“Why would you ever use that brand,” one person commented. I was shocked and saddened that the conversation almost immediately turned sour.
The best part of being a tech is having all the cool toys. Right? It's awesome knowing what all those knobs do and getting to turn the sound up to eleven. Right? I hear the comments from those people behind the sound booth who sit in awe of my job behind the console. Okay that last part is a stretch. It's even more than a stretch. I made it up. Usually all I hear from behind the booth is people clapping off beat.
I recently just installed a new sound console at my church and the whole process got me thinking… when does it stop being about the gear? It's hard to be a tech person and not get caught up in the gear. I understand that. I am not saying gear is bad. I am just wondering if our craft has lost some of the art form over the years due to technical advances. I know I've done it, used the excuse that if only we had “this” we could be better, instead of applying my skills to make the best out of what I have. Call it lazy, but I can honestly say I have purchased a new mic before exhausting all placement options with one I already owned. In retrospect, by buying that new mic I missed out on the fulfillment of accomplishing something artistic.
I remember my early days on the road as a touring sound guy. I was working with an artist on a tour where we flew almost everywhere. There was no room for gear. We checked our clothes and merchandise, and carried on his guitar and my laptop. That was it. Every night I was mixing on a different PA, a different console, and he sang into a different microphone. At the time, this bothered me. I wanted my own presets, my scenes, and a board I could call my own. However, those shows provided an incredible experience for me. It's where I learned it's not all about the gear. Believe me, some of those shows were nightmares. There were quite a few surprises along the way --- especially when the board promised was not what was there when we showed up.
Whether it's speakers, mics, or consoles, it seems everyone has the brands they love and the ones they despise. Sure we all should strive towards using quality gear. You can't make a “joyful noise” with blown speakers or malfunctioning equipment, My point is more toward the heart of the use.
Have you scoured any online production or tech forums lately? I can barely bring myself to read them honestly. The amount of opinionated mud-slinging on some of message boards would make a politician blush. One time I posted a picture of our church's sound booth with a simple caption about how church techs need to be praying for one another. We happened to have two different console brands at the time. Most of the online comments about that picture were not about the caption. Instead it was the disdain for our choice of consoles. “Why would you ever use that brand,” one person commented. I was shocked and saddened that the conversation almost immediately turned sour.
I'm primarily an audio guy, so I see tech primarily through the filter of audio gear, but the same can be said for video and lighting. People roll their eyes are one manufacturer over another --- possibly without ever having used anything by them. They just inherited their feelings from the collective. For example, my first computer had a Maxtor eight-gigabyte hard drive in it. This thing was huge; about the size of a computer DVD drive. It failed on me and I lost everything. Maxtor was dead to me. Then I would then talk to another computer guy who loved Maxtor products, but he hated Seagate because one failed on him. It reminds me of the day I had a bad show on a Digico D1. It was seven years before I'd touch a Digico again.
I hope that shows that I “get it,” and I am not writing this from some almighty high horse. I am writing this from the trenches saying, “I know, I struggle too.” What I hope we can remedy here together is simply that our gear is just what we use. The gear does not define us.
Churches come in all shapes and sizes, with different ways of reaching people and drastically differing budgets. Whether you need a $100k audio desk or a $3k console, the mission is the same: to share the Gospel message. The Behringer X32 is a low-end console. But if that's what you have, mix the snot out of it! It does the job and it's in your budget. Being jealous of the church up the street doesn't help your situation. And you, church up the street...lay off bashing the X32. It's an amazing console for the money. Why not offer help and encouragement to the church that's a fraction your size. Am I being too harsh?
Gear is gear. Use it to make your service better, not to define who you are personally. Deal?
