Many sound boards
have a "low-cut"
switch that eliminates
all frequencies below 100Hz
or 75Hz. If you
have it, use it! By cleaning
up your mix,
everything will magically
sound clearer and
less muddy. Also, vocals
typically need a
little highs and mids boosted
so they can
"cut through"
the mix. Adjusting
the EQ is sometimes more
effective than just
pushing the volume slider
up.
Let's also look at your
lighting setup. Let
there be "focused"
light - the
everything-bright-look
should be saved for
your local grocery store.
When your congregation
worships, don't let them
feel out in the
open. Church A had the
window blinds wide
open and bright light filled
the entire room.
I've not felt that exposed
and uncomfortable
in awhile. A simple solution
is to close
the blinds and install
a few gooseneck lamps
on the ceiling with dimmers
and point them
at the stage. A dimmer
congregation and brighter
stage helps focus attention
forward and creates
a sense of warmth in the
worship service.
You may want to install
floor lamps or hang
some other lamps from the
ceiling pointing
at the walls to give the
room more ambient
light. Dimmers give the
ability to raise
the lighting level during
the sermon.
Lastly, avoid fluorescent
lighting! These
lights have a cold and
harsh color. I prefer
incandescent lights - they
provide a very
warm and natural tone.
Try these simple tips to
improve the mood
and ambiance of your service.
>Adam Fisher's new website
helps home
recording hobbyists:
http://www.homerecordinghowto.com
http://www.adamlaynefisher.com
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