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Sometimes just thinking about how to make audio mixes sound better can be overwhelming because of the potential cost. It can be easy to assume that anything that would make your mix sound significantly better will cost thousands of dollars, but that isn’t always true. In this article, we want to give four things that can be done to significantly improve any church's sound mix for under $1,000.00.
1. Making the low-end better
One of the most difficult aspects of using subwoofers in church is that many churches weren’t built with audio or subs in mind. So, on many platforms, the subs shake the floor, walls, or the stage they are under, and that makes them sound bad. A great way to tighten up subs is to drop a subwoofer isolation pad under them. This can help clean up your low-end substantially (no pun intended). This will allow your kick drum to and bass hit cleaner and more consistently in the room. If that’s too small, try one of these mats designed for under drum sets.
The Auralex GRAMMA v2 Isolation Riser is designed specifically for small subs:
If that’s too small, try one of these Auralex HoverMats designed for under drum sets.
2. Upgrading Drum Sounds
In any contemporary or modern church, drums play a vital role. Churches often purchase quality drums, but concede on the mics. The rationale is “We’ll invest more in our vocal mics, and cheap-out on the drum mics.”
Another problem happens when the drums haven’t been maintained well. If your church rotates drummers, it’s easy for the drum heads to be ignored because maintenance is really no one’s responsibility.
What happens? That old expression, “You can’t polish a turd” comes to mind. So two things that can be done together to upgrade the drums are first replacing the drum heads and secondly upgrading drum mics. sE electronics and Shure make great kits for churches. Both of these drum mic kits are great in quality and will likely be an upgrade. Both of these kits leave room for drum heads to be purchased as well for less than $1,000. When the drums sound better, everything sounds better.
The sE Electronics V Pack Venue Drum Microphone Package:
The Shure DMK57-52 Drum Microphone Bundle with Stands and Cables:
3. More Definition for Lead Vocals
Sound engineers always want to make the worship leader or soloist “pop” just a little more on Sundays, but new wireless microphone systems can cost significantly more than expected. One easy way to get around this is just change the mic capsule on the wireless or get them a new wired mic. Often churches pick a microphone and then buy eight of the same thing, which actually makes it harder to differentiate the worship leader in the mix. Giving them a newer capsule can change everything.
One option that’s very inexpensive is the sE Electronics V7 MC1 Mic Capsule for Shure Wireless:
Another couple options are the Earthworks SR3117 and the EarthworksSR 5314. All of these are quality mics and will make the worship leader sound more unique in the mix. Other than the SR 5314, a church could buy any of the capsules mentioned above and buy a moderately priced wireless system that it could go on for an upgrade. However, if the wireless system the church already owns have the ability to swap capsules, it’s a much cheaper option.
4. Learn Something New
This one is actually free. At least it can be free. All too often we think improving our sound means buying more stuff. Yet most churches have already spent a lot of money on a digital console, and they aren’t using half of what they could on it. So, take some time to learn more about de-essers. Hone in on how you use gates. Read some articles on a master bus compressor or compression on your guitars. Take the time to dig into something that has already been purchased for the church. We can always do that regardless of the budget. Not everything has to cost something. Learning something new to get out of your comfort zone, and expand your knowledge might be the greatest possible investment.
Whether we are talking about preparing for a big event at church or just trying to make our weekly services sound better, there is always room to improve. Excellence isn’t perfection, but taking steps towards improving can be rewarding, and it can provide a better worship experience for everyone.
