Condenser microphones use an external voltage to charge a very thin diaphragm assembly. As the diaphragm moves in response to sound, the electrical output of the assembly changes, resulting in a usable signal. Because the diaphragm assemblies are so lightweight, they react to sounds much faster. To the ear, they are more sensitive and can process higher frequencies easier than a dynamic. Condensers tend to be favorites for cymbals, acoustic guitars, piano and also vocals.

Cardioid, hypercardioid or omni? You can guess that an omni would pick up everything around your player, including the monitor (insert loud screeching sound, painful wincing and nasty looks). The cardioid, if pointed up toward the guitar, would reject the monitor, but might still get too much of the side instruments. Must be the hypercardioid, right? The narrow directionality "focuses" in on the guitar, but the rear pick-up may get some monitor. Use your knowledge of polar patterns to move the hypercardioid mic to point down at the guitar at about a 45 deg. angle – the pattern is focused on the guitar, while the rear pickup lobe is aimed at the ceiling.

Dynamic or Cardioid? Consider that the sensitivity and extended frequency response of a condenser while nice, is not vital in this instance. The player is primarily strumming, which tends to get loud, and lends a percussive rhythm. Here, you use your most valuable tools of all – your ears. Dynamics, because they won’t overload, have a pleasant way of smoothing out sounds.

Without question, the most popular choices here are clip-on lavalier mics and small headworn mics. Condenser technology allows mics to be so small and lightweight that they usually go unnoticed. Lavalier mics should be placed roughly 6 in. from the speaker’s chin. Your choice of pattern depends on the acoustics of your space. Some find that cardioid (directional) mics can tend to sound small and unnatural, as the ear expects to hear a small amount of ambience in any human voice. In very reverberant environments, this is less of an issue. An omnidirectional pattern tends to sound more natural, but may pick up reflections and possibly monitors. Generally, in a highly reverberant space, go cardioid. If less so, try an omni.
 

In most instances, speakers and singers like to get out from behind a stationary mic and decide to go wireless. Don’t let these systems intimidate you, modern systems are really simple to use and understand. Each system includes a transmitter and a receiver – simple. These operate on a specified frequency so that one receiver looks for signals from one transmitter – simple. The receiver connects to a line input on your mixer and is treated just like any other source. Just remember that each system must operate on a different frequency. To further simplify things, manufacturers provide multiple pre-programmed frequencies designed to work with each other.

In choosing to add wireless to your sound system, consider how many speakers or musicians will be wireless. Different systems have varying sets of frequencies available. The ability to utilize more and more frequencies – and more systems -- is one of the primary factors in varying levels of pricing. That said, just about any system will allow for 2 to 5 systems at a time.

In my years of working with Christian bands, choral groups and sound reinforcement companies, several assumptions seem to creep up without explanation. Typically, people install their sound booths and support systems simply because they’ve always seen it done a particular way.

In one such scenario, I found a tiny 60-75 person cell church that had taken up residency in an old doctor’s office. They had knocked out walls in the center of the structure to allow for all 75 seats to be scrunched in front of a hefty pair of EV 15" mains. I had to hand it to them for the speaker selection, but their attempt at a sound booth was nothing short of comical. In the back of this "auditorium" was what looked like an international shipping crate stacked on two levels of cinder blocks. This was, in fact, their "sound booth". There was not even enough room to put a chair behind the small console. And, as an added bonus, the soundman couldn’t stand up straight without hitting his head on the ceiling tiles. So, why all of the wasted effort?

Being a sound engineer at a church is a pain-staking and thankless job at times. That’s why the turnover rate for sound volunteers is typically higher than any other position throughout the church. Finding yourself without a volunteer right before a service can be one of the finer moments in life. But, with a little planning, it may be easy to transition someone from Roadie to Rockstar in just a few short minutes.

Start by creating a track-list of your typical Sunday morning service. If this list includes specific channel instructions, you may need to only show your new volunteer where the fader and mutes are to pull off a bearable temporary mix. If you can’t splurge on a $20 label maker, break out the old masking tape and start labeling those channels. It may seem like a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked for a mid-sermon adjustment only to find that I can’t identify which channel we’re on. It’s a rookie mistake that’s easily avoided. And, don’t stop at the channel strips. Label the master and slave drives on your CD duplicator. Label the cables as they’re plugged in the power conditioner or the cables patching to your outboard gear. LABEL THE WHOLE ROOM LIKE YOU WERE DECORATING A CHRISTMAS TREE!! At some point, you’ll thank yourself.

Don’t be afraid to keep records. When you jot down the starting time for a cassette accompaniment, write it in a legal pad along with who sang it. Make a note about the EQ. Date it and file it in or near the sound room Especially in charismatic churches, the speaker could easily want to throw you a curve ball at any minute. Leaving yourself enough clues will help you solve the mystery in a hurry!

It’s amazing how many churches I’ve been to and seen tape covering up certain faders that say, "do not touch". Well, phooey on that! When you’re wearing Bermuda shorts and realize it’s 25^o outside, what do you do? You go back inside and change your clothes! The same thing happens in the world of audio. Your environment is constantly changing. Your guitar player buys a new preamp. Someone switches the microphones on a cable. Or, even worse, the pastor gets a cold! Each scenario represents a change in the audio environment and requires an immediate response. Plus, a full auditorium NEVER sounds like an empty one. Don’t ever listen to the nay-sayers that recommend you set it and forget it. Allow your audio to evolve.

Before you or your volunteers get touchy-feely with the board or EQ panel, you need to have a solid foundation in understanding how your sound system works. Spend a few moments taking inventory of the wiring that goes to and from each position on the control panel. Knowing exactly where each wire is coming from makes it easier to make changes on the fly. Knowing exactly what those changes will do helps develop the confidence you need to be creative. If you’re training first-time volunteers, show them the snake (or mixed-up bundle of cables) and let them mentally follow the signal path from the microphone, to the mixer, to the amplifier, and to the speakers. This visual mapping method will decrease their learning curve and help you avoid long and uncomfortable stares of silence.

Rockstar Syndrome

If you’ve sat through enough worship services in your lifetime, you have inevitably seen the passing of the guard from one worship leader to another. And, if you’re a real veteran you’ve seen them by the dozens. My guess is that we’ve all run across the rockstar burnouts that have given themselves to Jesus, only to find they need to offer their talents to His service. In doing so, we find our floor monitors growing to match their playing style and the stage volume increasing to just below that of a 747 initiating take-off. This problem continues to escalate when the other people on the stage start playing louder to compensate. After a while, you can turn off your mains and get a face-lift on the front row, because your stage volume has gotten completely out of control.

The solution can take many different shapes. Everyone likes to hear a "free" scenario, but sometimes capital investments are a necessity. For a short-term fix, try making monitor adjustments well before anyone arrives for practice. Try running any heavy hitters directly through a line-in on the mixer, instead of micing their 4x12 Marshall stacks. Most rookie musicians will balk at the thought of running direct, but it’s your job to sway them into at least trying it (sorry, your Jedi mind tricks won’t work here). If you’re like most churches, you’ve probably got only one or two monitor mixes. Be sure that your "superstar" is on the first outlet that gets any signal. He’s going to crank it right back to what he thought was the original level, but at least now the horn section can probably turn their monitor down. Before, no one had any control over the level that was originating from the stage. Don’t forget that micing a guitar cabinet or any other musician is not so that they can play louder. It’s done so that the sound engineer has control over the signal. Wow, there’s a novel thought… Control!