An accordion player, a banjo player, and a trombone player finally got a paying gig at a small bar on New Year’s Eve. To everyone’s surprise, the trio was a hit! The crowd loved the show, and at the end of the night, the pub owner said, “We’d love to book you again for next year.” The band leader replied, “Awesome! Can we leave our stuff here?”
Now, you might not be doing unplugged worship sets every Sunday, but when you do, there’s that same sense of wanting to keep things easy and stripped down. The reality, though, is that unplugged sets—like leaving gear at a bar for a year—aren’t quite as simple as they seem. So, how do we get it right?
The “Unplugged” Illusion
Over the years, I’ve often heard well-meaning church leaders suggest an unplugged worship set as a way to “simplify” things. They’ll say, “Let’s keep it simple—just a few acoustic guitars, some hand percussion, maybe a cello, some woodwinds, and a grand piano,” and so on. The expectation is that this stripped-down approach will be easier to execute than the standard full band. But what many discover (and what I learned long ago) is that producing an unplugged worship set can actually be more work than a typical Sunday band.
Switching from a full-band setup to an acoustic one is not a simple one-to-one exchange of instruments. The entire mindset of the audio and mixing team shifts, and each musician has to adopt a different approach to achieve a cohesive, balanced sound.
Adapting Musically
Let’s start with the guitars. Acoustic and electric guitars have very different personalities. An electric guitar has sustain—it can carry a note in a way that just doesn’t happen with an acoustic guitar. This sustain allows for long, drawn-out lead lines that fill up space in a full-band mix. Switch to an acoustic, and the dynamics change. Without that sustain, every note played has to be intentional, and there’s less room for lingering. Acoustic guitarists have to think about rhythm, groove, and even silence as much as melody.
Similarly, keyboards and acoustic pianos bring different challenges. The vast array of sound patches on a keyboard can be powerful tools in a full-band setup, but on an acoustic piano, you’re limited to the raw tones of the instrument. Every chord, every arpeggio has a depth and resonance that can fill a room beautifully—but only if played with careful precision. It’s no longer about playing to fill up sound space; it’s about strategically using the space that’s naturally there.
Handling Drums: The Cajon Takeover
Ah, the drums. Many years ago, it seemed like every church’s acoustic solution was the djembe. If I had a dollar for every time I watched a drummer struggle to make this hand drum fit into an acoustic set, I’d be a rich man. Most drummers aren’t trained on hand percussion, and asking them to swap their drum kit for a djembe often set them up for failure. Thankfully, many churches have since shelved the djembe and brought out the cajon, which can mimic a full drum kit when played right.
But while the cajon can work, it’s still a challenge for the drummer. They’re sacrificing the control and finesse of a standard kit. In my experience, the best solution for an “unplugged” set is to use a scaled-down or hybrid drum kit that resembles the feel of a traditional setup. These hybrid kits offer a natural acoustic appearance, lower output volumes, and can add much-needed dynamics without overwhelming the mix.
Don’t Ditch the Kick
From an audio perspective, one thing often overlooked in acoustic sets is the lack of foundational sound in the mix. The kick drum provides energy and drive in worship music. Without it, an unplugged set can feel like it’s missing something vital. Using a smaller kick drum or relying on the bass tone from the inside of a cajon can help bring that energy back.
Once, I worked with a church that wanted to go fully acoustic—no drum kit, no kick, just some basic hand percussion. The sound was anemic, and the room felt flat. After adding a small kick drum, the whole environment shifted. Suddenly, there was life and movement, a sense of pulse and rhythm that engaged the congregation. If your congregation is accustomed to a full-band sound, don’t be afraid to keep some form of kick in the mix. Remember, you can create a sound that is both intimate and big.
Bass Matters
An unplugged set without bass might work, but it’s a risk. The bass guitar (even swapped out for an upright or acoustic bass) provides grounding and texture. Without it, the mix can lose its depth, and you may end up with an anemic sound that just doesn’t resonate with your audience. Plugging in an acoustic or stand-up bass with a pickup still counts as “acoustic,” and it helps hold the bottom end. This keeps things balanced and ensures the mix isn’t floating up in the thin air without any anchor.
If percussion and bass aren’t part of the set at all, consider reassigning the lower frequencies. For example, in a full-band setup, I typically don’t let the piano dip into the low frequencies because it would interfere with the bass guitar and kick drum. But when the kick and bass are gone, opening up the low end of the piano can fill in those gaps. The same goes for acoustic guitars, allowing them to dip a little lower to create a richer, more full-bodied sound.
The Click Conundrum
Now, let’s talk about the click track. A staple in most modern worship sets, the click keeps everyone tight and on time. But when you shift to an unplugged set, the role of the click gets a bit trickier. There’s often an assumption that since the set is “unplugged,” the click isn’t necessary. But here’s the catch: with fewer instruments filling out the sound, timing mistakes become even more noticeable. Without a click, many musicians also have a natural tendency to slow down during softer, slower songs, running the risk of turning a song into a funeral dirge.
An unplugged set demands a level of musical precision that you don’t always need in a full-band setup. Without additional sound layers, every beat and note stands fully exposed. Here, the click can serve as a subtle safety net, especially if rehearsal time is limited or if musicians aren’t used to playing unplugged. However, the click volume and feel may need adjusting—keep it light and subtle, just enough to guide without feeling rigid. Depending on the tempo, consider setting the click to quarter notes rather than eighths or choosing a less busy subdivision to allow for natural variations in performance. A light click can give musicians the freedom to breathe while keeping the set unified and flowing.
Believe it or not, an intimate unplugged worship experience can be quickly ruined by click and guide bleed from singers’ in-ear monitors. In softer songs, the stage will be unusually quiet, and vocal mics can easily pick up bleed from a singer’s IEMs—especially in the broadcast mix. This often results from a common offense I’ve addressed before: a singer using only one IEM, while the other dangles fashionably, Bono-style, on their chest with a loud click well within pickup range of the vocal mic.
I’ve written previously on IEMs for churches and why using only one IEM is a bad idea, but here’s a quick fix if a singer insists on going with one: ask them to drop the unused IEM over their shoulder onto their back, keeping it out of range of any vocal mics. It’s a simple adjustment that can go a long way in preserving the purity of your unplugged mix.
Vocal Arrangement and Intimacy
Vocals play a key role in the unplugged worship experience, requiring a different approach than with a full band. In a standard setup, vocalists may sing with the safety net of a full-band arrangement. But in an acoustic setting, every note, breath, and harmony is exposed, requiring a more careful approach.
When vocalists go unplugged, there’s no room for overpowering or over-singing. The goal is to create a blend where each voice can be heard distinctly but harmoniously. Achieving this can mean a lot more work for the audio engineer, as well as the singers, who might need additional rehearsal to understand how to blend softly without losing dynamics.
A Delicate Balance
To bring it all together, an “unplugged” worship set isn’t about stripping away the essentials; it’s about recreating them with a new feel. When you’re creating a smaller, acoustic-based sound, you’re not aiming to be quieter—you’re aiming to be more deliberate. Every instrument, every voice, and every note has to serve a purpose.
Producing an unplugged worship experience takes intention, planning, and a deep understanding of what each instrument brings to the table. It’s about crafting a mix that feels big in its presence but close in its intimacy. This might mean different mics, EQ settings, or levels than you’d use in a regular service, and it will definitely mean more pre-service sound checks and attention to detail—solidly busting the myth of its simplicity.
The beauty of an unplugged set lies in its rawness. Done well, it draws the congregation in, allowing them to feel the vulnerability and intimacy of worship on a new level. But getting it right takes more than just swapping instruments; it’s an art form that balances simplicity with intention, and intimacy with fullness. If you’re going unplugged, embrace it for what it is—a carefully crafted, intentional shift in your worship experience that invites people to engage with God in a way that feels both personal and powerful.
With Christmas around the corner, many churches may be planning an unplugged service—a chance to create something special, warm, and deeply engaging. An unplugged service might look simple, but as we’ve seen, it takes intention, preparation, and a little finesse to get it just right. When done well, it invites your congregation into a worship experience that’s both intimate and rich, celebrating the season with simplicity and depth. And who knows—if it’s a hit, maybe you’ll be ready to say, “Great! Let’s do it again next year—just don’t leave all the gear behind.”
I would love to hear how your church rises to the challenge of creating the unplugged experience. You can contact me at rcochran@worshipfacility.com.
Until then, don’t forget to listen!
