Pastor-Friendly Microphones

HELPING LEADERS BECOME

B E T T E R S T E WA R D S .

Pastor-Friendly Microphones Presented by: Gabriel Antonini of DPA Microphones

Table of Contents LISTEN UP! THE PASTOR’S MIC IS A MAKE-OR-BREAK AUDIO ELEMENT

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The congregation should hear the sermon devoid of issues caused by substandard audio capture.

Throw in the fact that a lot of church facilities don’t have perfect acoustics — and also that some attendees may have hearing issues — and it’s imperative that this first step of acquisition be a premium one. Everything that follows will either degrade or attempt to enhance this signal.

In short: There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

A TALE OF 3 CHURCHES

ACCURATE, NATURAL SOUND: ESSENTIAL TO A TRUE WORSHIP EXPERIENCE Close your eyes. You’re at a worship service. The visuals are gone, and all you have left is sound. That’s where the information happens.

Accordingly, in any church, the sound engineer is central to the outcomes of the worship experience (good or bad).

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

THE SILENT SERVANT LAWS 6

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A few things the sound team should try!

Three noteworthy — yet very different — churches have asked for my assistance in redesigning their existing sound systems. The goal: to deliver to their congregations a true-natural experience.

In all three cases, I recommended starting at the source: the microphone.

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

MIKING INSTRUMENTS: EXPERT Q&A + PRO TIPS

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If you ask Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS, National Sales Support / Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones in USA, instrument microphones should receive the same level of consideration and care as the pastor’s microphone.

“Some people respond better to music, and some to the spoken word,” he says. “Both options tell the story; they’re both interpreting the Word.

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

MICROPHONE & OTHER PRODUCTION DO’S AND DONT’S Tips & tricks to share with the house-of-worship sound engineer (read: The “silent servant” laws)

Coming in February 2017!

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Listen The pastor’s mic is a makeor-break audio element

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS As an audio professional, I can tell you this for sure: When it comes to your church’s sound setup, the pastor’s microphone should not be an item that’s up for discussion when it comes to budget concerns. In other words: No scrimping permitted here.

Providing a premium spoken word experience does come with a price tag. When capturing the soundscape, transparency is our goal — we want it to sound transparent, and accurately reproduced, as if there was not a microphone at all. The congregation should hear the sermon devoid of issues caused by substandard audio capture.

Throw in the fact that a lot of church facilities don’t have perfect acoustics — and also that some attendees might have hearing issues — and it’s imperative that this first step of acquisition be a premium one. Everything that follows will either degrade or attempt to enhance this signal.

In short: There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

First things first: what’s your pastor’s preaching style?

The Walker. This pastor is comfortable using his hands, and he walks around a lot — usually, to “get into the zone.” For him, a wireless headset mic is a great fit. Whether he’s at the pulpit or roaming, this mic is closer to the sound source: his mouth.

The DPA d:fine headset — as well as all the DPA microphones — can easily interface wirelessly with an array of adaptors for all thirdparty wireless system manufacturers. So, you can use your premium microphone with all wireless systems worldwide.

It’s the most important element in the sound chain — and, often, the least attention is paid to it. All elements downstream of the microphone will attempt to repair, enhance or simply pass along this signal. By paying closer attention and placing a premium microphone at the source, most technical issues can be avoided.

As humans, we recognize how we’re supposed to sound. This is different for music, whereas we can portray an instrument in many ways to achieve the artistic expression we desire. Speech needs to be intelligible; we know what we are supposed to sound like. We need to pay close attention when amplifying human speech — especially in a church setting, where The Word is what the people are there for!

Choosing a less-than-optimal mic for your pastor is like putting the worst-quality tires on your high-performance racecar. (You just wouldn’t do that.) Intelligibility is the paramount end result that we want to aim for. Or, to complete the car metaphor, the proper speed cannot be achieved on inferior tires.

Unfortunately, many churches don’t place the emphasis on the pastor’s mic that they should. The first step in fixing or preventing the problem is to understand how a truly “pastor-friendly” mic looks — and sounds.

Photo courtesy of Compass Bible Church (Aliso Viejo, CA) churchexecutive.com

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A necklace-style mic also works well for The Walker, because it simply attaches around the neck with the same premium capsule that the d:fine headset uses. So, you get the same level of clarity with either model.

Finally, a lavalier mic (which clips to the pastor’s lapel) might also be a good choice.

The Hugger / Grabber. This pastor prefers to stay at the podium while preaching. He uses the mic as his center point. Or, sometimes — as we so often see in the political arena — he might grab the podium mic and move it. This action can alter the sound in a negative way, and also over time damage the microphone, and no one wants that.

So, I tend to go with podium mics that can be tailored to the desirable preferred length, as this will aid in consistent sound among multiple users. Uniformity around the mic capsule is a very desirable feature for a microphone. This enables the user to turn his or her head slightly, or look down and then up to their PowerPoint slides, without sounding off-mic.

If this uniformity did not exist, intelligibility and sound reinforcement would suffer from the sound level going up and down.

For a highly directional microphone, the DPA SC4098 supercardiod mic is well-accustomed to an even uniform sound while also reducing off-axis unwanted sound. This also results in more speech gain before feedback, which everyone can appreciate.

The DPA SC4098 podium mic is also linear, both on- and off-axis at all frequencies, which results in its ability to produce a very natural sound.

So, even if an unwanted sound (like a loud air-conditioning unit) was on stage, it would sound the same as our ears would hear that sound. When a microphone shifts the frequency of a fixed unwanted sound, that’s when operators attempt to equalize the unwanted sound out, but they’re really changing the desired on-axis sound, as well (read: the pastor). The linear frequency response delivers pure, unaltered sound, and that’s what we want — especially when you add multiple microphones to a production.

We also use a modular capsule system, such as the 4018F. This is a podium mic series that has the ability to use an array of microphone capsules that possess different polar patterns. The 4018F is well-suited for church use as a podium microphone.

The DPA SC4098 podium microphone

The DPA capsule system is modular, and so the 4018 (as well as all the DPA d:dicate capsules) can be utilized for other functions such as theatre, film and opera. The appropriate accessories, such as the mount, pre-amp and means of clipping, are all that is required to re-purpose your DPA capsules.

The unpredictable preacher. He starts at the podium and begins to stray. He uses a PowerPoint presentation or shows a video, or both.

One minute, he’s at the pulpit; the next minute, he’s several feet away.

He moves a lot — looking back or up at the PowerPoint, taking a sip of coffee, and possibly walking into the congregation to talk with someone or invite them to testify, and so on.

This kind of spontaneity requires the right mic. Here again, our SC4098 podium mic is a great fit. In some cases, I’ve seen pastors walk as far as five or six feet away from the pulpit and still be heard. It’s incredible.

Typical on and off-axis response of a d:screet™ SC4098

Polar pattern of the DPA SC4098 podium mic 4

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and all genres of live music — including the house of worship market — so, we specialize in premium speech and great focus on musicality in our microphones.

You get premium service and support, too. Often, when selecting a pastor mic, post-purchase support is overlooked. That’s a big mistake. Day 2 support and educational support is too often overlooked and rapidly disappearing from our industry.

With a premium product, you should get positive answers when you ask key support questions: What’s the company warranty?

Will you back our church if we break a part?

How quickly can we get that part? When it arrives, can I get support on how to use the part?

Will you guide and instruct us?

Some companies are so large, and with such vast clientele, that some smaller clients may slip through the cracks. Ask what the support structure looks like “after the honeymoon.”

Another option could be to use a wireless directional headset, or lavalier lapel mic, or both the podium and wireless option. Yes, maybe this preacher needs two microphones. When the pastor is in the moment, your sound team should be equipped to technically follow the production.

One more option is to have a wireless handheld microphone like the d:facto microphone. It has the flexibility to be used as an interview microphone, guest speaker microphone or a question-and-answer microphone. And, like all the DPA family, it posseses the same premium qualities, with the added benefit of an SPL handling of up to 164dB, and the DPA modularity, which gives the engineers the ability to exchange microphone capsules to address different production applications.

The case for “sound” stewardship Microphones come at a variety of price points, but a truly pastorfriendly mic costs a little more, relatively speaking: between $500 and $800. Here’s why.

It performs as advertised. The first question to ask is: Does the product do what it claims? When you buy a premium product, you’re likely to be happy with its performance on Day One. For our part, DPA works quite a bit with most genres, such as film theatre, broadcast, recording studios churchexecutive.com

Natural sound = happy worshipers. With a premium mic, everyone hears natural, pleasant sound. It makes our ears and our brains smile, and our hearts light.

Studies back this up: When sound is linear, we’re happier. Let’s imagine, for example, you’re at a restaurant. The silverware clanking is louder than your dinner companion’s voice.

You want to leave, and you probably don’t know why — but I do: any “distracting” sound creates unnatural sonic coloration and listening fatigue. The background noise might become the foreground noise when the acoustic treatment is not properly designed. No fun!

For worshipers with hearing loss, this is particularly vexing.

For a moment, think of sound like a rainbow. When it reaches your eyes, you’ll see a glorious palette of color if those colors are not prematurely mixed. However, if they are prematurely mixed — referencing the color analogy, if the frequencies are not linear before they enter your ear — speech gets muddled. All of a sudden, the pastor sounds too thin or bass heavy. He doesn’t sound like him / her.

With a truly pastor-friendly mic, this isn’t an issue. The pastor always sounds just as he does when he / she is standing three feet from you, just speaking naturally.

A pastor-friendly mic isn’t a light investment, nor should it be.

Getting the right mic for the right task at hand requires a true stewardship perspective. As with so many things in life, you really do get what you pay for.

Remember: There’s no right way to do the wrong thing.

Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS, is the Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones in the USA.

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churches Three noteworthy — yet very different — churches have asked for my help redesigning their existing sound systems. The goal: to deliver to their congregations a clearer sonic experience.

In all three cases, I recommended starting at the source in the sound chain: the microphone.

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also advised each of the three churches to add or dust off an existing a hearing assist system to alleviate the issues worshipers of all ages with hearing loss were experiencing.

While their goals were the same, the three facilities — in terms of functionality — were not.

Project 1: A retirement home and care center for older Sisters.

Sisters of the Holy Child of Jesus has a beautiful chapel, which broadcasts the sermon internally, every day, to the Sisters who are bedridden. For these Sisters, the sound comes from a small TV set; so, one can imagine the difficulty in maintaining the intelligibility level. As a consequence, the older Sisters could not enjoy their final days, as the management dearly wished.

For all three projects, our team installed a d:screet™ SC4098 Supercardioid Podium microphone; a d:fine headset microphone; and a DPA necklace microphone to cover the pastor’s duties.

Immediately, the feedback I received was that people with hearing issues were hearing much better. The churches thanked me over and over again for my contribution. When I informed them that I had not installed the hearing assist systems yet — only the microphones — we were all amazed at the level of clarity a well-designed microphone can deliver.

Project 2: A standard church service in an unconventional location: a high school auditorium. The challenge here was the same: How do we maintain intelligibility? The church also wanted to implement a worship band.

Project 3: A traditional church in a traditional setting, with two bands and intelligibility issues just like the other two churches. Addisville Reformed Church has many reflective surfaces, which ramped up unintelligibility. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, the church’s sound reinforcement system was in line (vertically) with where the pastors stand to deliver the sermon.

Addisville Reformed Church in Richboro, PA

As of this writing, the assist systems are as follows: Church #1: System gathering dust; not relied on as before.

Church #2: Still in box / not needed.

Church #3: Never purchased.

I was compelled to make three simple videos to portray my experience.

While these videos are not exactly “popcorn-eating-frenzy” experiences, they are true — and great examples of the ministry power of thoughtfully chosen, truly premium-quality microphones.

Thanks, Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS, is the Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones in the USA Sisters of the Holy Child of Jesus (SHCJ) in Rosemont, PA 6

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Miking instruments

Expert Q&A: Tried-and-true strategies

If you ask Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS, National Sales Support / Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones in USA, instrument microphones should receive the same level of consideration and care as the pastor’s microphone.

“Some people respond better to music, and some to the spoken word,” he says. “Both options tell the story; they’re both interpreting the Word.

“In today’s worship centers, my opinion is that both are equally important — if only for the reason that they serve the church’s purpose intent, which is to widen participation,” he continues. “A simple, elegant and natural solution is what’s needed to capture the pure sound elements of live music. It’s there that we turn the sound waves into electronic signals through a wire > through sound reinforcement > back again to sound waves to the listener’s ear. Premium-quality microphones will get this chain of events started out on the right path.

“Visual appeal through an uncluttered stage area — minimizing tripping hazards, as well as easier setup and teardown times — can now be realized.”

With such an important message to convey musically, it makes sense to brush up on some proven, professional instrument miking strategies.

Q: Very often, the same church will offer a solemn, traditional service, as well as a more contemporary service — with music to match. Do instrument miking techniques also differ, then?

In practical terms, not so much. We want to capture the source with the least amount of microphones, and we want to position the musical elements physically so that they do not sonically impede each other.

First and foremost, the way I’d go about treating the two different types of service initially is to listen to the room. What’s the acoustic footprint? Is it too reverberant? Is it too non-reverberant? Choosing the correct microphone churchexecutive.com

polar pattern, proximity calibration distance and mounting solution is how you win most of the sound battle before it begins. The sound that will inevitably leak into other microphones will then be at a lower level and thus give the operator more control and power to balance the mix without over-processing or attempting to use EQ to remove unwanted sound (if the mic is linear both on / off axis). It will also help if the engineer attends a few rehearsals to find out if he is dealing with professional or amateur performers. Inconsistencies and un-dynamic players can cause havoc and disrupt the flow of worship very easily. Even in this scenario, having a true sonic image will give you an upper hand. Designing the physical placement of the musicians will also assist the sound quality by allowing the engineer to use fewer mics and acquire premium-quality sound with less risk of comb-filtering. This is caused when two or more microphones receive a source sound at different time intervals, causing unnatural sound artifacts (unaligned). This cannot be rectified easily in a live scenario.

When it comes to choral music, we want to avoid having adjoining choral sections from entering other sections’ microphones on-axis at the same level. The 3.1 rule deals with minimizing the audible phasing problems when summing a number of microphones to mono. The rule states that the source-to-microphone distance of numerous microphones should be three times the distance between the sound source and the nearest microphone.

A rule of thumb for minimizing phasing issues is to have around a 10-dB difference in level between the microphone contributions. The 3:1 distance rule achieves this.

Another workaround is to pan microphones in the mix. Due to the nature of panning, this also creates level differences.

The DPA supercardiod d:screet™ SC4098 is well-suited for miking choirs.

It is a lightweight ceiling- or stand-mounted gooseneck microphone that will naturally lower the sound level of adjoining sections, as well as create P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY M I C R O P H O N E S • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

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a uniform sound level when aimed towards the back row of the choir or the farthest vocalist from the on-axis point. It sort of mixes the levels for you when installed properly; this is great for both volunteers and seasoned engineers.

The best-sounding choir will always have a desired amount of the room ambiance in the mix. Live, the choral voices will combine with the space as it gets pushed through the sound reinforcement system. It will sound fantastic on the recording, as well. Less is more in this case!

I’ve also worked with barbershop quartet-like vocal setups in churches, where vocalists sing together — without instrumentation.

In this case, too, less is more … as long as you’re using well-designed microphones. Or sometimes just one, like the DPA d:dicate™ 4015 wide cardioid capsule. This will capture all the voices while rejecting the congregation side of the equation.

Finally, some pastors like to cantor (sing liturgical music). For them, I’d recommend the microphones we discussed, at length, in our previous article. DPA microphones are a great option for this because of their linearity, transient response and SPL handling. Whether it’s a headset microphone, a necklace microphone or a podium microphone, you’re able to sing and not have technical issues arise from the microphones ability to perform spoken word or music. The microphone will also be closer to the source — the mouth.

Q: Which instruments do churches seem to have the most trouble miking?

It’s worth noting up front that a lot depends on the consistency and professionalism of the musicians. In the wrong hands, a musical instrument can be a dangerous weapon! When people can sing or play their instruments with good dynamic control or well enough to play within the song arrangement, it immensely helps the front-of-house mixer and monitor engineer. (They can, for example, count on the drummer not to go ballistic when the singer is at the quietest passage of the song.)

With that said, most acoustic instruments like guitar / drums / human voice tend to be the most troublesome, especially when the player is inconsistent regarding dynamics.

However, when a worship band is made up of experienced musicians, I’ve found that drums and electric guitar are the instruments most likely to sound loudest to worshipers. Acoustic guitar tends to be the hardest to have sit in the FOH mix and the hardest mic to send back into the musicians’ monitors without feedback issues.

A lot of mixers use the direct output (DI) box for this purpose, but it does not sound as good as a microphone can. Using a mic with supercardiod pattern, mounted directly on the instrument, and has a linear on / off axis frequency response like the 4099G will give you more gain before feedback and allow more level into the monitors.

Approach the worship band setup as if it’s performing in a recording studio, even though it’s live. Muffle and pad the drums; put a pillow in the kick drum; put some Moongel (damper-gel) on the tom-toms, or even the cymbals. You can even use more old-school approaches, such as moleskin padding — whatever it takes to tame the drums. That way, you’ll still hear them nicely, but they’re more controllable. Some facilities will use a plexi-glass cage for the drums; but in my opinion, this can create a boxedin sound and increase off-axis drum energy in all the drum mics, causing lack of separation. Visually, it adds glare and can appear odd.

You might also consider electronic drums, especially if your church relies on a variety of volunteer mixers and drummers. This way, they can 8

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play the drum set as hard or soft as they want; either way, the output is controlled by a volume knob, and can be volume-adjustable. This is a great solution for amateur drummers, and can also be a great solution when the band is all using in-ear monitors. This allows control of the drums at the desired level and will not destroy the dynamics or song arrangement.

The only problem is, other band members might want to feel the drummer behind them; that has a certain spiritual and emotional appeal.

So, I usually send the electronic drums to a separate wedge monitor facing the congregation and seated next to the drummer. This way, if you’re the singer, bass player or guitarist, it will sound like there’s a real drummer behind you, with a real acoustic set.

Angle the electric guitar amp away from the congregation and place a microphone on the amp and feed the appropriate monitors with its signal.

Here again, control through separation wins the day.

Q: When we talk about “instruments,” are we also talking about vocalists?

Yes, definitely. In fact, as important as it is for the pastor’s voice to be heard, it’s just as important that the worship band leader and background singers are heard. It’s a very emotional part of the worship service.

So often, I hear, ‘We have $1,000 dollars, and we need five microphones, so let’s go see what we can get.’ It really warrants more consideration.

For background singers: You need to design these situations.

Background microphones will require rejection from the side.

Why? You don’t want too much of vocalist 2 going in to vocalist 1’s microphone, and vice versa. By designing your performance with the correct directional characteristics, you can tame unwanted sound from other vocalists and other instruments. This improves the operator’s chances of delivering a well-balanced, uncluttered, fantastic musical experience.

For the lead singer: Here, it can be similar — if the singer is by himself or herself, you can have the monitors set left and right with a supercardioid microphone, and then reject everything from, say, 135 to 150 degrees off-axis. This will allow for more mobility within the singer’s area. If he or she plays an instrument, this polar pattern — with proper mic positioning — will also reject the instrument considerably.

With fewer frequencies flying around the room, invading other performers’ microphones and coming back into the wrong monitors, control is now possible.

Here’s another classic scenario: Bobby wants to hear more of Susan, and Susan wants to hear more of Susan, and Janet wants to hear more of Steve. In these cases, I usually suggest shutting everything off when doing a sound check. Turn off the monitors. The musicians should just have their amps on, nothing else — turn off the PA. Just play.

Then, ask each musician what he or she cannot hear. Most likely, they will hear the louder instruments (like drums and electric guitar) just fine; they might also be OK with their own levels. So, now we can use a deductive approach and only send into the monitors what each person cannot hear well enough.

This will give the performers a comfortable environment. It will also give the engineer less unneeded sound in the room. Everybody wins, including the congregation.

If you leave it up to the musicians, they will say, ‘Give it all to me.’ But, remember what I always say: There’s no right way to do the wrong thing.

— Reporting by RaeAnn Slaybaugh

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from Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

• In acoustically imperfect rooms, install a few spot treatments in the band area. Rugs, gobos or commercially available options will implement into existing spaces in a more attractive way. Minimizing reflective surfaces without taking away the good ambiance (soniccharacter) is the perfect desired balance.

The ultimate solution would be to hire an acoustic consultant who will produce the solution in the form of drawings / materials and recommend where to put them.

But, both approaches will yield improvement in taming a live space.

• For drums, consider the d:dicate™ 2011C Twin Diaphragm Cardioid microphone. The ‘little brother’ to the famed DPA 4011 is optimized for on-stage use but is also at home in the studio. It’s an excellent microphone for close-miking situations where there is a lot of stage sound. This microphone will capture the intended instrument naturally and reject unwanted sound coming from other sources. The one capsule design is comprised of two opposite-facing minicapsules placed in a dual-diaphragm. A lower selfnoise is a great benefit from this design. It’s a directional microphone that is fantastic on a kick drum, snare drum, woodwinds, guitar cabinet, and most other live elements — extremely natural and pure, with a high sound pressure level (SPL) rating of 146dB. It also shares the DPA modular aspect and is interchangeable with other DPA preamps.

• For instruments with high output, such as drums, another recommendation is the d:vote™ 4099D Instrument Microphone. The d:vote™ 4099 series mics come in two sensitivities: high-SPL and standard SPL The low-sensitivity microphone has a higher SPL of 152dB and is designed to handle drums, trumpets and instruments with a highenergy output.

The high-sensitivity version (142d) is for most other instruments, like the piano, acoustic guitar, violin, cello, banjo, accordion. The instrument list and clipping mechanisms go on and on!

This series is truly a musician’s mic without equal. It allows you to achieve the purest reproduction of your instrument. The microphone features a supercardioid polar pattern for superior gain-before-feedback. These microphones offer an extremely natural sound and are fully capable of handling your instruments’ dynamic range and subtle detail.

4099G. The microphones can be used wirelessly, very easily. They are adaptable with most third-party wireless manufacturers worldwide. You could mic a whole orchestra or rock band with these little guys.

They’re a one-mic-fits-all instrument solution. It’s a studio-grade microphone with minimal visual impact and tremendous audible reproduction quality for the live market. A volunteer’s or seasoned engineer’s best friend, indeed.

• For vocals, I like to use the d:facto™ Vocal Microphone.

It’s an extremely accurate studio-grade microphone disguised as a live microphone.

It handles exceptionally high SPL of 160dB, and portrays a linear response at all angles and frequencies both on / off axis. This means that you will experience an uncolored, natural representation of the vocalist. It comes in a few configurations but is mostly purchased in a supercardiod or Omni model. The capsules are modular and therefore can be swapped with the DPA family of capsules. The 4018V and 4018VL are focused on the live music market, while the 2006 capsule transforms it into an Omni platform.

So, you can use it for your concert or your broadcast — very pure. It’s going to give you much more gainbefore-feedback and extreme stage noise rejection from side angles. Excellent for multiple-vocalist situations and also adaptable to third-party wireless solutions worldwide.

• To close-mic the tom-toms, consider the d:vote™ 4099D Instrument Microphone for Drum. To closemic the piano, check out the d:vote™ 4099P Stereo Microphone System. For the violin, I like the d:vote™ 4099V. For the acoustic guitar, I like the d:vote™ churchexecutive.com

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Accurate, natural sound: essential to a true worship experience

By Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS

Close your eyes. You’re at a worship service. The visuals are gone, and all you have left is sound.

That’s where the information happens.

A

ccordingly, in any church, the sound engineer is central to the outcomes of the worship experience (good or bad).

The sound engineer volunteer or professional needs to be the central cog in the wheel of activities.

All activities in these types of facilities rely on sound, whether it’s a choir, worship band, pastor’s sermon, or a video playback from a foreign mission trip. There needs to be a person to lead this process. It’s the responsibility of the sound engineer to facilitate the techniques to ensure a successful production, whether it’s instructing the field team how to use boom and bodyworn microphones in harsh conditions, or working with the band to achieve a clear monitor mix for the band.

The sound engineer needs to know what the challenges are — why someone isn’t comfortable speaking; why someone seems shy near the microphone; why the band is so loud. They can ask themselves questions like, Does the pastor have the right microphone on? and Do I need to teach proper microphone technique to all users?

To ensure success, the sound engineer must mimic a Christ-like approach. If he/she doesn’t, the production may derail. The engineer needs to remain calm and deal with multiple personalities. And really, we all want the same thing: premium sound. We want a service that sounds as if there are no microphones at all; just accurate, and intelligible.

So, how can we get there?

When it comes to miking a worship band, using proper techniques can ensure premium sound for the vocalist and band. Every microphone should receive the same amount of care and consideration as the pastor’s microphone. While some members may prefer the sermon from the pastor, others may desire the hymns and sounds from the choir or worship band.

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It’s ideal for every church to have a simple, elegant solution to capture the pure sound of its live elements.

The bottom line is: If you want premium sound consistently, it will require organizational cooperation. Sound is invisible, and typically only bad sound is noticed. When microphones do not possess properties such as on/off axis linearity at all frequencies and angles, a fast impulse response, and high SPL handling, we notice the inaccuracies and frequency shifts that occur due to the microphone’s inability to produce a 360-degree flat frequency response. The ear and brain are hard-wired to receive accurate sound. Thus, when the sound becomes unnatural and unintelligible. This normally ends with the user experiencing “listening fatigue” prematurely.

Try to avoid comb filtering, or instances where a source might be compromised due to the direct versus indirect sound capture. In other words, direct sound — along with unwanted reflected source sound — might be entering the same microphone at different times. The filtering that arises when a signal is added to itself after having been delayed in time is called a comb filter. Comb filtering is rarely intentional, but it’s heard all the time in sound productions, where it can arise both acoustically and electrically. This situation is a daunting task to remedy for the engineer, and often results in an unintelligible experience for the congregation. In order for this delay to not affect the sound field at the microphone position, the reflection must be attenuated by at least 10 dB and preferably 15 dB. Try to minimize reflected sound.

Mr. Proximity Depending upon how a microphone is calibrated at the factory for proximity effect (low energy buildup), this can cause speech to be unintelligible. So, don’t get the microphone too close to the pastor, or the speech might become muffled. Tonal balance is attained through using the correct distance specified in the manufacturer’s directional microphone’s distance calibration. Pressure-gradient microphones should be calibrated for different uses, such as a lecture or using a boom microphone for dialogue recording. One setting does not work for all, and once low energy is recorded, it is close to impossible to remove. It is like trying to un-bake a cake!

Instrument know-how Knowing the dynamic style of your musicians and the directional radiation pattern of their instrument is vital in helping you properly mic their instruments. Typically, a super cardioid microphone mounted directly on the instrument is ideal, especially when it has a linear on/ off-axis frequency response. This mic will give the engineer more gain before feedback and may assist the engineer to attain a more concise, clear mix.

A supercardioid microphone like the 4099G is a fantastic choice for acoustic guitar, especially because we can experiment easily with the microphone sound capture simply by angling via the gooseneck mount.

This will give us options regarding the tone we prefer from the instrument.

The d:vote 4099 instrument solution

Diagram by Jürgen Mayer churchexecutive.com

offers mounting for most instruments as well as wireless adaptors for thirdparty manufacturers.

We want an acoustic guitar to sound like six strings. So, we also need our microphones to have a lightning-fast impulse response so we don’t miss any nuance of the resonating strings.

Also, using directional microphones would allow the engineer more level control over the sources. This approach is more deductive and can let you design your event by what you wish to reject from each microphone. It’s what I like to call “designing by rejection” — essentially, making sound decisions primarily based on what we don’t want to hear.

Another sound trap is using a specific microphone because it changes the complexion of the instrument. An example would be using a kick drum microphone because it has a rise in the low frequency. It sounds big when soloed; most times, though, we end up cutting out the artificial lowend. Why? Because you shouldn’t need to boost the low energy of a lowenergy instrument!

In other words, break the mic muscle memory; use microphones that are ideal for all types of sound capture. My suggestion is to leave the EQ for deductive-type applications and let the microphones do their job. If angled correctly, your mix balance will sound amazing and, most of all, natural.

Now, consider tech tools that can help For live sound engineers in the house-of-worship market, tools such as the Smaart System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-time Tool (SMAART), or SIM from Meyer Sound Laboratories — both Audio Analyzers — can be coupled with an accurate microphone, such as the DPA4006A, and used to tune a sound system to prevent feedback conditions. So, performers can accurately hear themselves and their band mates, letting them perform optimally.

This ensures the microphones’ response at all positions on the stage are working in conjunction with the reinforcement system. You’re getting a true image of how to set the EQ curves of all those different angles. Here, the linearity comes back into play, because the microphone that’s onstage comes back onstage after it comes out of the speakers and reflects off walls, chairs, and other elements of the facility. What does that sound like coming into the microphone at a strange angle? If there is a stray frequency that causes issues off-axis and is, for example, at 3k, then we need to reduce that frequency, which will then result in important information for intelligibility being cut out. If the system is tuned properly, then we can retain the important information that we need to hear optimally.

What I’ve described is an all-too-common situation. Realistically, however, many churches are subject to budget restrictions when it comes to their acoustic design and equipment setup. That said, it’s important (and certainly cost-effective) to have a strong training program in place. Many resources are available online for free, and a lot of vendors offer these sorts of tutorials and training at no charge. One great example, of course, is DPA’s Mic University.

When it comes to equipment selection on a strict budget, be sure to buy the best microphone you can afford that possesses the proper attributes that are needed for your production. After that, invest in the best-quality console and speaker reinforcement system you can afford.

You want to follow this buying sequence because it’s difficult and timeconsuming to make a below-average microphone sound good enough, even if your sound system is a premium one. But, a great microphone can and will make an average system sound very good and with a high degree of intelligibility, which is the name of the game regarding the spoken word. churchexecutive.com

Putting the lion’s share of your budget into the microphones is your first line of defense against unintelligibility. DPA is world-renowned for delivering unbeatable natural/accurate sound.

Along with the array of mounting accessories offered, this ensures an uncluttered stage area.

Strategic microphone selection and placement play a vital role in successful productions. Sound is invisible and, when unnoticed, is most likely because it sounds great!

One last rant All too often, we invest time and money into mission trips that are solely intended to assist the outreach of the church and to help people in many unstable areas of the world. How many times have you been in church waiting to view video of a mission trip, just to be very disappointed in the sound capture? It’s not always the fault of the recordist; however, great microphones are not the only answer.

Often, there simply isn’t enough hands on deck, and too much gear to be operated. The result is decent video quality and horrid sound capture.

Well, there’s some great news — especially if you record video with your iPhone or Mac/PC laptop. DPA recently released the Digital Audio Interfaces, which are very compact and lightweight. The specifications of the are greater than any DPA microphone made. This results in a “no-compromise” premium-quality sound capture through your iPhone or laptop. It can be configured through the DPA APP for stereo, dual or mono functionality. It also has four presets and hi-pass filtering on each channel to help reduce unwanted low energy from your recording. The best part is that you can lock out the gain settings so the video team is guaranteed to get spectacular sonic detail. It can also be paired with most DPA microphones, including the , and microphone families. Therefore, you can easily have a traditional broadcast interview setup with a boom mic and body-worn microphone — or a stereo pair of 4061, for example — to capture live music or film sound.

Another possibility could be a pair of DPA 4011 microphones on a concert piano for stellar results right into your iPhone. Additionally, the d:vice is a core appliance and will work with most third-party apps and software programs. For the tech-heads, the has 114dB of dynamic range and can attain high sampling rate of 96kHz. Hey, your next mission trip or recital can now sound professional and be used by volunteers and professionals alike!

Getting great sound is subjective These suggestions are meant to be a good starting point. Remember: a confident performer will always sound better!

In a church, it’s all about information. We can close our eyes and get the information we need just from the sound — and that’s why it really needs to be accurate.

Thank you for listening!

— Gabriel Vincent Gabriel Antonini, CTS, is National Sales Support/Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones in USA.

P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY M I C R O P H O N E S • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

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THE SILENT SERVANT LAWS: A few things the sound team should try!

•A ttend a few band rehearsals each month. Try to duplicate the musicians comfort level when you’re mixing live.

•D iscuss each musician’s sound battles on stage — gain their confidence!

•A ttend church-sponsored sound webinars to keep current with industry engineers.

• Have a pre-production meeting with crew / pastor / worship leader. Be prepared!

• Register all equipment for warranty / maintenance, and update firmware periodically.

• Clear wireless frequencies through FCC. Confirm that clear channels are used.

• Manage sound check procedures, including crew call and personnel.

•W hen the sound team makes an error, be prepared to explain why. This will get the congregation to respect the sound team and force the end users provide better production information.

•T each proper mic placement and technique with all pastors and speakers. This will improve intelligibility.

• I f you also play an instrument, play in the band on occasion; it will develop appreciation and trust between all involved.

•E quip the mission teams with proper sound recording equipment. This ensures a premium experience for the congregation, and less head turns towards the sound engineer!

• Remain CALM — it ‘s difficult to herd cats.

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CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY M I C R O P H O N E S

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