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Articles by Chris Huff
Setting The Tone: Properly Communicating With Folks On Stage
The first time I fell into the trap I was new to live audio. The pastor’s wireless microphone went out mid-service and I walked up to swap in a new battery. Talk about killing the mood of the service, not to mention distracting the pastor. Since then, I’ve heard stories of pastors and even worship teams interrupted by the person in the sound booth. Let’s take a look at how booth-to-stage communication should occur… Once a church service starts, we need to do everything possible to keep the mood set.
Missing Link? Filling Unexpected Holes In The Mix
The drummer called in sick. The bassist’s car broke down. The guitarist had a family emergency. Whatever the reason, you’re now missing an instrument in the band. It’s time to adjust your mix to fill the hole. There are two ways of treating missing instruments: 1. Make it obvious in the mix. For example, if the only electric sound in the band was the electric guitar, then mix it as an acoustic set. 2. Cover up the vacancy with other sounds. It’s here that I’m parking for today.
Several Moves Ahead: Planning For The Worship Band
On one side of the chessboard was World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. On the other side of the board was the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. It was 1997. Six games of chess were to be played. Which one would prevail? Chess players know success comes from the ability to think several moves ahead.
Delivering Sonic Clarity: Approaches For Optimizing Acoustically Challenging Spaces
A room lacking sound absorption material can be a nightmare for mixing. I’ve mixed in a few of these rooms myself. From what I’ve found, a number of you mix in such rooms on a regular basis. In fact, the most common question I get is, “What’s the best way to mix in a gymnasium?” A gymnasium has: 1) concrete walls, 2) hardwood floors, and 3) ceilings open to the rafters.
Church Sound: Top Eight Tools For The Live Audio Toolbox
“Can you come to our church and run sound in a few weeks?” “Can you run sound for my band next weekend?” Work as an audio geek long enough and you’ll get these questions, usually followed by the statement, “Don’t worry, we’ve got all the gear, you just need to show up.” Danger Will Robinson! I’ve been in these situations and one thing’s for sure: it’s never as easy as it sounds. Standard equipment is lacking, or outdated at best, and waving a magic wand isn’t an option.
Stage Preparation: The Three Key Areas Of Importance — And Why - ProSoundWeb
The front of the church sanctuary is where all eyes are focused. It’s the place where the pastor presents the Word of God. It’s the place where the congregation is lead to worship in song. It’s the place where people kneel at the cross. It’s the place of most importance. I believe it’s important to note the use of the word “stage” before going on. The room is the sanctuary. The place the pastor speaks from is the pulpit. But what do we call the place where the pulpit and musicians and choir are located?
Church Sound: Winning Over Three Common Problem Musicians
Nothing’s more frustrating than creating a sub-par mix because the musicians don’t understand what they’re doing and the audio engineer doesn’t have the authority to say anything. In church audio, a professional level of musicianship can’t be demanded but musicians do need to think like professionals. Such musicians aren’t intentionally causing problems. They’ve adopted poor habits or aren’t able to perform at the expected level. The mix suffers and the congregation suffers.
Ministering to Your Team: A Tech Director's Guide
You take your position. The camera op's are awaiting your cue. The sound tech is reaching to turn on the first microphone of the morning. Your production team will soon minister to the congregation, in a way only techies can do. Did you remember to first minister to your team? My wife couldn't work anymore. The nerve pain, originating in her neck, was shooting down her left arm rendering it useless. She could barely drive without feeling sick to her stomach; a side-effect of having a pinched nerve.
Hit The Ground Running: 10 Ways To Bring Speed & Efficiency To Worship Setup
Honestly, there are times when I arrive early at church, get some music playing and simply enjoy setting up the stage. Routine, yes. Exciting, no. But, enjoyable nonetheless. Some of my speed comes from years of experience and some of it comes from knowing how I can set it up in the least amount of time necessary. Want to set the stage as quickly and accurately and safely as possible? Let’s press on… 1. Know who’s playing in the band.
Has “Pray Without Ceasing” Been Replaced With “Work Without Ceasing”?
"Beep, beep, beep," echoes in the kitchen as the coffee maker calls out to you. Morning has come. Moments later, coffee cup in hand, you check your Facebook account, Twitter feed, and the day's weather forecast. You scan your email and notice a daily devotional titled, "Pray without Ceasing" which you decide you'll read...later.
Church Sound: Got The Low Frequency Blues?
A method to get up and running at a gig as quickly as possible, catch potential problems early, and dial in a good mix, ...read more → A case study in breaking the "golden rules" of recording – and getting away with it... Many of us tend to take mics for granted because they usually work with every use, but a bit of extra attention from time ...read more → Reducing low-end accumulation issues in the room while bringing added clarity to the mix...
Could You Mix in Another Room?
What's your cooking specialty? Do you make a crazy eggplant parmesan? Do you grill up the best steak on your block? Can you cook anything else? Iron Chef is a televised cooking competition with a simple premise; pit two chefs against each other by making them cook with the same surprise ingredient such as beef or chocolate or squid or artichokes. Each chef has to come up with four or five dishes, from the appetizer to dessert, using that surprise ingredient in each dish.
Embrace The Tone: Optimizing Electric Guitar Sound
Weeping, with tears running down my cheeks, I can no longer hide my feelings. The microphone hangs lifeless; the cable, like a noose, suspends it midway down the amp for all to see. Yet the guitarist plays on, oblivious. Poor amp miking strikes again. This article is provided by Behind The Mixer. Mixing electric guitars should be easier like mixing acoustic guitars or vocals. Know the guitar’s sound, know the song arrangement, and blend accordingly.
Christmas Planning: 10 Steps to a More Successful Audio Production
Christmas programs can require more time, energy, and manpower than any other time of the year. They also put high demands on the equipment. It's not the time for procrastination. Start preparations today for a successful production come Christmas. Planning can't start too early. The scale of production does impact the level of preparation—and the bigger the scale, the more planning time required.
Mastering Signal Flow: Here It Comes & There It Goes...
Growing up in a 100-year-old home, I learned how to fix plumbing problems. One lesson was tracing all the pipes in the basement so I could tell which pipes had fresh water and which ones carried the other stuff. You might say it was my first exposure to signal flow. In every sound system, signal flow is the flow of the audio signal from the sources of input to the places of output, from source to loudspeaker.
Silence Can Be Golden: The Many Upsides Of Selective Muting
In high school, I held a stressful job: paint mixer at the local hardware store. The equipment looked like it was from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab – and I was Igor. One extra drop of dye could turn Orange Ruffy into Tangerine Dream, and there was no going back. I learned two valuable lessons from that job: don’t rush a delicate process, and always check your work.
Dialing It In: Optimizing The Sound Of Acoustic Guitar In The Live Mix
I was ready to chuck the mixer out the window. Why did the acoustic guitar sound so bad? I checked and re-checked my EQ settings, but it wasn’t until talking with the guitarist that I discovered the problem. That’s when I wanted to chuck the guitar out the window, rather than the mixer. Common acoustic guitar mixing problems fall into three categories: volume, EQ, and OOMC, short for “Out Of My Control,” and it was the source of my difficulties.
Leave Your Ego at the Door
Do you disregard suggestions from fellow techs? Do they avoid talking to you? Do you think you're above making mistakes? Do musicians view you with disdain? If you answered "yes" to these questions, you have an ego problem. Merriam-Webster defines ego as “the opinion that you have about yourself.” It's good to have a healthy, honest opinion of yourself. The problem occurs when you deny your shortcomings, your failings, and you view yourself as better than others.
Can You Worship While You Work?
“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Sound Techs
How well we work determines the results of our work. In an article by veteran audio guy and Vice President of Sales at Lectrosonics, Karl Winkler tackled what he considers the seven habits of highly effective sound techs. Today, I want to cover these habits and dive deeper into each one. 7 Habits of Highly Effective Sound Techs 1. Have Excellent Organization Karl’s advice is to establish effective routines for everything you do and to use the simplest tools to get the job done.
The Art Of Snare Drum Mixing... And A Frog
I created a frog. It wasn’t intentional. Naturally, I’m not talking about a real frog but just look at this photo: You’ll never read a mixing book that says, “Make the snare’s EQ curve look like a frog in water.” If you do, immediately stop reading the book. Seriously, when it comes to snare mixing, the last place you want to be is behind the mixer. In my view, there are three factors in creating a good snare drum sound.
Beautiful Voices: Seven Keys To Optimizing Vocals In The Worship Mix
In 1878, a room full of people watched Thomas Edison’s new phonograph spin and heard a voice read “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” Despite the excitement of hearing the first audio recording, I’ll bet someone thought, “That sounds awful.” Having heard the recording, I agree. Mixing the spoken word is a task in itself, but to mix singers and blend them with a band is an even more daunting task. Singers produce a range of sounds, good and bad, and no two voices are alike.
Avoiding The Squeal: Simple Steps For Church Techs To Make Feedback A Thing Of The Past
That low hum you hear is not a distant cargo plane. It’s not your local television helicopter. It’s the beginning of the end… it’s feedback. Sooner or later every sound system operator experiences feedback. Most people think of it as that dreaded deafening high-pitched squeal resulting from a bad combination of microphone gain, mic location and loudspeaker volume, but feedback often begins as a low-pitched hum. If you recognize it early and correct it quickly, most folks won’t notice.
Top 5 Reasons for Volume Creep
Ever find yourself rebalancing the band's volume levels more than expected? There are several reasons for this, and a few of them might surprise you. Groups of Three For every three channels at the same volume, there's an increase of roughly 3 dB in the combined volume. How many people only mix three channels? I mix twenty-two channels for our band and enough channel volumes are close enough to result in a 6 dB gain.
12-Step Program: Key Questions In Critiquing Your Live Mixes
It’s OK to steal. Wait – allow me to rephrase that. It’s OK to steal from studio engineers. Live audio is a different beast compared to what happens in the studio, yet my live mix quality skyrocketed once I started reading the works of studio engineers Roey Izhaki, Bobby Owsinski, and Mike Senior. A while back, I stole…uh, found…a list of questions that studio folks ask in critiquing their mixes. The questions largely focused on emotion, energy, and clarity.
10 Things No One Tells You About Church Audio. One of Them Still Drives Me Crazy.
The stuff you should have seen before you started. Photo by spekulator. Once the initial excitement of working in audio production wears off, it leaves one with a few unfortunate realizations. I’m not saying audio work stops being fun. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I still have fun. I only wish someone would have cracked open the secret envelop and let me see the truth before being up to my knees in XLR cables.
Church Sound: System Contract & Proposal Myths
Having gone through the proposal process for a new sound system, and having a job that deals with contracts and proposals, I thought I’d address a some of the myths of proposals. Ever heard the one that says, “if the proposal is higher than your budget, look elsewhere.” Not true! A proposal is a list of products and services that a firm has determined is required to fulfill the needs of the request set before them.
Church Sound: Three Key Things To Keep In Mind When Transitioning To A Digital Mixer
We regularly hear talk of people transitioning into the wonderful world of digital mixing, but it seems we rarely hear of what happens after they make the transition. Old habits must be broken, a new way of thinking about workflow has to occur, and digital mixing doesn’t mean one can finally perfect a vocalist’s mix – at least not for two weekends in a row. Here are what I’ve found to be the three traps in transitioning from analog to digital mixing. 1.
Is There a Wrong Way to Build a Mix?
There's one right way of building a mix and it's not what you think. Some audio engineers build mixes starting with the drums while others start with vocals. Some start mixing dry while others start with a wet mix. They might all be building the mix the right way. Clear as mud? Once, I tried building a mix starting with overly loud channel volumes. Pulling each channel back to the appropriate level was harder than I'd imagined.
Interview with House of Worship Market Manager, Richard Gaspard from Presonus
By: Chris Huff June 17, 2020 We interviewed Richard Gaspard from PreSonus. He’s their House of Worship Market Manager and we talk about how he and PreSonus are helping church. We also talk about the difference between the first PreSonus digital mixer and what they offer today. If you wish, we also have it on video below. And I have to be completely honest, I thought Brian was only recording the video portion of who was talking. And that’s why you might see me early on fidgeting with a light.
Church Sound: Rate Your Audio Performance With This Handy Scorecard
Here are 25 simple yes/no questions you can use to score your performance the next time you’re behind the mixer. I could easily come up with another 75, but these cover the basics. A scorecard is a great way to establish a baseline for where you are and where you can improve. Are you up for the challenge? Simply add up which questions you answered “yes” to and see where you fall. Pre-Service 1. Did I perform a line check before the musicians started practicing? 2.
Church Sound: Solving Mysteries—The Case Of The Missing Audio For Video - ProSoundWeb
There are two ways of seeing an audio mystery—as an unsolvable problem or as a challenge. The challenge area, that’s where we live whether we like it or not. We work in the realm of wireless microphones, high-end electronics, and frequency manipulation. In this world, audio mysteries abound.
Defining a Successful Church Service
What makes a church service successful? Working in technical ministry, we might list things like a good music mix, a lack of production problems, and a perfect volume level. Are all of these things good? Yes. Do they define a successful service? Not even close. Church production and secular production are nearly the same. The best practices used in the secular world should be used in the church world. The level of professionalism should be the same. But, there are a handful of differences.
Church Sound: Are You Blinding The Congregation With Your Mix?
My eyes felt like they were as big as dinner plates and any sunlight was blinding. Welcome to having an eye exam. During the exam, your optometrist will insert eyes drops that widen each pupil to the size of a grapefruit. This enables him to check the back of your eyes for signs of diseases and medical conditions. The problem with the eye drops is they keep your pupils in that WIDE OPEN state for about, let’s see, it’s 3:42 now, so….about six hours. During this time, sunlight is your enemy.
Interview with My Worship Minister, Jason Wetherholt
Topics: interview By: Chris Huff January 14, 2020 What do you call a man so devoted to the Chicago Cubs that he named his dog, Wrigley? You call him Jason Wetherholt, Worship Minister at Greenwood Christian Church. Today, Chris Huff interviews him and he answers the question of what musicians expect from the sound tech – the answer might surprise you.
The New Behringer WING Mixer – Your Questions Answered - Behind The Mixer
Have you ever looked at something and thought, “Either this is the greatest thing since refried beans or it’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen?” The new Behringer WING digital mixer, with touchscreen, enables the user to add tags (“vocal”, “guitar”, etc.) to each channel and thereby instantly assign a channel to a DCA or mute group – cool feature, right?. While this is very cool, at the same time, the mixer lacks a dedicated main output fader – not cool.
The Importance of Clean Wiring
When it comes to control room installations, there is nothing that bothers me more than a poorly wired rack As someone who troubleshoots on a regular basis, having access to the rear of the equipment racks is crucial. So much time is saved when I can go to the back of the rack and quickly access the piece of gear or cable that is causing the issue. What does your installation look like? If it looks like the left picture, that's great.
Leave Your Ego at the Door
Do you disregard suggestions from fellow techs? Do they avoid talking to you? Do you think you're above making mistakes? Do musicians view you with disdain? If you answered yes to these questions, you have an ego problem. Merriam-Webster defines ego as “the opinion that you have about yourself.” It's good to have a healthy, honest opinion of yourself. The problem occurs when you deny your shortcomings, your failings, and you view yourself as better than others.
No Drums, No Problem - Mixing a Striped-Down Band
Topics: bass, drums, mixing drums By: Chris Huff October 17, 2019 I scanned the band roster for the upcoming practice and didn’t see a drummer listed. Maybe Erik or Jason forgot to note it. We have plenty of drummers so it was probably an oversight, right? Every single drummer was working or on vacation. A number of musicians were on vacation due to this time of year when the schools are on “Fall Break.” That was the bad news. The good news is the band was going all acoustic.
Best Vocal Microphones for Under $200
“Our church doesn’t have much to spend on vocal microphones, what should we get?” I see this question often so today, let’s attempt to answer that. To start, there’s a lot that goes into selecting the right vocal microphone. It’s more than price, that’s for sure. There are 5 common properties that affect the sound produced by a microphone: 1. Microphone Type. There are three types of microphones: dynamic, condenser, and ribbon. Church vocal microphones are usually dynamic microphones and condensers.
How Much You Should Really Spend on Gear
Topics: budget By: Chris Huff September 5, 2019 Over the years, my view of gear has changed but that’s somewhat because the quality of budget-friendly gear has improved. I used to get starry-eyed when I’d flip through the Sweetwater catalog or walk the floor of the trade shows. The more expensive, the better, right? The $100 Ebtech Swizz Army cable tester was the thing to get. You could run over it with a tank and not hurt it. Contrast that with the reality of how we should treat our gear.
Why You Missed That Mic Cue - And How Not to Miss It Again
I’ve missed a mic cue or two…or three. When I was a rookie, I was nervous and mixing a service felt like juggling. Missing a mic cue was bad but I forgave myself – sort of. If I miss one now, I beat myself up over it. The reason is I know how to avoid these types of mistakes. It’s all about the anticipation. At my church, we call each part of the service is an element. For example, a song, the sermon, and a video would be three elements of the service.
What You Should Teach Rookies Techs...But Likely Don't
Topics: Leading a Team By: Chris Huff August 7, 2019 With episode 45 of the podcast, Chris and Brian return from a short hiatus to talk about the topic everyone should teach their new audio techs right from the start. Unfortunately, it’s a topic that’s usually taught last. They also discuss the top 3 qualities a church tech leader needs but why it’s often only one that gets any attention – and how that can spell disaster.
How to Avoid the Anxiety of Live Audio Production
Last week, I talked about the psychological aspect of the job and how the anxiety can prevent us from doing our best. I used to get nervous myself both before and during the whole service or event. What if something went wrong? What if I forgot something? How will I deal with it? Today, I want to cover that. You’re new at audio. Or, maybe you still have anxiety about running sound.
The Secret to Learning Audio Production - Recognize the Anxiety
Live audio production is easier than you think. After taking a bit of time off, I wanted to come back and start fresh. And to my long-time readers, that means I’m taking a new approach on some things. I wanted to start with the simple idea that audio production is easier than you think. But let me clarify… If you are fearful of touching the mixer or get anxious when you run sound (your heart rate increases), I want you to know your job is easier than you think.
Has “Pray Without Ceasing” Been Replaced With “Work Without Ceasing?”
"Beep, beep, beep," echoes in the kitchen as the coffee maker calls out to you. Morning has come. Moments later, coffee cup in hand, you check your Facebook account, Twitter feed, and the day's weather forecast. You scan your email and notice a daily devotional titled, "Pray without Ceasing" which you decide you'll read...later.
Can You Worship While You Work?
“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings.
The Key to Clarity in Your Audio Mix
What do you own? Do you own a car, a coffee cup, an iPhone, or a pair of Superman boxers? Ownership means the item belongs to you. It means no one else can claim it. This same concept extends to audio mixing in the form of frequency ownership. Once you see how this works, you'll find creating clarity in your mix a much easier task. The problem with mixing a band is dealing with instruments and vocals competing for the same fundamental frequencies.
Writing a business plan for your music career
For all the creativity needed to sustain a career in music, having a business plan is one way to stay grounded, define your goals, and keep you reaching for the stars. Artists of all stripes grapple with the struggle of art versus commerce. We need time to make music and concoct our visions, but we also need to eat, pay the rent, and have clothes to wear.
PreSonus ULT-Series Loudspeakers
NO MATTER WHAT WE SENT THROUGH THESE SPEAKERS, FROM THE SPOKEN WORD TO ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC, IT ALL SOUNDED GREAT. PreSonus recognizes that modern day live audio production demands even room coverage. Enter the new PreSonus ULT-Series active loudspeakers with ultra-long throw for even, horizontal coverage.
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