Current Issue

May 2012

by Art Yeap

We’ve heard it oft said, “there is no substitute for experience” — and if longevity is indeed a measure of long experience and success, then the analog mixer is a benchmark for success, having been in use 80 years since the mid-1920s when first utilized in early radio. So with all the buzz about new technology and the “digital age”, is there still a place for the analog mixer? Absolutely. Do we ever hear about “great sounding pre’s and EQ” (mic preamplifiers and equalizers) in digital mixers? Nope. What can we trust to operate fresh out of the box? With minimal training? And above all, with no “glitches” or “lockups”? Correct again — the faithful analog mixer.

Needs Assessment
In choosing the correct mixer for a church, I always start by asking a few questions of the worship, drama and arts leadership. I like to see what the needs are today and ask about plans for the future — for the next five years. I ask about the total number of vocalists and musicians presently involved in the worship team or teams and what additions or changes might take place soon. I also ask the same questions of the other art disciplines such as drama and dance. Will there be additional actors and more complex scenes? More spoken or sung accompaniment to dance?

Let’s say that at present, the church has an acoustic drum kit, a lead vocalist, about four backup vocalists, a piano, synth, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass and a monthly choir. That’s about six mics for the drums, five vocal mics, three instrument mics, four direct inputs (DI’s) from the instruments and four choir mics. That’s 22 inputs. Add two more mics used for congregational pickup for recording as well as ambience for in-ear monitors. Let’s not forget one stereo input each for the CD playback, DVD playback and tape playback. And importantly, up to four mics for the pastors and all of a sudden we have 28 inputs plus three stereo inputs.

And that’s not including the drama team that performs once a month with six actors. We can see now that a 40 channel board is barely adequate with no room to spare.

At the other end of the spectrum, we’ll take another example using a small church that is growing in attendance. This church has much simpler requirements. A mic for the pastor, a podium mic, two choir mics, four vocal mics, a mic for the acoustic guitar, a piano mic and two recording mics. That’s 12 inputs with an additional three stereo inputs for the CD playback, tape playback and the occasional DVD movie playback. Here we can make do with a less elaborate 20-channel mixer.

Planning for the Future
One may think that their church will always be headed towards expansion and an ever larger mixing console. That’s not necessarily the case. With the growing movement towards “multi-site churches”, some churches are actually keeping the size of their music and arts programs stable while putting more effort in new equipment for their “off-site” facilities. Others are planning improvements in their main facility to supply their “off-site” venues with more programming and content. Again, we try to discern the church’s needs for the next five to seven years.

We also consider the additional feeds required from the console. Do we need more than eight or twelve or sixteen auxiliary mixing busses (sends) in the future? Will the church go with wired or wireless personal monitoring systems? If they do, will more than those eight aux mixes be needed? Or will they need to add more reverb or effects units for their drama ministry to use up those aux mixes? Will they need a lot of special effects or instant playback systems? If so, they will need more stereo input channels. Let’s check to see if the direct outputs from each channel are pre-fader for multi-track recording. Do we have the insert points placed in the correct signal path for external compressors? What type of automation do we need? Yes, automation. We do have automation on analog boards. Remember, automation in analog boards has been used since the early 1970s. As a matter of fact, some analog boards have more user-friendly automation than newer types when it comes to theatre or drama. That is why analog mixers are still the standard in Broadway and London theatres.

Good Stewardship
But what does your church really need? First and foremost, it needs wisdom. Wisdom means planning for future needs and wisely spending the money that God’s people have entrusted your church with. It does not mean that going cheap is the best. It means quality balanced with value. It means usability and not just glamour or “name recognition”. The mixer has to be able to be understood by your personnel and volunteers now — not six months hence. It has to be reliable. I never hear of church leaders wanting to buy the cheapest car they can find. They typically want a “good” and reliable vehicle. That mindset needs to be applied to all their church purchases — mixers included. Too often, the first words I hear from a church are “what is the lowest cost mixer that can work”? Do I ever hear from the same folks “what is the lowest cost car for my family”? It is always the best quality…the best value…the best possible for my money…not the cheapest I can get by with that we can replace in two years. How many times have we suggested a mixer with enough channels for forseeable growth only to be turned down, and within a year hear back that “we only wished we got that X-channel board”…and “how we’ve outgrown the one we bought”. Yet there has to be balance. We recently went to a church with six wireless mics, a few other inputs, but some unscrupulous dealer had sold these brethren a 56 channel board…way more than they will need based on their expansion plans for the next seven years.

Features to Consider
Practically all “workable” mixers should have a solo or “pre-fade listen (PFL)” button. This feature allows the operator to “solo” or isolate a specific channel to listen for the proper EQ (equalization) and most importantly, adjust the input level or mic amplifier gain properly so that the incoming level does not overload or “clip”, or come in too low thereby compromising the signal-to-noise ratio.

Let’s go to the EQ or equalizer section. I consider having the ability to produce the proper sound from a lavalier mic a critical requirement for any church mixing console. Hence, I always like to see four bands of EQ or two sweepable mid-range adjustments.

Mute groups — a necessity for drama and even worship. These allow specific channels to be muted so that unused input channels or microphones can be muted or cut. It’s good to see eight or more of these groups, but even just four helps. These allow for optimizing for script cues so that the mixer is able to mute some channels and open up others for dialogue and song in plays. Some mixers have large number of mute scenes where MIDI control can step through and mute and un-mute in real-time for each cue.

Then of course, to VCA or not to VCA. VCAs (voltage-controlled amplifiers) simply put the audio path through amplifiers that are voltage controlled. In other words, the faders do not pass audio but rather pass a control voltage that in turn controls the level of the audio — much like a remote level control. With these, each VCA master or submaster can control the relative output level of one or more input channels. Makes life easier and provides you with a significant level of control flexibility.

Auxiliary mixes (or auxs) are essential for supplemental outputs of the mixing console. They are used as totally separate mixes for stage monitors, in-ear monitors, special effects as well as for recording. We always make sure that there are enough aux mixes that we can select to be pre-fader (i.e. independent of the channel fader) for all the monitors and then, enough aux mixes that are postfader that follow the level of the channel fader for effects units and even recording. Typical numbers can range from two for a very simple church to more than 24 for very complicated setups.

The Bottom Line
The analog board you choose has to be the one you feel comfortable with, easily operated by you and your crew as well as other guest mixers. It goes without saying that low noise, accurate tonal quality, versatile equalization, reliable circuitry and controls and even reliable connectors are a must. You would be surprised how many popular models lack in one or more of these criteria. Strive to make a wise selection decision for your ministry, yourself and above all, for the good news and worship to be heard clearly.

Arthur Yeap is a co-founder of Novo Group in San Francisco and has consulted in worship technology in the areas of video and audio and acoustics for over 30 years. His email is art@novogroupinc.com.