At lunch today, a friend was sharing about the sound system at the church he attends. He said, “I wish that they’d do something. At the worship team rehearsal the other night, every time the sound guy turned the system up to a reasonable level, the sound became distorted. It’s bad.”
He emphasized that the worship leader really likes the sound to be louder and fuller, but when he asked the sound guy to turn it up, he simply shrugged and said, "I know what you like, but I can’t turn it up any more than that without distortion."
I asked if my friend if he had any idea what the issue was. He shrugged and said that he assumed that it was a blown speaker, but that he wasn’t sure – and that the problem had been going on for months.
Seriously?
I’ll grant you that sound systems aren’t a requirement for God’s message to be effective, but they can certainly be a distraction to the worship experience if they’re not working correctly. And why would you want to put up with that?
My friend went on to describe the speakers as “a series of little, square-ish, boxes with what looks like a homemade mounting bracket – like home audio speakers.”
Ouch. It’s a good bet that the speakers are blown from being turned up to the point that they would have been effective in your living room (while being used in a room that’s probably 60-80’ deep). And the words “homemade mounting bracket” should be enough to make anyone take pause.
I know that audio systems can be a mystery and that budgets can be limited, but putting the safety issue related to the mounting brackets aside, I have a hunch that a new pair of speakers to replace the “series” at that church could make a big improvement for less than $500.
That’s not to say that $500 would purchase an ideal or complete solution in this case, but most anything would be better. It’s not to say that all of the equipment in the system is working properly, but I’m still stumped by why churches put up with bad sound when a fix might be as simple as a few adjustments or the replacement of a bad component.
If you don’t know where to turn, call us. Technology for worship is what we do. And if you’re in an area of the country that’s not terribly close to Columbus, OH, we know dealers in different parts of the country and might be able to pair you up with someone close by who can come check things out.
Whatever the case, don’t think that your problem is so big that you can’t afford to do something about it. The answer may be simpler than you think.
2 comments
Ray
Dave, I always enjoy reading your blog entries. I work with many smaller churches in my area (west of Houston) to help improve their Audio and Video quality. Many issues can be fixed by adjusments and minor changes. Many smaller churches use volunteers that do the best they can but don’t have real working knowledge. I know that budgets are tight so I try to work with what is there first and just replace what has to go. This is a ministry I really enjoy and while I do charge a little for my time it is so rewarding to hear "It hasn’t sounded (or looked) that good in XX years!! Keep up the good work!
Vic
Thanks as always for good, sound advice. (pardon the pun)