TECH TEAM
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF TRADE SHOWS | Jeff Hawley
Star Trek conventions attract Trekkies . Music industry conventions attract techies . While the plethora of music industry trade events may sound like an acronym soup ( NAMM , AES , LDI , CFX , NAB , etc .), they are a fantastic opportunity to get you and your team out to touch and feel and learn about the latest and greatest in pro audio and lighting and ‘ church tech ’ in general . Aside from being able to see a wide range of gear all in one place that easily exceeds any selection you ’ d be able to see at any local retailer , many of these events are a low-cost way to grab training and get one-onone time with industry experts that can help kick a tech upgrade project or a new church install into high gear . Here are a few highlevel tips that I ’ ve compiled along with a few references to review as you think about ways to ensure that your team is in touch with current trends in contemporary house of worship AVL .
1 . HAVE A PLAN OF ATTACK Really large shows like NAMM are lots of fun , don ’ t get me wrong . I ’ ve been attending NAMM for about 20 years now and I always come away with great new contacts and new ideas about the audio market as a whole . NAMM is a bit of a rare treat in its inclusion of everything from guitars to drums to pianos and keyboards , etc . on the musical instrument side of things , all the way through pro audio gear like mixing consoles and even line arrays . This is a great way to convince your worship team to make the trek out to the show ( guitar pedals !), but it also means that Bob or Sally may end trying out their 19th version of a Tube Screamer clone rather than spending time seeking out training and other likely more valuable resources .
Before you attend any show , search their website and find the show schedule . It is important to know when the exhibit area is
going to be open and when any special concert events may be held , but I ’ d suggest checking out the training schedule first . For instance , this last NAMM Show featured a number of free sessions under the ‘ Worship Musician Summit TEC Tracks ’ banner . Billed as “ sessions for house of worship audio professionals and musicians ,” these roughly hour-long panel chats covered topics like “ Buying , Selling and Installing the Right Sound and Tech Gear ” and “ Music Directors : The What , Why and How ” alongside guitar-centric or general worship band focused sessions and plenty of time for audience questions .
Without a plan , you might miss these types of educational and informative sessions . Pull up the schedule , assign particular sessions to particular team members and cover as much as you can collectively .
112 May 2023 Subscribe for Free ...