From TobyMac’s stage to Sunday mornings at church, Playback Engineer Will Doggett relies on the GooRoo Liobox to ensure smooth, reliable playback of Ableton tracks and more.
In today’s worship environments, live music is increasingly complex. From full bands to backing tracks, intricate arrangements, and multimedia integration, even a mid-sized church can feel like a professional touring stage. Few people understand this better than Will Doggett, an Ableton Live certified trainer and professional playback engineer currently on tour with Grammy-winning Christian artist Toby Mac.
A well-planned playback system is like a safety net – it catches mistakes before anyone else notices.
The GooRoo Liobox2 MIDI controller has received the Church Production Road Tested Certification.
Doggett’s role on tour is both highly technical and musically demanding. He describes himself as “the bridge between the band and production.” Unlike a traditional musician, audio engineer, or lighting designer, a playback engineer manages all pre-recorded audio tracks, click tracks for timing, and sometimes time code for lights and video, ensuring the live performance runs smoothly while maintaining musical flexibility.
With a bright 3.5″ display and tactile pads, the GooRoo Liobox2 gives worship teams clear, real-time control over song lists, playback, and more.
“Every arrangement can change, sometimes in the moment,” Doggett explains. “Toby or the band might loop a section, extend a chorus, or alter the tempo slightly. My job is to anticipate, react, and make it seamless for both the performers and the production crew.” This requires both musical sensitivity and technical expertise. Doggett, himself a trained musician, emphasizes that understanding music is essential for making real-time decisions on the fly.
Even in a small church, flexibility is key. Things change mid-song, and your tech setup should keep up.
Central to Doggett’s workflow on tour is the GooRoo Liobox2, a hardware-based controller designed specifically for managing Ableton Live in a live performance context. Unlike software-only solutions, the Liobox2 sits physically on stage, allowing the playback engineer—or in a church setting, a worship leader or tech team member—to control set lists, trigger songs, and adjust loops or sections with just a few button presses. It can to manage Ableton Live in a live performance context (as well as Protools, Reaper, and all MIDI-compatible DAWs).
The GooRoo Liobox simplifies complex Ableton playback, handling tracks, click, cues, and MIDI so worship teams can run reliable, tour-tested audio with ease. (Photo courtesy of Will Doggett, Playback Engineer, TobyMac/Diverse City)
“The Liobox2 is simple, but powerful,” Doggett says. “I can see Ableton full screen without clutter, and everything I need is right on the hardware. I’ve color-coded buttons for play, stop, and previous/next, so I don’t have to think about it—my hands know what to do, and I can focus on the music.”
For churches, this simplicity translates directly into reduced stress and fewer technical mistakes during worship services. Many churches struggle with volunteers or worship leaders who are juggling instruments, vocal duties, and playback. The Liobox2 consolidates control to a single device, meaning you don’t need a dedicated computer operator to manage tracks, loops, or set list changes. For example, a worship leader standing at a mic or keyboard can manage the entire service’s playback without needing to touch the computer screen, freeing them to engage with the congregation.
Doggett also highlights the Liobox2s durability and road-readiness—a feature that translates well for churches with mobile setups or multi-site campuses. On tour, the device survives being loaded on buses, stored in trailers, and handled by multiple crew members, yet remains fully functional and reliable. For a church, that means less downtime and fewer technical headaches, especially when storing gear between services or transporting it between rooms or campuses.
Having the right tools allows worship leaders and musicians to concentrate on leading, not troubleshooting.
Another advantage of the Liobox2 is its flexibility in managing set lists. Doggett often needs to adjust songs and arrangements multiple times per day on tour, and the Liobox2 allows him to reorder songs or sections instantly. In a church context, this is particularly useful for adapting to the flow of a worship service, responding to spontaneous changes, or customizing music for different events and ministries.
While Doggett works on a professional touring stage, the principles he emphasizes—simplicity, reliability, and flexibility—apply directly to church production. He warns against overly complex setups, which are common among playback engineers and worship tech teams alike. “The system has to be simple enough that when something goes wrong, you know exactly what to do. If it’s too complicated, you press stop and the music dies. That can’t happen in the middle of a service.”
For many churches, the Liobox2 offers an accessible way to bring professional playback practices into a worship environment without requiring a full technical staff or extensive training. It streamlines the workflow, keeps the focus on the music, and allows volunteer teams to operate more confidently.
The Liobox2 makes Ableton easy for any worship team, even without a dedicated tech staff.
As worship services grow in technical complexity, having tools like the GooRoo Liobox2 can make a noticeable difference. From small to mid-sized churches, it enables a single operator—whether a worship leader or tech volunteer—to manage tracks, loops, and arrangements effectively. Doggett’s experience on tour demonstrates that even the most sophisticated performances can be controlled through simple, reliable hardware, and churches can leverage the same approach to elevate their own worship services.
In short, the GooRoo Liobox2 is more than a piece of gear—it’s a tool that helps worship teams focus on what really matters: leading people in music and connecting with the congregation. Whether on a national tour or in a local church, the principles of preparation, simplicity, and adaptability remain the same.
By bringing the lessons of professional touring into the church setting, the Liobox2 offers a practical, flexible solution for churches looking to streamline their playback workflow and empower their worship leaders and technical teams.
