It wasn't too long ago that I was working the audio console during a morning service when I had one of those ‘ah ha!' moments. It was like someone was shining a spotlight on something that I had experienced a few times before but had never noticed. I think I would compare it to noticing your spouse for the first time in your life and realizing that you had been friends for years. It was a real ‘Duh' moment. On this particular morning the service was going well, the worship team was really on their marks, the mix was well put together, and the dB levels were in the pocket. It doesn't get much better than that. To top it all off I didn't have to work the console much at all. Rather, I was floating somewhere between participant and attendee. It was really awesome. And then it dawned on me, that ‘ah ha!' moment. Thinking back over time it seems that the best sets that I had ever worked were also the sets that seemed to take the least amount of effort to actually mix. It seemed that the slower that my hands moved the better the mix sounded.
In contrast to this, some of my least fond memories are of services that I just couldn't seem to put together the way that I wanted to. I ended up feeling like a drummer going for a really big fill, quickly going back and forth across the console touching and adjusting every knob in sight. I would suggest that this works quite well for drummers, but no so well for those of us behind the desk.
If we were to look at this and try to find a cause, it would be easy to say that when I really work the console I tend to mess things up. Everybody knows at least one engineer that demonstrates the concept that over-tweaking is the same as over-cooking. As Daddy said, “if it aint broke don't fix it”.
However, I'd rather not look at this from a causation standpoint but rather from a correlation standpoint. I don't believe that fast hands are a cause for a poor mix; rather, I believe that they correlate to poor preparation before the mix begins. By thoroughly prepping for a service, we are more likely to start with a controlled mix. This frees us during the mix to bring our artistry to the table, to add color here and embellishment there, and to use small changes in level to direct people's attention to the nuances of what they are experiencing.
Ultimately, it frees us to put forth our best in giving attendees an environment that allows them to have encounters with God. Simply put, our best work is done when we are proactive in our preparation rather than reactive in our mix.
In my experience fast-hand syndrome is most often related to issues with a lack of control, mostly as it relates to dynamics. Nothing makes an engineer (or congregation for that matter) jump faster than an instrument or vocalist that is instantaneously 15 dB louder than everything else in the room or an unexpected 2.5K peak that is headed straight towards the congregation's head like an icepick. Fixing these types of issues during a mix can be extremely difficult for many reasons. Identifying and fixing them well enough to protect the congregation from distraction may actually be impossible. The best way to fix them is to do so during service prep, before they have the chance to annoy anyone but you.
So how can you successfully prep yourself for service? Here is a basic outline of some practices that have worked well for me over time.
Preparation starts with a commitment, over a period of time, to learn and practice our craft. Most tech types don't take the time to obtain a basic understanding of console layout and the ‘hows' of getting audio into a console and then getting it out of the console. However, that's just the start. It takes countless hours of practice and education to get really good at it.
The more that you are willing to commit to the craft the better you will be able to evaluate and respond in your service preparation.
1. Know the gig.
I would venture to say that in all of our churches the band knows what they are going to play before they arrive. Generally they have listened to some sort of practice CD and they have been practicing the material. Have you? I would highly recommend listening to and getting very familiar with the set before you leave the house. This is the single most helpful thing I have ever done to get things under control. When the set list gets posted and the practice CD is released I grab one and listen to it. And listen to it. And listen to it. The result is that when walking into the church not only do I have a good idea as to what I want the mix to sound like, but I know what effects would be appropriate and where in the songs they should go. If, like me, you have missed a guitar solo or a vocal fill because you didn't expect them or you were chasing something else, make sure that you are prepping the gig.
2. Think creatively
Think creatively about what you want to do beforehand. I used to believe all the fabulous stuff I hear audio techs do is off the cuff, in the moment, and thought of on the spot. In my mind, I thought if I couldn't do all of that creative stuff on the fly then I wasn't a good tech. It took me a long time to realize that was just ridiculous. Sure if you do this for a living and tour constantly you can get pretty creative and spontaneous. That, however, is not the norm. Though let's be honest, the guys who tour generally do the same gig over and over and over, and have gone a long way towards having it figured out before they load up for the first time. Much of the audio pixie-dust that you can apply while mixing you can actually create in your head well beforehand.
3. Make time
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘to be early is to be on time and to be on time is to be late'? If you're an audio tech, this should be your mantra. Powering on the PA and doing things such as console layout and line check should be done before the band is ready to start. If their presence is distracting, then do it before they arrive. If the first part of the rehearsal is used to get things to work, you are losing time that you could be putting towards getting things under control. Use the early part of rehearsal to set gain structure and your initial settings for comps. You can't do this if you are busy trying to figure out why the acoustic guitar is missing.
4. Know your gear
Know your gear inside and out. Driving the desk should be like driving your car. Faders, gates, comps, Q, etc., should all be accessible from route memory. If you aren't quite there yet then throw a log on the fire, cuddle up with your console, read the manual, and play. Think of that manual as a love letter from the manufacturer that contains all of the secrets to making your desk sing. Seriously, the more you know about the console and how to use it the easier it will be to get and keep things under control. Which of the following scenarios is more embarrassing? To have an affectionate name for your desk or for the audience to miss the first syllable of every sentence when your vocalist suddenly starts praying and you can't find the gate? For the record, my console's name is ‘Precious'.
Note that everything on this list is generally non-technical in nature, and quite honestly, it's for a reason. Everything that will help us gain control of our mixes and cause us to improve from a technical perspective is rooted in practice, passion, and discipline. The practices that focus on personal ownership are those that form the bedrock for getting our technical house in order.
Earlier I mentioned that in my experience most instances of fast-hand syndrome are related to problems with the management of audio dynamics. In my next article, we will delve into this topic and review some fundamentals of gain staging and compressor usage. In the meantime go through this list of practices again and honestly ask yourself if you can do a better job at integrating them into your service. Remember, we have all been given our talents and passions by God, spending some time to improve them is never time lost.
