Contact Us - Services

#2 When deciding to using a regular wired microphone or a wireless microphone, ask yourself the following–“Will the person using the microphone need to move more than 20 feet?” If you answer yes, you may go ahead and use a wireless mic. If the person will NOT need to move, then, by all means, use a wired microphone. Wired mics are easier to work with and cost a whole lot less. As Mark Jenkins at Internally Sound says, “If it doesn’t move–plug it in! Go wireless by NECESSITY only–not for the coolness factor. Save yourself a lot of headaches and batteries and plug in all you can!” Top

#3 Always use windscreens on your vocal microphones. A windscreen is a special piece of foam that fits over the head of the microphone and prevents breath pops. Breath pops from popping P’s, booming B’s, and tingling T’s can be reduced. A windscreen also keeps your microphone clean. Can you imagine being a microphone and being within a few inches of someone’s mouth while they talk or sing?! Yuck! With a windscreen in place, all you have to do is take it off and clean it every once-in-a-while. When you buy your windscreens, consider getting several different colors so the sound operator can tell which mic is which from a distance. Top

#4 When do you set up the sound system for a service? The best time to set up depends on what’s required for the service. If only a few microphones are needed, you may be able to wait until an hour before the service starts. If your service includes lots of instruments and people singing or speaking, it would be wise to set up a day in advance. For example, if you have two services on Sunday morning, why not set up sometime Saturday–even Saturday night would be good. This allows you to set everything up and make sure it’s all working properly instead of running around Sunday morning trying to set up last minute. Worse, you’ll know the system works and won’t be running around trying to repair things right before the service! Coming in early or on another day requires more of a commitment, but it sure helps the service go smoother. Top

#5 Many churches are fortunate to have very talented musicians at their church. Every once-in-a-while one of these musicians will feel they need to play very loud to be heard. If the musician has control over their volume (a guitar or keyboard amplifier) things can really get out of hand. The sound system operator won’t be able to get a good mix if the musician has turned up their volume so high it is louder than everything else. Experience with this problem shows it’s a situation not easy to deal with. Asking the musician to turn their instrument down usually doesn’t work. It may go down for a while, but it always comes back up. Explain to the musician that you desire to make everything sound the best it can, and that they need to trust you to know what sounds best. As a second step, set up a microphone and a tape recorder in the middle of the sanctuary to record the service. Get together with the musician and listen to the tape together. (even better is a video camera!) This is usually pretty solid proof things need to be changed. Remember, you’re both on the same team–don’t fight back, work it out. If you can’t do it alone, involve your music minister or pastor. Top

#6 When you’re installing sound equipment, your first job is to ensure all the controls are easy to reach. For example, it’s best to have a tape recorder up at eye level rather than down by your knees. Just as important, you must keep a distance between CD players or digital effects units and wireless microphone receiver antennas. CD players and effects units send out signals that can play havoc with your wireless microphone systems(s). Buzzes and bleeps like this can easily be avoided if you remember to keep the devices several feet apart. Top

#7 Always, always, always do soundchecks! This can’t be stressed enough. It doesn’t matter if you use three microphones or thirty–make sure they work BEFORE the service starts. There’s nothing more distracting than a sound tech running up to the pastor during the service to change the battery in the wireless mic. Your pastor goes over his or her sermon notes, the musicians rehearse before the service...the sound team needs a chance to rehearse their part, too! If you don’t feel you have time for a rehearsal, don’t complain when the sound team misses cues or has other problems that could have been solved with a rehearsal. Top

#8 When setting up microphones for instruments, be sure the microphone, stand, and cable isn’t in the way of the instrumentalist. Mics too close to drum heads or cymbals tend to get hit. The stands you use to hold the mics for the string section may be in the way of their natural bow movement. Make sure no one can trip on the stands or cables either. When you set up mics on instruments, ask the player if it’s in the way–if it is, move it! They will appreciate your courtesy and concern. Top

#9 Do you have trouble trying to figure out which mic cables are 30 feet long and which are only 20 feet? Take some time to measure each cable and then use a permanent marker to write the length on the male connector. Even better, devise a color-code system and color code the male plugs so that each color represents a different length. (Make sure you label the male connector so the color or number isn’t seen on the platform!) Do the same with your monitor, speaker, and instrument cables, too! next time you need “just 15 feet more” you’ll know which cable to grab. Top

#10 How are your wireless lapel microphone’s stored? Do you just wrap the mic cable and antenna around the belt-pack and toss it in a drawer? I hope not! The most inexpensive storage method is to use a rubber/plastic box used to store sandwiches. Use a hot glue gun to attach some foam to the inside of the box and the inside of the lid. Make sure it’s just enough to hold the belt-pack so it doesn’t move, but not so much that it’s hard to close the container. Mark the belt-packs with letters or numbers, and mark the container, too. Handheld mics can be stored in larger containers, too. This method of storage keeps them dry and protected. Top

#11 Most mixers have some sort of equalization control on each input channel. These controls allow the operator to adjust the “tone” of the microphone or other input source. How do you adjust your controls? Do you just fiddle with them until it sounds right, or do you really know what those controls do and what you’re actually doing? The equalizer (tone) controls on individual channel inputs are there to give the operator the ability to make up for shortcomings of the specific microphone or person speaking (or singing). The controls shouldn’t be used to change the sound of a persons voice or instrument. The most common example is for people to turn up the low control to boost the bass on someone’s voice. This results in an unnatural sounding voice! Remember, the purpose of a sound reinforcement system is to reinforce the sound so that it’s just louder–yet still sounds natural. Normally, all of the equalization controls should be set flat (at zero, usually straight up). Take a moment to look at your mixer to see how your equalizer controls are set. If all of your channels show a cut or boost at one (or more) particular frequency, this is an indicator of other problems. Do you have a main system equalizer? If not, you should! If you do, maybe it’s adjusted wrong. Maybe your speakers are not right for the room, or they’re mounted in the wrong place. Maybe there’s some acoustical problems in the room. Whatever it is, it’s time to have someone take a look at your system and determine the trouble. Top

#12 So you’re running the sound board for the day–well, actually, you’re just sitting there listening to the pastor speak. All of a sudden, his speech is accompanied by loud low frequency popping noises! There doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to get rid of them. Now what?! Does your mixer have a high-pass filter? How about a low-cut filter? It’s usually a button located somewhere in the equalizer strip on each input channel (on the mixer). Press it–this should help reduce the popping noises that are created by excessive air (breath noise from the person speaking). This can be used on a lapel, handheld, or even a mounted podium microphone. All the button does is switch in a equalizer filter that “rolls-off” the low frequencies at a steep curve (often 12 or 24dB per octave). In speech, there’s typically not much information in the very low frequencies, so the filter gently but firmly turns them down. Typical filters roll off at 80 or 100 Hz; some you can adjust via a control for best results. Check your sound board manual for more information! (Use of a low-cut or high-pass filter won’t solve all of your problems. Proper microphone placement and use is required first. Windscreens help reduce pops and breath noises too.) Top

#13 When you’re looking to buy a new piece of audio or music gear, don’t buy something that hasn’t been on the market for less than a year. This rule actually can be applied to everything you buy. Cars, computer operating systems, computer software, electronics, appliances, tools, etc. It usually takes a year or so for all of the bugs to get worked out of something. Often a year after a product is introduced, a new upgraded model is available that works better and offers more features for the same price! So have patience and let other people who don’t know this rule of thumb find the problems instead of finding them yourself. Top

#14 The season of Winter brings along dry air and problems with static electricity. Think about it–in winter you tend to get more “shocks”, don’t you? A static charge can build up in your body when you shuffle your feet on the ground or if you’re wearing wool or similar fabrics. This static charge is then suddenly discharged in a “snap!” when your body contacts something conductive in contact with the floor. This includes door handles, file cabinets, even other people! You can also get a shock from touching a microphone or other parts of a sound system! Because most of the equipment is metal (and grounded), this is an excellent way to discharge the static electricity. The problem with this is that many of these static discharges result in “pops” and “bangs” over the sound system speakers. To help eliminate this problem, don’t wear clothes made of wool; instead of standing on carpet, stand on a rubber mat; spray your clothes with a static guard (from a can); touch the microphone stand before you touch the microphone itself. Another option is to use 1/2 water and 1/2 Downy® fabric softener. Put this mixture in a spray bottle and lightly spray the carpet around the microphones the day before the system is used. (Spraying ahead of time lets it dry a bit so it’s not slippery.) This solution is inexpensive and works really well most of the time. Top

#15 A good habit to get into when plugging a microphone or any other device into a mixer is to set all the channel controls at normal positions. Set the gain (or trim) at the middle. Set all of the EQ (tone) controls to their “flat” positions. Turn off any auxiliary or monitor sends. Decide where the channel should be routed to, and press the appropriate assign switches or adjust the pan pot. Taking time to do this saves you scratching your head wondering why things aren’t sounding quite right. Top

#16 Do you have these “tools” at your sound board? If not, you should!
small flashlight
pads of paper
pens or pencils
masking tape (for labeling controls)
decibel meter (if you church does music, you need this!)
throat lozenges
Bible (for when you forget yours)
small garbage can or bag–keep your area clean! Top

#17 If you play music before or after your service as background music, consider the following tips. Remember it’s background music– it doesn’t have to be loud. It only needs to be heard in the background. People shouldn’t have to raise their voice to talk to someone else nearby them. If you use pre-recorded music, make sure you don’t play the same tape or CD week after week. People notice–and it does get old fast! When it’s time to turn the music off, don’t just stop the music or mute the channel(s). Fade it out gently, naturally. Top

#18 How many times do people get up to a microphone and they can’t be heard because they aren’t using the mic properly? Make sure you find out who’s going to be using what microphone each service. Pull each person aside and teach them how to use it; don’t assume they know how! Taking a few minutes to train someone can result in fewer problems during the service. Top

#19 Do you have a block diagram of your sound reinforcement system? A block diagram shows how all of your systems’ components are wired together. A block diagram is a must for a technician doing testing or repair work. It saves time when trying to figure out what’s wrong. If you don’t have some sort of block diagram, make one or have someone trace your system and draw one. Top

#20 Regularly take time to check out your microphone and monitor jacks on the platform in your church. Make sure they are mounted tightly and are working properly. Regular maintenance insures there won’t be any unexpected surprises in the future. Top

#21 Make your tape ministry look classy! Use crystal clear tape shells and crystal clear tape cases to make your tapes sparkle! Add a colorful label, and you’ve got a really nice product to hand out to your congregation and their friends. Using solid black or white cassette shells and the fogged plastic cases makes your tapes look like they’ve been around for years, even though you just made them a few hours ago. Clear tape shells & cases are available for the same price as the black & white tapes. Top

#22 Consider using different colored cassette tape labels for different sermon series. This helps people know what tapes belong together and keeps the cassette tape ministry looking good! Top

#23 If you need to connect the audio output of a computer into your sound system, be sure to use a direct box in the connection. This will help reduce the possibility of noise and hum. Also, be sure to plug the computer into the same power source (circuit) as the mixer and the rest of the sound system. Computers are known for putting out a lot of “garbage” into the power lines, not to mention poor grounding in the case. Using the same circuit and being sure the audio connection is balanced are the best ways to insure quiet, hum-free sound from the computer! Top

#24 When giving someone a wireless lavalier (lapel) mic, be sure they know how to use it and where to wear it. Don’t assume they know how, unless they use it every week. Position the microphone a few inches below the base of their neck. Make sure it’s centered, and not off to one side. If it is, there will be a dramatic volume change when they turn their head side-to-side. Top

#25 Consider having a simple set of instructions available for your sound system. These instructions could then be used by someone who knows nothing about sound to at least get the system turned on and a single microphone or background music going. This would be especially beneficial when there’s an unexpected funeral or similar event when a sound volunteer can’t be at the church. Top

#26 If you record your church service, a tape deck with auto-reverse is a great way to help make a good recording where nothing is missed. Be sure the auto-reverse feature works by sensing the (clear) tape leader. Units that simply rely on reaching the end of the tape will lose up to 15 seconds of record time. An auto-sensing tape deck will only lose about a second of record time. Top

#27 If your mixer dusty and dirty even though you use a cover over it? Can’t seem to get the dust out from between those knobs, faders, and switches? Compressed air in a can just blows the dust to another place. A good way to clean such equipment is to invest in a 2-inch wide soft-bristle paint brush–That’s right, a paint brush! Using the brush you can actually brush the dust and dirt from one end of the mixer to the other end. If you use a small vacuum cleaner in conjunction with the brush, you’ll do even better! This technique is great for cleaning up any piece of equipment with knobs and switches that stick out. Try it on your keyboards and organ stops, too! Top

#28 How do you turn on and off your sound system? Do you randomly hit power switches, or do you just hit a big “Master” switch? Does your system turn on with a loud “THUMP!”? It shouldn’t. When turning on the system, always turn on the amplifier(s) last. This will prevent the loud THUMP from damaging your loudspeakers. When shutting the system down, turn off the amplifier(s) first, then the rest of the equipment. When any piece of audio equipment is turned on, there is a momentary blast of electricity at its output. If an amplifier is on, it will amplify that power and send it to the speaker system. That blast of electricity is enough to permanently damage a speaker. Follow the simple rule of “Amps on last, off first” and you’ll protect your investment. Top

#29 Everyday we use electricity to perform a multitude of tasks. Our church sound systems run on electricity, too. The electricity flows through the different electronic components, doing whatever the equipment was designed to do. While the electricity performs these “tasks” for us, part of it is being wasted as heat. Heat is simply another form of energy; some of the energy of electricity is completing a task, and some of it is used to create heat. Some components produce more heat than others. An integrated circuit doesn’t create much heat, but the transistors and power transformer in a large audio power amplifier sure do! These components heat up everything around them–and often to a very high temperature. The problem is, some components lives are shortened when exposed to long term heat. The power transistors in amplifiers tend to live half as long (as they should) when their temperature is 10 degrees F. higher. Thus, the life of a transistor can be shortened 50% if it’s allowed to run only 10 degrees higher than the optimum temperature. Knowing this, you should take more time to clean the air filters and make sure the fans are working on your power amplifiers. Some amplifiers don’t have fans and need plenty of air circulation for convection cooling. If a piece of equipment feels hot to the touch, it’s probably running too hot and is either malfunctioning or needs more cooling air to operate its best. Top

#30 Have you got a church library? Whether you do or not, start up a church-sound or church-technical library division. Fill it with books on sound and noise control and other technical areas like operation of the video projector or video equipment. Make the instruction manuals for your current equipment available, too. This will allow existing sound and technical volunteers the ability to check out these books and learn more so they can better their abilities and techniques. It also allows people who are thinking about helping out the ability to learn a little on their own before they commit. Consider adding books on music, instruments, drama, and other areas, too. Top

#31 Take time to inspect each cable, connector, and adapter you use. There’s nothing worse than to find out last minute you’ve got bad connectors or cables. Make sure the cables work and are not frayed (or damaged from a hungry vacuum cleaner!). Check the connectors to insure they’re in good condition and their strain relief is tight on the cable. Check your adapters (including DI boxes) for loose connectors, frayed cables, and to make sure they work. Too many a DI (direct inject) box have I seen that’s unusable because it has loose connectors (some without nuts even!). Taking time to check these things over and repair, replace, or at least set them aside will be to your benefit. Top

#32 Besides using colored shrink wrap to color-code your cables, try using the colored nylon ties available at almost all hardware stores. These ties can be found in many colors and lengths very inexpensively. Use the different colors to mark the youth equipment and main-church equipment, or use the different colors to show the length of a cable. Whatever your use, be sure to put the colored tie on the male end of the cable so people can’t see it when the cable is being used! Top

#33 Do your recordings of church services and events sound as though you’re actually there? If not, you may not be recording any (or enough) of the natural sound in the sanctuary. That is, the sound of the congregation and instruments you don’t have microphones on. Give this a try–set up an extra microphone somewhere out of the way on the platform and aim it toward the congregation. Now, set up your mixer so you can send that microphone’s signal only to the record tape deck–be sure it doesn’t go to the main house speakers! Now, using a pair of headphones, balance the sound on the tape so there’s just enough of the live, natural sound of the room that the recording comes to life! You’ll be amazed at how much better your recordings will sound! Top

#34 How often do you check up on the condition of your microphone stands? Never?! You should make it a habit to check all of your microphone stands, boom arms and mic clips on a regular basis. Be sure the threads are good and not cross-threaded, check the boom arms to make sure all of the knobs and nuts turn properly and tighten fully. Look at the microphone stands–do they wobble or is the height adjustment clutch worn out or stripped? Taking a little time to check the little things can make everyone’s experience better. Top

#35 Are you familiar with the sound of an old battery (or a dying one) in a wireless microphone transmitter? When a wireless transmitter isn’t getting enough power from its battery, the sound will become distorted and scratchy (among other things). Know how to recognize when it’s the system, the wireless equipment, how the mic is used (or worn), or if the problem is “just” the battery. Top

#36 Clean your microphone windscreens on a regular basis. A simple mixture of soap and water will clean them up nicely–a final rinse in a non-staining mouthwash can help them smell good and further sanitize them, too! Before you put the cleaned windscreens back on your mics, be sure they’re good and dry so you don’t damage the microphone. Top

#37 Keep backup equipment on hand. If a cable or microphone becomes damaged or lost, you’ll have a backup to take its place while you repair it or look for it. Extra equipment to have includes:

Microphone cables
Instrument cables
Speaker or Monitor cables
Hand-held microphones
Wireless microphone system (if you normally use a wireless mic)
Fuses for each piece of equipment Top

#38 If you mic instruments on a regular basis, it may be wise to take a picture of each setup you use. This way, almost anyone can look at your collection of photos to see how to correctly mic various instruments. Be sure to shoot the pictures from several angles so the exact placement can be seen. This is a big help to sound techs who rarely need to mic instruments on a regular basis. Top

#39 Have you taken time to listen to the recordings you’re passing out at church? Whether you record just the sermon or the entire worship service, the quality should be really good! If you can’t stand to listen to the recordings you’re making (because of the lack of quality), how can you expect other people to listen to them? Many people depend on being able to pick up a copy of the service on tape–teachers not able to attend the service and home or hospital-bound people are just a few. Is the tape noisy with hiss or hum? Do people’s voices seem to change pitch as they talk? How’s the music–is it clear and does the tape playback of it sound as though you’re actually there, in the service? A church tape ministry can be very powerful if the quality is there. Top

#40 Do you use monitors at your church? That is, speakers on the platform so people on the platform can hear themselves and the music they might be singing with? How many monitors do you have? Two? Three? Four? More than that? Do they all plug into the same place? Are they powered off the same amplifier? You have to be very careful when daisy-chaining monitors so you don’t overload the amplifier. Most monitors are rated at 8-ohms (an ohm is a measurement of electrical resistance). Two monitors load the amplifier with 4-ohms, three monitors loads the amplifier with 2-ohms. Most amplifiers will shut down or overheat if they see anything less than 2-ohms. Make sure you’re not overloading your amplifier! Top

#41 If you’re going to solder connectors, don’t use a soldering gun that provides “instant heat”. Such tools tend to apply too much heat, melting wires and connectors, not to mention making a poor solder connection. Stick with pencil-type irons for all of your work. Top

#42 How many microphones can you safely carry in your hands while transporting them to or from storage? Don’t find out the hard way! It’s best not to carry them loosely, piled on top of each other. Doing so can result in a trip to the repair shop. If you put them in your back pocket, be sure the connector end goes in first, and the head of the microphone hangs out–there’s plenty of dirt and grim in your pockets that can ruin a good microphone. Also, be careful so you don’t sit on them (trust me, it happens)! If you need to carry more than 4 or 5 microphones at a time, get smart and use a microphone carrier or even a nice padded box. Of course, the more microphones you carry at once, the more careful you need to be so you don’t end up damaging all of them… Top

#65 If you use monitor (and/or speaker) cables with the typical 1/4” connectors on each end, consider marking them so people know they are monitor/speaker cables, and not instrument cables. Monitor/Speaker cables are made up of a pair of large-gauge wire, while instrument cables are made up of much smaller gauge wire and are shielded. The confusion comes when they both look the same from the outside and use the same connectors. Using an instrument cable in place of a monitor cable will cause a significant loss of amplifier power. Using a monitor/speaker cable for an instrument (guitar, keyboard, etc.) will result in hum and even a radio station or two being picked up! So, color code those cables or label them in some manner so there’s never any doubt what type of cable you’ve got in your hand. Top

#66 If you use monitors, be sure you set your house (main sanctuary) volume levels first, and then your monitor levels. The biggest complaint is that the people on stage hear no low end. Monitors are not designed to reproduce very low frequencies. Fortunately, low frequencies travel in all directions, and so the main house system will supply all the low end that’s needed. (Besides, you have to be at least one-fourth the distance of the wavelength from the speaker to hear it. The lowest note on a bass guitar has a wavelength of 34 1/2 feet. You need to be at least 8 1/2 feet away from the speaker/amp to be able to hear the sound properly.) Top

#67 When using wireless microphones and installing new batteries, it’s a good idea to check the batteries with a tester. Everyone has heard the horror stories of the sound person who was running late, tossed a new battery in pastors’ mic, only to find out it wasn’t any good. Every once in a while a battery manufacturer lets a dead or partially charged battery slip through. So, save yourself the grief and check them out before hand. Top

#103 If you play prelude or postlude music before and after a service, be sure to fade the music in when starting it. Instead of just hitting the stop button when you’re done with it, fade the music out slowly. Taking a the time to fade it in and out makes for a more professional service. Top