Whether you're a church audio engineer—Broadcast, Front of House, professional, or volunteer—this article is for you. I know my content occasionally stirs up controversy; after all, I’m just one voice sharing my experience. Disagreement is fine, but here’s one thing...
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...
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...
Recently I polled a number of church production forums with the question: Who uses the scene function on your digital audio consoles, versus those who mix their entire service manually? For the uninitiated, scenes, (also called snapshots by some manufacturers) are...
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...
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...
I love it when great technology becomes accessible to almost everyone. Such is the case with In-Ear-Monitor systems, commonly referred to as IEMs. Thanks to technical innovation and market competition, even churches with extremely modest budgets can take advantage of...
In our previous feature “The Ethics of Pre-recorded Tracks in Worship” we discussed why you should examine the use of backing tracks and the potential effects on your team and overall worship presentation. I am grateful for the many responses from a variety of sizes...
When considering what makes a great church audio engineer for your team, what qualities are most important? Everybody loves a good snare sound. Showing up early and prepared is always good. Mixing for First-Baptist “Mega-town” looks nice on a resume. Formally...
There was a time when being exposed for using backing tracks in a live performance was a career ending event. In 1989 Milli Vanilli's hard-drive “skip heard around the world” became the source of industry and public ridicule. We didn't use the term “cancel” in the...
I have some exciting news to share: Due to the overwhelming response to this newsletter, starting this month we’ll be doing 2 issues each month! As always all of our content will be directly aimed at the audio aspects of producing your worship service. Thank you for...
The challenges drums create on the worship platform manifest themselves in multiple areas; sound quality, musical technique, stage space, the visual aspect, and most prominently, loudness. As someone who has been helping churches with audio for decades and a former...
One of my favorite things to do is train church audio people. Most of the time, it’s on the heels of a recent equipment upgrade — a new console, PA, or an entirely new system in a brand-new building. These are exciting times, and it’s a great time for a church to...
I would like to personally welcome everyone to Worship Facility's Audio Connections, a new monthly email newsletter dedicated to Church Audio. Our goal is to provide helpful content designed to maximize the impact of your audio ministry. We'll be digging into every...
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should", Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park. Just before Christmas of 2022, a video of a tech rehearsal at a large church circulated throughout the church AVL...
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 |