So what am I here for?
The sound engineer for a Church or Worship facility is a unique, diverse and challenging job. We are asked to do extraordinary things with minimal resources and all of the while graciously existing in the back of the room unknown to the majority until something goes wrong.
My favorite comment by our worship leader was during a conference at a mega church in Chicago years ago. This facility was amazing, had an unlimited tech budget and hosted the top names in contemporary Christian music. They were one of the first Churches to own a digital console and every part of the sound was amazing. We are sitting their listening to Nichole Nordeman and I get a whisper in my ear… “I want our piano to sound just like that and How are her vocals so clear?” I replied back something to the effect of “It’s our gear, we will never sound like that with our gear.” I was scolded and labeled a prude for being negative. The fact is that I was correct.
The flood of contemporary services has caught most churches off guard. The transition is tough. Turning the traditional Church Sanctuary into a “Worship Center” is a challenge both Architecturally and financially. The most prevalent problem exists in the church that turns to contemporary style to help the church survive. In this case, the resources are already depleted so new sound, light and video systems are out of the question. This causes the tech team to scramble to find adequate (cheap or outdated) gear to pull off a gargantuan task. “Didn’t we have a power amp in the basement closet? It worked when we last used it.” or “I don’t understand why we have to buy this wireless mic system when that one is several hundred dollars cheaper.” or “This mixing board is fine, we just won’t use the channels that buzz.” This type of attitude is warranted as we are charged with being good stewards of the Churches monies. However, nothing is more distracting that feedback, distortion or some other type of audio or related problem.
A church may spend thousands on a piano or organ but limit the budget when it comes to the front of house PA. This limits the talent of the sound engineer. I have always said that the mixing console is the instrument the sound guy is playing that given Sunday. Your expression and dynamics are no different that those of the piano player. A mix is not a constant thing. Baby sitting the board (set it and forget it) is like a guitarist playing the same chord on every measure of every song. The sound engineer should be trained and practice his/her instrument just like the violinist.