Since Seth and I are completely ADD and scatterbrained, I’m writing a post today on what I like to call “dynamic range”- except instead of talking about sound, I’m talking about lighting.

Everybody knows what dynamic range is in the audio world; it’s the difference between the loudest and softest sound.  Good bands vary their volume level drastically, dropping to draw you into a slow song and maxing out on an upbeat song for the encore.  As the light guy, you should vary your volume too.

Q: But wait!  I’m a light guy, there’s no sound level involved with my job, so what am I supposed to do?

A: This is where the dynamic range of your light rig comes in.

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This is part two of an excellent blog post talking about issues that exists between musicians and techs that could be resolved with some respect and understanding.

This is part one of a two part blog post on another site which is well worth the read. They talk about frustrations which exist between the musicians and tech crews. I know some of these I have seen and I’m sure some are true at your church. Note: this is not to beat someone over the head with but may provide some talking points for you leaders.

I know I haven’t posted anything for you guys in a while, but I came across this article and with the great stuff posted in it, I figured I would just give you a link and let you be amazed at this guy’s genius.  I will be back shortly to actually write some insights of my own…

Lately I find myself thinking more and more about consistency in mixing.  Every time I mix, I strive to bring forth the same quality of sound reinforcement.  I want to give each channel the same care as any other channel, and when I run into problems, I want to be able to fix them quickly.

I had a conversation about this with another sound guy at my church the other week.  We were talking about how we like to quickly zero the EQ before we start sound-checking a channel, so that we aren’t thrown off by what’s already dialed in.  I’ve decided that it shouldn’t be something I just “like”, but rather a real, intentional habit to use.

Some other mix consistency habits I utilize are:

• Making sure the mic positions are consistently in the same spot on each instrument.
• Making sure the gains keep the sound levels fairly consistent across channels- this is really important if you’re mixing monitors from FOH, or like my church, use an AVIOM system.  It helps you think through how loud things are in the wedges at a quick glance.
• Keeping my mains level at the same place weekly, and not touching it at all after soundcheck starts.(So that everything stays predictable- no surprises when the pastor who’s mic you haven’t checked an hour comes in at the level you left it).

Anyways, those are just some quicky thoughts for now!

-David

So here we are.  The on-screen countdown comes to zero.  The band starts, and the people stand.  Here’s what I’m thinking:

My hand is on the lead vocalist once that counter hits zero.  More than anything else, I know that it’s important to get him/her through clearly, and sometimes they don’t start right on their mic.  After that, I quickly check through the mix.  Can I hear everything properly?  Is anything too loud or too soft?  I adjust faders when necessary, and by the first chorus, life is good.  Over the next couple songs, I focus on a few things:

Are people getting into it(or is it too loud/soft?)?
Are their any solos coming up?
Who’s the lead vocalist for the next song?
Who’s playing melody…did it change for this song?
Did I just lose that guitar channel?(nope, he just isn’t playing for some reason)…

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At a risk of sparking a forest fire, I think that this is a topic which has been widely discussed but rarely understood.  I think most sound guys know the idea — they run a set/service/show and someone comes up and complains that the sound is by far too loud, and if they are at all “educated” may have even brought along their own R****S**** dB meter to be able to instruct the sound guy that it is too loud.   The point of this article is not to discuss what is too loud and what is not, but rather how certain frequencies effect how we perceive loudness and therefore can affect whether the sound is pleasing or not.

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