Audio, Tech, WTTU Special Public Post

Effective Audio 4 Worship (Show #127) 6-20-17

June 20, 2017

#Audio4Worship

2 min read | 30m Show

Effective Teams = Effective Worship

For the #WorshipLeader having effective sound helps engage the team for musical unity. For the #AudioEngineer producing effective audio engages the church for the unity of worship.1 Cor. 2.21 says: “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

This Biblical truth is no different from the effectiveness of getting the best in your team, to achieve the best result for the church.

Learn what it means to make effective results for those in worship and those leading worship.

6-20-17 WATCH SHOW #127!

Also Watch Live by:  FacebookLive or Periscope

Guest Worship Leader Michelle Ruiz

Questions:

1. Where do you lead worship?

2. Tell us about your worship and audio team?

3. What are some of the common challenges you face?

4. How does your audio team work as a unit?

5. How can both teams serve each other?

The Technical:

A Light At The End of the Tunnel Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misused parts of a sound system is the EQ.  If used correctly, the right EQ can make the sound pop, and give it that extra special sauce. It can just as easily, though, cause many, many problems if used incorrectly.

Equalizers, by their nature and name, are supposed to redress imbalances in a sound system. Unfortunately, equalizers, whether graphic, parametric, or shelving in nature, are only as good as the person using them. Knowing where to turn the knob or push the fader is usually a dark science, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Left Is Right

The first step in proper EQ technique is to realize the knobs go to the left better than they go to the right (or in the case of faders, down rather than up). In other words, reduction of energy is more beneficial than an increase in energy, due to the nature of live sound.

Live music in particular is awash in competing frequencies from melody and rhythm instruments in struggle with cascading voices emanating from the stage and the audience. Since human hearing is most sensitive to frequencies in the mid-band and most instruments produce a majority of their fundamental and initial order harmonics in the same region, there is too much energy localized between 250 Hz and 2.5 kHz.

Tubby, Honky and Boomy

Again, though, without knowing where to cut the energy levels, the cure will be worse than the disease. Here, then, are several descriptive words and the corresponding frequency most attuned to the problem area:

Tubby – 125 Hz is a common resonant frequency in church auditoriums. Stage rumble can be reduced by eliminating (-9 dB) the frequencies below 125 Hz on the graphic EQ assigned to the main stage monitors.

Boomy – 160 Hz is “fake bass,” a tone associated with a wimpy boom box trying to reproduce the solid fundamental tone of kick drum and bass guitar that occur at 80 Hz. Because an octave is a doubling or halving of frequency, boom-bass is an octave above real bass. Pulling out 5 dB at 160 Hz will clear up the rhythm section.

Muddy – 250 Hz is the most effective region to grab and reduce “masked” energy from the sound system. If you can do one thing, reduce 250 Hz by 3 dB.

Boxy – 400 Hz is the fundamental tone of most male and some female voices. Too much of it can trap the energy into a localized source without any ‘air” or ‘breadth.”

Honky – 800 Hz is the leading culprit behind exquisite grand pianos that sound like a cheap honky-tonk upright through the PA. The pianist will thank you for removing 4-6 dB in this region.

Nasal – 1000 Hz (1 kHz) is the nasty tone in some reproduced lyrical vocals as well as the tone that gives away a digital piano as an unreal instrument. Take out 3 dB and watch the reaction.

Vox Box – 2 kHz is the chosen pre-emphasized frequency for many stage grade vocal mics. While it allows the vocal to “cut through” the mix, too much of it can spoil a good thing. It’s already boosted in the mic; don’t add to it.

Fatigue – 3.5 kHz is the most sensitive region of the human hearing system. Unfortunately, many audio engineers have significant hearing loss around this zone, so they compensate with too much of too much. If your ears tire of the mix after 30 minutes, it’s time to pull back 4 dB here.

Sizzling – 5 kHz is a wonderfully definitive region, but too much on hi-hat and snare can reduce the audience to mush. Super cardioid condenser mics tend to emphasize 5 kHz and produce a “harsh” tonality. However, much more than a 3 dB cut risks losing the vocal articulation.

Zingers – 8 lHz is a necessary part of music, but it removes heads when it oscillates into feedback, so never add it, just subtract its decade differential at 800 Hz. In fact, any needed boost can usually be found by reducing the frequency ten times less or more than its value. To increase clarity at 4 kHz, reduce 400 Hz by 4 dB. To get the vocals to cut through at 2 kHz, remove energy at 200 Hz. For pounding kick drum at 60 Hz, reduce 600 Hz.

Recap

As with everything in audio, these tips are just a guideline. However, they have proven effective in hundreds of live concerts and thousands of worship services, so feel free to start turning, as long as it’s to the left.  

Kent Morris is noted for his church sound training abilities. He has more than 30 years of experience with A/V, has served as a front of house engineer for several noted performers and is a product development consultant for several leading audio manufacturers.

@KentMorris1 @BranonDempsey  @worshiptt

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