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[David Pedd]

We recently had a sound system installed at our church.  (Martin CDD's, Dynacord amps, QU32 board, etc.)

I'm guessing the install company tuned the room with the speakers/power-amps.

Who at your church was trained on the new system?

Surely they didn't do a complete, new install and just walk away?

[Isaac South]

Who at your church was trained on the new system?

Surely they didn't do a complete, new install and just walk away?

We didn't receive any formal training.  Just talked through a few things on the board.  Yes, we've basically had to learn it ourselves.  I will say, it's been easy to use the QU board.  We love it. 

Honestly, I think our problem is technical.  We don't have anyone that knows how to mix properly.  In fact, we have hired a guy to come help us with that very issue in a few weeks (for a couple of services).  I'm praying he helps us a lot.

Ivan, I will agree with you.  I think it's an eq issue also.  What are your suggestions?

[Steve Ferreira]

I'm with Ivan on this one. I don't think it's an eq issue, it's a mixing issue. Knowing where the instruments need to sit in a mix and knowing what frequencies they produce will go a long way.

[Mike Caldwell]

I going to throw this out as one of the factors you may be dealing with, keep in mind I have no idea what skill level of band your working with so take this as a general comment.

If your band's instrument tone is all over the place and everywhere but good and too loud that will be something to take care of at the source rather than turning knobs on the mixer.

[Ivan Beaver]

Who at your church was trained on the new system?

Surely they didn't do a complete, new install and just walk away?

A couple of hours of "training" is rarely enough to make somebody a "soundman".

It takes years and many different experiences to get a grasp on mixing.

I stopped calling it "training" after an install.

I referred to it as "orientation".  Because that is all that you can do in a short time period.
 

[Ivan Beaver]

Ivan, I will agree with you.  I think it's an eq issue also.  What are your suggestions?

FIRST, I would call the install company and ask them to check it out.

I assume they will be there for support after the sale.

[Isaac South]

I'm with Ivan on this one. I don't think it's an eq issue, it's a mixing issue. Knowing where the instruments need to sit in a mix and knowing what frequencies they produce will go a long way.

Thank you for this chart.  Myself and our bass player are the two most-experienced FOH guys.  And we are both on stage every service.  It's very difficult for us.  Are there any resources that you recommend for learning how to mix? 

[Thomas Harkin]

Thank you for this chart.  Myself and our bass player are the two most-experienced FOH guys.  And we are both on stage every service.  It's very difficult for us.  Are there any resources that you recommend for learning how to mix?

So, if you're on stage, are you mixing from there?  If that is where you are when you hear the bad sound, that's because you're not hearing the speakers; you're hearing the reflections from the room.

If you're not mixing from the stage, who is at FOH?

[Isaac South]

I going to throw this out as one of the factors you may be dealing with, keep in mind I have no idea what skill level of band your working with so take this as a general comment.

If your band's instrument tone is all over the place and everywhere but good and too loud that will be something to take care of at the source rather than turning knobs on the mixer.

I agree, Mike.  That can create a lot of problems.  We have very talented musicians (especially for our location).   But our room is very "live".  That's probably a big part of the problem.

Just this weekend we hired someone to install some acoustic treatment in our church.  He will be installing it in the new few weeks.

But honestly, even when the pastor is preaching (no band), there is a lot of mid-range that I can't (or probably just don't know how) to remove from the mix.  I put a high pass filter on his channel to eliminate the percussiveness of his voice.  The highs seem to be ok.  I just leave them flat.  But around 400-600 is where I need the work.  And really, it could all be from the room.  That's very possible.  Is that a frequency range that a "live" room would cause problems for?

[Isaac South]

So, if you're on stage, are you mixing from there?  If that is where you are when you hear the bad sound, that's because you're not hearing the speakers; you're hearing the reflections from the room.

If you're not mixing from the stage, who is at FOH?

No, we have a newbie that we are training.  He mixes from FOH.  Does the best he can.  But currently, he's just running the faders.  Not changing EQ or compression or anything like that yet. 

If we have a visiting church, I will go to FOH and mix while they play, etc.

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