First off, I am not a soundman. I mixed sound for a country band back in the 90's, but I was never good at it.
Two year ago, our church started streaming their service and just ran a matrix mix off the main board, the sound was terrible. About a year ago, they got rid of the old Midas board and put in Beheringer x32's, two of them. One for the sanctuary mix and one for the live stream. They have NEVER had a real soundman on the stream mix and they have the stream board in the sanctuary. The soundman has to mix with cans amidst the wash of live sound. The mix goes from mediocre to bad week to week.
Examples:
March 19
March 26
I've been complaining about how bad our church's stream sounds too long and too loudly. They got tired of it and told me if I didn't like it I should just volunteer every week to mix it myself. Guess I have a new commitment on Sundays.
Now the rubber meets the road. I either have to fix it or admit, or prove to everybody that I suck as a soundman. (which I already know)
I honestly don't know if I can make it a great mix. I know I can improve it a little. There are some things that I will do that nobody else has done.
Some genius on the tech team suggested that they enclose the room in plexiglass to try to help. WTH??? The main opening is 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall with door openings on each side for access to a loft for spotlights, etc... It will take hundreds of dollars of plexiglass/labor and it won't even seal the majority of the bass, which is one of the biggest problems with mixing in the same room. The bass travels through the concrete back wall and they think a little plexiglass will help??? Pleezzzee!!!
Nobody will listen to me. The board needs to be moved to the tech office, 100 feet away in a different part of the church. There is attic access and a Cat6 cable could be run in under an hour. But no!!..... So here I am trying to fix a problem that I know how to fix, but they won't let it be fixed.
Am I signing myself up for failure from the start?
Two year ago, our church started streaming their service and just ran a matrix mix off the main board, the sound was terrible. About a year ago, they got rid of the old Midas board and put in Beheringer x32's, two of them. One for the sanctuary mix and one for the live stream. They have NEVER had a real soundman on the stream mix and they have the stream board in the sanctuary. The soundman has to mix with cans amidst the wash of live sound. The mix goes from mediocre to bad week to week.
Examples:
March 19
March 26
I've been complaining about how bad our church's stream sounds too long and too loudly. They got tired of it and told me if I didn't like it I should just volunteer every week to mix it myself. Guess I have a new commitment on Sundays.
Now the rubber meets the road. I either have to fix it or admit, or prove to everybody that I suck as a soundman. (which I already know)
I honestly don't know if I can make it a great mix. I know I can improve it a little. There are some things that I will do that nobody else has done.
- I will work on balancing all the vocalists and instruments so I can hear every one, but none of them overwhelm the mix.
- I will make the lead singer the most prominent because it is all about the message.
- I will work on getting some effects into the vocals so they don't sound sterile.
- I will bring the lead guitar up louder when that part is a signature part of the song.
- I will work on getting a balanced drum sound where the snare can be differentiated from the kick in the mix.
- I will listen to the stream every single week, critique my mix and ask for advice from a friend who is a sound guy and maybe post it here for recommendations.
Some genius on the tech team suggested that they enclose the room in plexiglass to try to help. WTH??? The main opening is 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall with door openings on each side for access to a loft for spotlights, etc... It will take hundreds of dollars of plexiglass/labor and it won't even seal the majority of the bass, which is one of the biggest problems with mixing in the same room. The bass travels through the concrete back wall and they think a little plexiglass will help??? Pleezzzee!!!
Nobody will listen to me. The board needs to be moved to the tech office, 100 feet away in a different part of the church. There is attic access and a Cat6 cable could be run in under an hour. But no!!..... So here I am trying to fix a problem that I know how to fix, but they won't let it be fixed.
Am I signing myself up for failure from the start?
