At this year's CFX 2024 Conference, I’ll be speaking about "How to Choose an AVL Integrator and Manage the Process." As a companion piece, I thought it would be good to share some thoughts on this forum. Having spent many years working within church AVL integration...
Over the last several years, there’s been a noticeable shift in the role of acoustic guitars in modern worship music. In many churches, the acoustic guitar has been sidelined or even muted entirely in the mix. This trend has even become the subject of jokes among some...
Church audio engineering is both an art and a science, requiring a blend of technical skill, musical intuition, and a deep understanding of the worship experience. However, the approach to managing this critical aspect of worship varies widely among churches. Some...
Over the years, I’ve worked with countless churches, and one trend that keeps catching my eye is the tendency to overcomplicate the audio mixing process. It’s all too easy to get swept up in the latest gear, shiny new plugins, and rigid methodologies promoted by...
As a follow-up to my previous feature, What Audio Engineers Need Drummers to Understand, I would be remiss if I didn’t address an even more important topic: vocals. As audio engineers, we obsess over creating great sounds – the perfect snare, full, wide mixes, just...
In my early days in the recording industry, we used a practice called the car-test. Simply put, to hear how your mix translated to the most likely listening environment, you’d make a copy of your mix (typically on cassette back then), pile into the Chevy Nova with the...
In the world of church AVL, it’s easy to turn to social media for quick answers and advice. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are full of enthusiastic tech directors and well-intentioned volunteers, eager to share their latest gear recommendations and DIY...
Most modern churches invest substantially in creating welcoming lobby or foyer environments. Spacious layouts, lots of seating options, coffee bars, or cafes are all designed to make guests and regular attenders feel at home. This has almost become the standard over...
“Old drummers never die, they just become audio engineers,that mix really loud.”-Anonymous. I grew up in an environment almost predestined to produce a musician with a passion for audio engineering and production. My mother was a self-taught musician with a beautiful...
For good or bad, audio engineers typically judge each other based on their drum sounds. It just comes with the territory. When I'm at an event I rarely think to myself, “Wow, that guy is really bringing the thunder with that mandolin tone.” If I find myself having to...
Not long ago, I had a conversation with a young church Tech Director. He said their auditorium had some audio issues, mostly dead spots in the coverage, so they scheduled a contractor to re-tune the PA and remedy the issue. This brief discussion reminded me that there...
Everyone knows as we age it's natural to lose some hearing. Those of us who rely on our ears for a living, or for our service to the church, think about this a lot once the mirror starts reflecting more salt than pepper. Like most audio engineers and musicians, I am...
When it comes to church PA systems there are several commonly used designs and multiple variations within those designs. Engineers and audio experts all have their individual preferences. As with so many issues we discuss here, there are always proponents of one side...
We've all experienced attending a group event when someone is taking photos. After the event when you see the pictures, what's the first thing you look for? Yourself, of course. We all want to feel good about our presence in photographs. Some want to blend in, others...
One of the first pastors I worked with used to say, “serving in church is a grind, and it's not for everybody”. As we recover from the post-Easter-hangover, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the grind and discuss how we can protect ourselves from two of...
Recently Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, announced that going forward they were only going to stream the teaching portion of their services. I respect their decision. I believe every church should be intentional with their use of technology as a reflection of...
If you've spent any time on social media lately, I'm sure you've seen lots of content created by worship musicians. Typically these are short clips with a POV camera showing the musicians doing their job. Sometimes we get a glimpse of their equipment, but for the most...
It's quite possible that the majority of complaints received by the modern church, that aren't directed specifically to the pastor, are about the audio presentation. They come in various forms, from the carefully crafted email, to the brief hand-written...
Considering all the things pastors and staff do regarding sermon preparation, I'm constantly surprised how little effort goes into making sure spoken-word content is presented well from the platform. While some churches meticulously manage every technical detail of...
In the course of working with church audio engineers for many years, I like to ask, “What's the one thing, aside from equipment upgrades, you want from leadership that you're not currently getting? The answer is almost always, "more time". Since the implementation of...
Many years ago, I was working with a church that hosted a large conference with some very high-profile guest speakers. Along with the team, we presented multiple worship sets in the main auditorium. We were organized and well-rehearsed, everything looked and sounded...
Subscribe to the Worship Audio newsletter
Interested in Worship Audio? Eager to learn? Subscribe to the only newsletter devoted to audio in the church. Written by audio pros working in the church, you will learn from the best.
Worship Audio is published twice per month.
| SUBSCRIBE NOW |