FRONT OF HOUSE
WHY IS THIS SO HARD? | Kent Morris
It’s Thursday evening around 10:00. The band all Sunday files start with two point something to A/B antenna signal strength to being able to
has packed up and gone; the worship leader (2.0, 2.2) while special events start with three confirm the pastor’s transmitter is indeed on
left with the vocalists half an hour ago headed and Wednesdays with four. There is a master and working, they are essential to preventing
to Starbucks. It’s just you hitting “store, store” template with nominal settings to reference for RF surprises.
on all the gear to preserve the settings you each type in case things are squirrely during worked the last two and a half hours to obtain. rehearsal. Be careful about adding “juice” FOUR
Now, you can set the alarm, lock the doors and to any preset, especially EQ boosts during Realize how different Sunday morning is from
start for home knowing everything is ready for rehearsal. It never works for the long-term and Thursday night. Even if all the settings are the
Sunday morning. Only, it isn’t. Somehow, even lowers the threshold to feedback. Find the juice same, Thursday night you had three hours of
though no one has been in the room, come by reducing something hanging out where it ear fatigue at 10:00 in an empty, cold room
Sunday run-through, nothing is as it was. First, shouldn't be noticeable. while Sunday morning your ears are fresh and
the mute groups are all wrong, then the wireless
mics start dropping out and then the projector
image is 16:9 when it’s supposed to be, and
always has been, 16:10. What is going on?
Digital technology was going to solve the rogue
knob-turning problem of analog world when
any child could sneak into the tech booth and
wreck havoc on the systems. For some reason,
it hasn’t worked out that way. Despite our dual-
factor authentication, multiple format back-
relaxed, assuming you don’t have an infant
at home. The temperature and humidity in
Tech in
the room will also be vastly different and the
church can be
daunting in its
complexity and
expectations are on two separate planes. So, in
one sense, expecting Sunday morning to be the
same as Thursday night is a “Groundhog Day”
scenario. In response, the best approach is to
begin Sunday rehearsal with the levels about
15% down from where they were Thursday and
move up from there as the event progresses.
variableness, FIVE
other” dilemma when it comes to leaving gear
ideas on how to make tech life a little easier: but there ONE are some
ups, triple security level access files and keyed
power-up sequencing defenses, things aren’t
found the way we left them. So, here are some
Learn to simplify. Contrary to current thought,
he who has the most plug-ins doesn’t win.
When we get so far into the weeds with effects,
routing and level processing, it’s easy to make a
file mistake. As Scotty said in Star Trek III, “The
more they overthink the plumbing, the easier
it is to stop up the drain.” If you find yourself
There is a “six on one hand, half a dozen on the
on or turning it off after a session. If the gear is
left on, nothing will change, but the equipment
might suffer heat-induced problems and will
reasonable ways
collect more dust inside. Turning the gear off
and on each time may introduce harmful power
spikes into the chain and can trigger internal
setting changes, but will lower usage hours and
to make the
power draw. Generally, for short-term (two days
tasks easier...
constantly in file Purgatory, try one Sunday with
or so), it is best to leave digital devices on and
turn off analog devices unless doing so offsets
the logical power sequencing.
automation limited to mute groups and FX on/
off and thin the plug-in herd to no more than THREE Tech in church can be daunting in its complexity
two per channel. Save those files and then you To get a handle on wireless issues, use software and
should see a better workflow and, as a bonus, control programs such as Wireless Workbench reasonable ways to make the tasks easier and
you might find your mix has more life. from Shure or Wireless Systems Manager from the results more consistent. Here’s to having
Sennheiser. These two programs make the job 2019 be the year of the smooth operator.
TWO of monitoring all the wireless mics and IEMs
Avoid over-write. Save files to spaced areas much simpler. All the needed information is in
based on type of service. At First Baptist Atlanta, one place and one screen. From battery levels
154
February 2019
variableness,
but
there
are
some
Kent Morris
Kent is a 40-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by
passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge
digital is a temporary state.
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