It can feel very overwhelming when trying to select a vocal mic. Not only are there many brands that people will recommend but there are also many choices within each brand. While I’m not going to answer the question directly “what mic should you get?”, we will look at several factors that should help you make the best choice for your context.

When it comes to mixing monitors especially in ears it seems like it’s a constant battle and there can be a lot of frustration. For a variety of reasons, many houses of worship have gone with a system that requires the musicians to mix their own monitors in one way or another. The problem is that the musicians get to a point of either pulling out an ear or just “accepting” the lie that they won’t ever be able to hear what they want/need. In this post, I’m going to give you 5 ways to improve your Monitor experience.

It’s pretty obvious to most people that multi camera video has the potential to create the most engaging online experience. The challenge often boils down to where should you even start? My goal in this post is not to suggest specific equipment, but help you think through the functions you need so you can make the best choices on the tools to help get you where you want to go.

Drums can be a very polarizing topic especially when it comes to electric VS acoustic drums. Ask the average drummer and they will tell you that acoustic drums are the only way to go because of feel and playability.  The average sound guy will advocate for electric drums because of constancy and controllability. the average pastor will attempt a compromise by looking into at least a drum shield if not a full enclosure. While they all have very valid points, theres not a single right solution for every occasion.

Over the past several years I’ve begun seeing this pattern in my organizations and interactions where visionaries and processors end up at odds with one another exactly how Les describes it in his books. While this doesn’t surprise me, I have begun asking the question “why?”. Why is it that visionaries think processors are trying to get in the way and slow them down, and why is it that processors think visionaries are loose cannons who can’t plan ahead?

I’ve had several conversations over the past few months where a worship pastor was dead set on getting a Waves rig for their live experience. Many of the reasons given have been things like “It will make us sound better” or “Elevation (or some other big church) uses it and we want to sound like them”.

For most of us, it seems like there is a constant struggle when it comes to how to make an idea reality.

Complexity is the mother of frustration. Technical minds don’t often worry about how complicated their system is, all that matters is what it can do and the process of manipulating it into doing those things. But what happens when they have to show someone else how it works? Or even worse what happens when someone else has to figure it out on their own?

Many Churches have begun reopening and getting back to live services. People no longer have a personal volume control which will inevitably lead back into volume complaints. While there is no sure-fire way to eliminate them, there are some factors that may be contributing to the comfort level of your audience. Most importantly, there are probably some things you can do about it that don’t involve earplugs.

No matter what size church, it always seems like there aren't enough tech (or any other) volunteers. Often it feels like no one can take a weekend off or everything will crash and burn.

This is my “why”, its the driving vision behind what I do. Historically the Church was the primary driving force behind art. The Church is where the best artists, musicians, and craftsman spent their lives creating beauty and telling the story of Jesus. Unfortunately in some cases the opposite is true today, The church has become the place where “we get by” because the people involved “have a good heart”.

Anytime you have more than one shot to work with it instantly begs the question ”how often should I switch between camera angles?. Its a good question but its also the final question in the “why” of video. In both live and prerecorded video, we should have one goal, to tell the story (deliver the message) as clearly as possible.

Many people (especially in certain Facebook groups) buy into the lie that “you have to have a digital board to get a good sound”. That somehow having a digital board will instantly upgrade the quality of the listening experience.

During this time many churches have been forced into doing church online. We've all had to figure out not only how to put out quality content, but do it week after week. Some have chosen to live stream on Sunday morning, others have decided to pre-record the service. As the current reality sets in, more and more are now asking ”where do we start with this online thing?”.

If there is a secret to marking your video look better on any camera, it’s lighting. Good lighting will help your camera to capture the best possible image and allow your subject to look dynamic and real. Bad lighting will cause even the best cameras to look bad and distract the viewer from the message your trying to get across.

Why is getting the online mix so much harder than making it sound ok in the room? We’ve all had a Sunday where we felt really good about what happened in the room then gone back later Sunday afternoon and listened to the live stream that was recorded on Facebook and thought “I know it sounded better than that in the room, what happened?”.

The more consistent your video feed the better experience your viewers will have.

Ultimately the basics makeup the foundation of what we do and without getting it right at the foundational level, the building will crumble.

To understand this we have to dig into the differences between live sound and the studio world. It’s easy to think about the two as being completely different. In many ways they are, but part of the reason we get such seemingly different results is because we approach them so differently.

So which one is better?