The Praise and Worship Band Bassists Club part 22

[MissingHighs]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

Strange behavior from my bass today. It's taken an even stronger dislike to the Christmas lighting (or something else electrical) and was buzzing like mad.... I should do some shielding....

I've hardly own a bass or soprano a week and the guts are stripped and shielding put in. The half hour it takes is well worth it. Just also remember to twist all the wires together as well (a lot of builders are lazy and leave the wires floating from especially the P pups to the controls).

[caeman]

Run a humbucker. No noise.

[MissingHighs]

Originally Posted by caeman

Run a humbucker. No noise.

Agree, but sometimes it's not magnetically induced, but capacitive (e.g. your body against the wiring). The high pitched 'zzzzz' (as opposed to 'mmmmm') is usually wiring and needs shielding..... oops, sorry, you triggered the electronics designer in me

But, then again, optical pickups, and even the strongest electromagnetic fields are non-issues

[caeman]

True about bad wiring.

[Montanamike]

Good morning, Sunday and I'm home! A week off after the Christmas services.

Here is a link to our Christmas service. It was super fun....all 6 times.

http://www.faithchapel.cc/weekends/teachings.aspx

Check out drummer boy at about the 20 minute mark. We used an idea from Church on the Move. It's cool.
Btw listen in head phones, its way better.

We did kind of a cool Mumford type thing at about the 15 minute mark.

The best part is the last 3 songs. My daughter was in the choir. Red dress with sequins up high. She's 10.

Last song, check out the lights sequenced to the song. Click tracks are awesome for this stuff.

Enjoy

Mike

[cableguy]

Originally Posted by steve_rolfeca

We switched churches just before Christmas. My wife and I had felt restless for over a year, and our daughter bailed months ago.

The reasons were mostly about lack of intimacy and pastoral care, leadership and ministry focus, not music.

I'm facing the same situation. The last few years I've been watching our church slowly start to die. Most of the good musicians have already left. The congregation is losing most of the 20-35YO crowd and the higher ups in the church do not seem to realize this. It pains me as I have some really close friends and have children that have and are growing up here. Sometime though I feel drawn to leave, but I don't want to. The church has around 600 people come every Sunday and it could be so much more alive. How do some of you guys deal with this. Thanks for any input.

[Montanamike]

So why are people leaving? It may be possible for you to be a part of the solution.

[caeman]

Step 1: inform the church elders that they are losing the 25 to 35 crowd. Suggest that maybe the current worship focus methods should be looked at unless they want to see a church with no youth.

A church without youth is a dead church.

[oldcatfish]

Originally Posted by caeman

Step 1: inform the church elders that they are losing the 25 to 35 crowd. Suggest that maybe the current worship focus methods should be looked at unless they want to see a church with no youth.

A church without youth is a dead church.

--Agree with step one. Step 2...be willing to get involved if church leadership is willing to make changes. But in my experience at multiple churches over the years, they may not---so you may have to leave and/or have many contentious battles ahead. People feel VERY strongly about their preferred worship styles, and you may see some very un-Christian like attitudes that will shock you.

[MissingHighs]

Originally Posted by caeman

Step 1: inform the church elders that they are losing the 25 to 35 crowd. Suggest that maybe the current worship focus methods should be looked at unless they want to see a church with no youth.

A church without youth is a dead church.

Amen!

Start preaching the simple gospel, nothing more, nothing less. And add good music, good sound, good coffee, seriously good coffee. No jokes. I've been in a couple of startups and one was 30 is now over 900 and growing.

I'm in a church now that is slipping on the music and sound, and it's growth is under strain. Chad is right, you have got to focus on the younger folk, else it becomes an "old persons church", with older ways. What attracts younger folk? Good music. It doesn't have to be rock, just well produced. It must ooze "we do things with passion and quality, because God deserves nothing less than the best". I could go on. But I think I've painted the picture.

[cableguy]

I totally agree about the music. I've tried gently suggesting some things but nothing is really taken seriously. We've lost some really great musicians and singers because it's just too bland. One of the guitarist moved to Roseville and is now playing with Lincoln Brewster on occation so that's where our talent level was......The team we had a one point I would have played anywhere with. Now it's like a bad blues jam night. I took some time off because I cannot stand people who do not learn the songs right. I guess I know what I need to do, but it still sucks....

[cableguy]

Originally Posted by Montanamike

So why are people leaving? It may be possible for you to be a part of the solution.

I have tried, but to no avail. I've even tried to suggest an alternate service for a younger crowd. No dice. How many times can someone listen to blessed be your name......No offense to the song, but that should be one you pull out every now and then, not a staple of your rotation.....

[theLimeyBrit]

Worship leader is on vacation this week so our drummer stepped up to lead on guitar. All carols plus two of her originals. With a couple guitars also out and without WL on keys and no drummer we had a different sound, but still got compliments after that service so it seems we went over well.

[caeman]

It is sad when an elderly group of church elders fail to see that THEIR way of running things, might be not good. It is not like they set out to make a church fail, but it is a personal bias that leads us to run things "our way." I believe it is important for the Church Elders to be an equal mix of old and young, even maybe a teenager. The Church Elders should represent the church body in a proportional way. It encourages the young people to be more active when the believe they have a say in things.

A church is a dynamic body of people. The times change. People change. Music changes. Failure to change with the times while maintaining Word of G-d in its essential form and message is the death of a church body.

[SoVeryTired]

Originally Posted by MissingHighs

I've hardly own a bass or soprano a week and the guts are stripped and shielding put in. The half hour it takes is well worth it. Just also remember to twist all the wires together as well (a lot of builders are lazy and leave the wires floating from especially the P pups to the controls).

So what's your shielding process and what equipment does it require? Weighing up whether it's worth the time and money.

[throughthefire]

Today we had two vocalists out because of work, our keyboard player back (yay!) after being out for a year with breast cancer, and a new drummer after our old one left.

During soundcheck, one of the Presonus 24channel mixers died a noisy death (and our third was already at a different campus because *theirs* had died over Christmas).

Our sound engineers patched as many channels as possible to the remaining presonus, but we were still without a full drum kit or any electric guitars. We got away with it, but it was stressful while they were trying to work it out!

Now trying to find out if the 'Presonus' logo is just a sticker over a 'Behringer' logo....

[MissingHighs]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

So what's your shielding process and what equipment does it require? Weighing up whether it's worth the time and money.

Screwdrivers, cutters, soldering iron. The shielding material is copper tape which has one sticky side. Some instruments the pick guard is just a cover, others it holds all the controls and pups (I love the latter, the only wire that can snag things a bit is the bridge earth wire). Loosen strings, undo the myriad of screws around the edge of the pick guard and lift away. If the pups are screwed to the body, then measure the wires (I have yet to find where they 'just fit'; always far too long) and cut on the control end with about inch or so spare. Desolder the bridge earth and remove the guard. Line the inside of the body cutout with copper tape, ensuring all separate strips are soldered to each other at least at one point along the meeting edges. Then take a new wire from this shielding and run with and join to the bridge earth.

An alternative is good grade aluminium foil, and use a non-solvent glue to stick it to the body cutout. I did one like this, and didn't relish ever doing it again (you've got to wait for the glue to dry, and that's a few hours). Connecting to the aluminium foil is done using a small self-tapping screw into the body and a tinned lug (never put copper directly against aluminium).

The pup wires are often simply loose from pup(s) to controls. Twist the pup wires tightly together (like a 'twisted pair'). If everything is on the guard, then you may need to desolder before doing this; if this is the case, get rid of excess as this is simply extra length of noise pickup antenna. The shorter this is, the less noise can be picked up.

And put everything back together (soldering everything back from whence it came).

The first is always the longest, but I'm now down to about 20 minutes if everything is on the guard, or 1/2 hour if the pups are fixed to the body.

Cost? I have all the tools as electronics is my trade. Copper tape, a few quid, tops!

Experience? Priceless!

Questions?

[SoVeryTired]

Originally Posted by MissingHighs

Screwdrivers, cutters, soldering iron. The shielding material is copper tape which has one sticky side. Some instruments the pick guard is just a cover, others it holds all the controls and pups (I love the latter, the only wire that can snag things a bit is the bridge earth wire). Loosen strings, undo the myriad of screws around the edge of the pick guard and lift away. If the pups are screwed to the body, then measure the wires (I have yet to find where they 'just fit'; always far too long) and cut on the control end with about inch or so spare. Desolder the bridge earth and remove the guard. Line the inside of the body cutout with copper tape, ensuring all separate strips are soldered to each other at least at one point along the meeting edges. Then take a new wire from this shielding and run with and join to the bridge earth.

An alternative is good grade aluminium foil, and use a non-solvent glue to stick it to the body cutout. I did one like this, and didn't relish ever doing it again (you've got to wait for the glue to dry, and that's a few hours). Connecting to the aluminium foil is done using a small self-tapping screw into the body and a tinned lug (never put copper directly against aluminium).

The pup wires are often simply loose from pup(s) to controls. Twist the pup wires tightly together (like a 'twisted pair'). If everything is on the guard, then you may need to desolder before doing this; if this is the case, get rid of excess as this is simply extra length of noise pickup antenna. The shorter this is, the less noise can be picked up.

And put everything back together (soldering everything back from whence it came).

The first is always the longest, but I'm now down to about 20 minutes if everything is on the guard, or 1/2 hour if the pups are fixed to the body.

Cost? I have all the tools as electronics is my trade. Copper tape, a few quid, tops!

Experience? Priceless!

Questions?

Thanks, very detailed - enough for me to know that it's a job beyond my very limited skill (I think I once operated a soldering iron when I was 12). I might enlist a friend's help to do this together at some point but for now I'm sticking with a solution that won't end up killing the bass - turn the tone down!

I'm a real non-technician - I'm very pleased with myself for having the courage to attempt my own setups. Soldering is where I draw the line at the moment!

[nick98338]

Originally Posted by cableguy

I'm facing the same situation. The last few years I've been watching our church slowly start to die. Most of the good musicians have already left. The congregation is losing most of the 20-35YO crowd and the higher ups in the church do not seem to realize this. It pains me as I have some really close friends and have children that have and are growing up here. Sometime though I feel drawn to leave, but I don't want to. The church has around 600 people come every Sunday and it could be so much more alive. How do some of you guys deal with this. Thanks for any input.

I wish I had an answer. I would take it to one of the two campuses at my Church. Same deal. The campus is shriveling. The remote campus is thriving. Same senior leadership. Different Pastors.

[MissingHighs]

Originally Posted by nick98338

I wish I had an answer. I would take it to one of the two campuses at my Church. Same deal. The campus is shriveling. The remote campus is thriving. Same senior leadership. Different Pastors.

On a 'day off' (from playing), visit the remote campus (it may take a couple of visits) and it won't be long to spot the characteristics that are making that campus grow. It may also show if the growth is based on hype and frenzy, or solid Biblical teaching of the simple Gospel.

Of course, it may simply come down to the coffee. There is nothing nicer than sipping at a serious filter coffee after having been shown God's promise of my salvation through... 'c'mon, you know the score.... I hope!