Not many recording artists today can bring the heart of a live worship experience to the listener like Worship Leader Martha Munizzi. Her latest release, “Change the World,” was recorded live in December of 2007, at Munizzi’s home church, The Gathering Place, in Orlando, Florida. The CD captures the passion and pure essence of worship that make Munizzi’s live events so powerful.

The event also produced the alliance of two ministry-minded professionals who have a desire to carry their unique vision to the Church. They are industry-renowned live audio recording engineer Danny Duncan of Vanguard Recording and Design 2020’s Principal, Armando Fullwood, for the FOH mix.

Their combined vision is helping others to achieve a truly great balance between a brilliant live worship experience and attaining a technically remarkable recording. Let’s go behind the scenes of the Martha Munizzi live event with Fullwood and Duncan to discuss what factors contributed to their success.

CPM: You are each noted professionals in your field. Can you give us a bit of background on yourselves and how came to work this event?

Fullwood: Martha Munizzi is one of my favorite clients to work with because of her heart and her expectation for excellence, and having worked with other ministries like Bishop TD Jake’s live project in Kenya, Martha and her husband Dan asked me to be a part of the “Change the World” project. I spend as much time mixing worship concerts as I do designing audio systems for Design 2020. I also teach hands-on training for WFX audio seminars.

Duncan: Martha Munizzi is one of my regular clients. I’ve done a lot of live recording with Martha before and worked on her last record down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The live recording company I have is called Vanguard Recording. You can see a lot of our gear and a list of our clients on the website. Some of the artists I have worked with are Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, CeCe Wynans, Usher and many others.

CPM: How many events have you worked together in the past?

Fullwood: This is the first time we worked together. Both Martha Munizzi and Producer Aaron Lindsey felt that Danny and I would make a good team. When we met and discovered our commonalities I felt like I’d found my symbiotic twin.

Duncan: We both realized that we each consider the spiritual side as equally important as the technical side. The importance of our roles takes what happened in the room that night all over the world.

CPM: So you found a meeting of the minds technically as well as in your ministry goals?

Fullwood: Yes, with Danny and me working together we realize we share a great deal in the way we approach and interact with the church, the band, and the artist. The event is about Martha being able to lead everyone into a worship experience. Part of what we do is to help facilitate an environment where everyone feels at ease.

Duncan: One of the things that Armando and I like to do is go in a church and show them, “hey, this is how you do it.” Anyone who is interested can follow us around so that in the future they can have better quality while running and recording their services. I always like to involve people in the church who are interested in learning or who just want to be part of the experience.

CPM: You each feel strongly about what happened the night of the event. Can you explain?

Fullwood: There was such a positive energy in the room—and it came in part from the positive tone that the technical people set. There were literally tears in everyone’s eyes that night. The Spirit showed up in such a powerful way—everyone could feel it. The worship was so incredibly rich.

Duncan: When worship of that nature happens we want to be there to capture it. Just listen to Martha’s recording on MySpace and you can experience what happened.

CPM: What is involved in mixing and recording a live worship album?

Duncan: I went down to do a consultation with the church probably about five weeks prior to the recording to see what kind of equipment they had there. They had a good bit of live gear for FOH, but nothing as far as recording. So the next step was to find a good room to set up my recording equipment. Then I assessed how many tracks we would need by taking a headcount of how many inputs we would have. We also accommodated the church by showing up a day early so that we could take the extra time to explain things—like how to properly set the mic up in front of the kick drum. We don’t charge extra for this. People always show up and are hungry to take their worship to another level.

Fullwood: The challenge for myself is a combination of three factors. I have to make sure the worship groups and worship leader on stage are comfortable. I have to make sure that Danny and the recording team are comfortable and finally, I need to make sure what I am doing engages the audience. There is a fine line between a full mix and a hot mess—which is what I call it when you turn up things so loud that it ends up being annoying. If you create a mix that is powerful yet still pleasing and the band can relax and enjoy playing—then that to me is the ultimate.

CPM: What else was in the mix that created an environment where the Spirit freely moved?

Duncan: With this event the worship started as soon as we showed up. Martha had everyone involved praying. Praying with and for the people—it was cool to have them come back in my recording room and pray over the concert and the recording.

Fullwood: Spiritual Maturity. Look, we all said this is really about Him. So we focused on Him. Sometimes in the technical world if we are not careful we tend to let the technical get in the way of the calling.

CPM: How do you carry that vision to the church staff and laypeople?

Fullwood: By your actions. You can you’re going to do all these things, but if you are going around all tense and hot-headed then it sends a different message. I’m not discounting that you have pressures. The way I have always sought to teach and inspire people to go after their calling in media ministry is by the example I set. If you see professionals doing their jobs with excellence yet at the same time treating people with compassion—then you are inspired.

CPM: Are people surprised by your approach to work?

Duncan: I think it shocks them a little bit when we arrive and want to show them everything we know. Many have dealt with professional production teams before and their message is usually “I’m here, I have a certain amount of time, stay out of my way.” So I do think they are freaked out a bit when we say, “hey, we’d like to show up a day early so you can ask questions and see where we are going with this.”

Fullwood: People are surprised when they come to the booth and ask, “How do you get the vocals to sound like that?” I say, “You do this.” I’ve seen it the other way where guys will hide their settings. God and the mentors who I followed after gave me what I’ve got so now it’s my responsibility as a leader to give my stuff away.

Duncan: it is all about sharing. A guy approached me at a concert in Ohio and asked how much it would cost to buy my secrets. I told him that I don’t have any secrets. Everything that I know I would show him.

Fullwood: It was also interesting just how many guys came from the WFX training just to hang out and learn. It think it is equally important for us as music ministers to give back and impart our knowledge to the church freely, without hoarding our secrets.

Technical Production for the Recording
Both recording and FOH engineers agree that providing a technically distraction-free environment is key to the worship experience. Weeks prior to the Martha Munizzi live worship event Duncan consulted with The Gathering Place church staff to determine any additional equipment needs. According to Fullwood, “It turned out that 80% of the church’s existing FOH audio gear was capable of handling Martha’s event.” The church utilizes a SoundCraft Series Five 56-channel console, an EAW KF-series speaker system, a Yamaha PM5D digital audio console for monitor mix, EAW monitor speakers and an array of Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones.

Duncan carries a complete recording system with him from event to event to ensure the highest quality recording possible. Although several mic manufacturers are represented in his collection, Duncan highly recommends and endorses Shure microphones. Here is a sampling of the mics used to record the Munizzi worship event: Shure (Beta 91, SM57, SM7B, KSM44, wireless Beta 87, wireless KSM9, SM89, KSM141, and KSM32). A Yamaha SubKick and several Audio Technica mics complement the collection. All tracks were recorded to ProTools HD 3 system, with a backup system running in tandem as a safety, comprised of 72 tracks recorded onto a Alesis HD-24 hard-disc audio recorder.

“The key,” explains Duncan, “to a successful recording is obviously getting a great live signal to take. However, the audience to me is almost as equally important. That’s what makes a live recording a live recording. If you feel like you are there and it brings you to worship then we have done our job.”

“This particular church sat 800-900 people, so in this case I had six [audience] mics. I normally put two down in front; Kind of close to each other but spread in a stereo pattern, pointing straight back into the crowd. I do two more what I call a stereo pair a little further back in the audience wider than the first two. The third pair I put further back and spread even wider – kind of like a triangle shape. So I am trying to get the mics as close as I can to the audience while also keeping a distance from the main house speakers,” says Duncan.

Fullwood, who created the live mix for the audience, notes, “The microphones were all split for Danny, myself and the church’s engineer who provided the monitor mix. The church audio team handled the stage. With the three-way splitter, nothing any one of us does directly affects another person—although certainly the FOH levels can bleed back into the microphones and affect the quality of the recording.

“One of the things I do to prevent this is to mix live for the recording guy. I have worked 20 years at developing EQ techniques and the way I position speakers so that I can really run a good powerful mix for the audience while minimizing some of the issues of bleed through to the recording mics,” says Fullwood.

Fullwood concludes by explaining the mindset needed for a successful live recording project. “What it all comes down to is this: you have to have enough relationship with the team so that it is a series of give and take and compromises. The sandbox is not mine or Danny’s—it’s ours. We have to make sure the net result is creating a piece of art that will go around the world and help change people’s lives.”

T3 In Action

For mid-sized churches without the means for hiring a staff technical director, managing and training the volunteers who provide the technical production support week in and week out falls on the shoulders of yet another volunteer. With an all-volunteer crew, team building--important for any church--takes on an entirely new level of importance. If you then add in the element of being a portable church, putting on services in a building normally used for other purposes, having a cohesive team is absolutely essential.

This is one thing Chip Vaughan, lay leader of the audio team at Calvary Chapel in Jupiter, Florida has discovered. Vaughan came to Calvary Chapel with a strong background in professional audio systems. Once out of school, he developed his own live sound reinforcement business focusing on the nightclub scene, and eventually started a recording studio as well. However, God had other plans for him. He has left the nightclub work behind to follow God’s call to serve more in the Church, currently as a volunteer.

Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational church, has about 700 members in its congregation. Before attending the June Church Production Magazine T3 Technical Training Tour seminar at InfoComm in Atlanta, there were primarily two people on the technical team - one of whom was Vaughan. When Vaughan received the mailing advertising the Atlanta T3 seminar, he was interested in the technical tracks that were listed. However, what really caught his eye was the team building sessions. As Vaughan put it, “I was kind of curious about the tech side of it, but was more curious about the team-building aspect to it. I’ve been around tech for a long time, but never had to deal with the volunteer side of serving in the church before.”

The team building sessions of T3 met Vaughan’s expectations and more. “I came back and actually started doing some of the things that [the instructors] said they were doing, and it was working. I got some real positive response out of it, so it’s very encouraging.” Vaughan’s audio team is up to 11 volunteers now, and he has scheduled training sessions to teach everyone the basics of professional audio systems. Additionally, he is bringing together all the technical ministry volunteers under one organizational structure to facilitate training and teamwork. “The biggest area I want to clean up is the frustration being experienced by the children’s ministry volunteers,” Vaughan stated. By bringing together the volunteers who work audio systems together, they can assist each other and build up each other’s skills.

While team building was the biggest takeaway for Vaughan, he also benefited from Armando Fullwood’s seminars on audio mixing and systems. Armando’s discussions on recording were of also of great benefit. “I knew nothing about recording to tape, but most churches distribute their services on tape. Armando discussed the reasons why your tapes sound like they do. It was a real bonus learning about that.”

Recording wasn’t the only thing on the technical end that helped Vaughan. “One of the biggest things I learned [on the technical side] was Armando’s technique for gain staging--setting the correct signal level at each component of the audio signal chain.” One of the first weekends after returning from T3, Vaughan took some time to work on the gain staging of the main audio system. “As soon as I started doing that, I found out what some of our problems were. But also, it seemed like the system opened up and really started working. The changes made the vocals seem so smooth, like velvet.”

Fullwood has years of experience to draw on to share with the attendees. President of Design 20/20, Inc., a Charlotte, North Carolina consulting firm, a church technical director and front-of-house (FOH) engineer for several artists, Fullwood knows what leading a volunteer team, live sound reinforcement and facilitating the communication of the Gospel is all about.

Vaughan commented “He was a great teacher. All you had to do, if you were standing in the hallway before a class, was to look at him as he walked by. He’d come over, strike up a conversation, and the next thing you know you were learning something about your sound system. It was amazing!”

For the future, Vaughan plans to implement some of the choir micing techniques covered in the audio sessions. Calvary Chapel does a yearly Christmas production which includes a children’s choir. Micing the choir has always been a struggle, and he’s hoping some of what he learned will smooth the way next Christmas.

Vaughan wrapped up his experience with this exhortation: “I would recommend T3 for anyone involved in church technical ministry. Attending T3 will help to increase the knowledge and wisdom in your field which in turn will enhance your ministry and wind up affecting the entire congregation for the better.” The next T3 Technical Training Tour stop will be in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (near Harrisburg) in November. Check out www.churchproduction.com for more details on how to register.

Jim Kumorek is the Managing Editor of Church Production Magazine. He can be reached at jkumorek@churchproduction.com.

QSC revs up theatre sound at pit crew training center

Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy almost 25 years ago, it seemed a sure bet that Mooresville, N.C., a small town north of Charlotte, was on its way to becoming a fading dot lost within the folds of an old road map.

But that was before NASCAR. Drawn here in part by a favorable business climate and location, drivers and their teams started descending upon Mooresville about a decade ago, bringing with them a construction boom, jobs, tourists, motels, and restaurants. Today, racing museums stand on sites once occupied by aging textile mills, rubbing shoulders with local strip malls. Streets have names like Speedway Drive, and tour bus operators shuttle visitors to "Garage Mahal", headquarters of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

A relative newcomer to the scene, 5 Off 5 On Race Team Performance specializes in training pit crew personnel and offering reality experience packages. Taking its name from the number of lug nuts NASCAR pit crews must remove and replace in order to change a race car's tire, the facility rests on 5.5 acres adjacent to the NASCAR Technical Institute. Equipped with its own ¼-mile track, pit road, classrooms, multipurpose training room, and many other amenities, the property also has a 100-seat theatre on-site, which is used for everything from lectures to corporate events. Featuring surround sound audio utilizing loudspeaker components and amplifiers supplied by QSC, the theatre is the beneficiary of a sonic blueprint developed by Armando Fullwood of Charlotte, N.C.-based Design 2020.

Additionally given responsibility for the room's acoustical treatment, Fullwood relates that the client came to him with an expressed interest in audio realism. "Right from the very beginning, they wanted a system that could accurately reproduce the sounds of a real NASCAR track," he relates. "The room is regularly used by corporate guests for actual race day simulcasts, so the goal was to make the experience as convincing as possible."

To that end, Fullwood enlisted the aid of loudspeakers from QSC's ModularDesign and AcousticDesign Series, as well as amplification from the company's CX Series. In total, four ModularDesign MD-L118 single-18 low-frequency loudspeakers were employed, powered by a CX1102 amp, while left-center-right screen channels were given over to bi-amped MD-F152 full-range cabinets fueled by CX702 and CX502 amplifiers. Surrounds chosen were model AD-S82 two-way enclosures from the AcousticDesign product group, each of which receives power from a four-channel CX404.

"They wanted an in-your-face theatre, and that's exactly what they got," Fullwood says, giving accurate description to his creation. "When we first unveiled the system with the client present, we played a DVD of The Fast and the Furious. The sound actually made them jump, and pinned them back in their seats. Once the system was officially commissioned and we handed over the keys, there was no way they were going to give them back."

Making its debut at this year's NSCA, the ModularDesign Series comprises eight models. Ideally suited for houses of worship, performing arts facilities, hotels, casinos, and anywhere else a fully arrayable, modular approach makes sense, the line includes six full-range models offered with three different coverage patterns, either 12 or 15-inch LF drivers, and a rotatable HF horn section that facilitates either vertical or horizontal use.

"Installation was easy too, using each cabinet's own rigging points," Fullwood adds. "Overall, they are well conceived boxes, and that's part of their real beauty. They're capable of handling quite a bit of horsepower as well, and simply sound fantastic."

5 Off 5 On is owned by Pit Instruction and Training, LLC (PIT). For more information about QSC, visit www.qscaudio.com.

Article from digitalcontentproducer.com, October 27, 2004

When Alternative Structures Work

When Alternative Structures Work Steele Creek Church finds a non-traditional structure that works for its ministry and its budget. Courtesy Worship Facilities Magazine By Carol Badaracco Padgett

Steele Creek Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, has something in common with other notable facilities around the world. Take, for instance, The Bob Hope Dining Facility in Baghdad, Iraq. Or The Wright Brothers National Memorial and Museum in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. And even the Trump Casinos on Lake Michigan. They're all Sprung Structures – facilities engineered of all-weather outer membranes pulled over arched aluminum structures.

At first read – and first glance – Sprung Structures and fabric-type competitors may sound and look like glorified tents. But over the years, these structures have been developed to withstand wind, fire, snow, and just about any menace that nature can deliver.

According to Kelvin Smith, lead pastor at Steele Creek, there's only one thing that his Sprung structures don't deliver for his church: a high mortgage payment. And this is an important reason why Smith and his congregation choose an alternative-type facility.

 

Ministry is the Mission

In years past, Smith says non-denominational, evangelical Steele Creek was housed in a traditional permanent structure, then later in a school building. Since 1998, the church has called its current Sprung facility home. And Smith says Steele Creek's facility meshes well with the church's mission.

"Our philosophy is to put more money into people and ministry than into buildings and mortgages. We have no burden of high debt with this facility," Smith states. Steele Creek spent approximately $400,000 installed for its Sprung facility.
According to Jim Avery, vice president of Sprung Instant Structures based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Steele Creek purchased an 88-foot-wide by 120-foot-long structure to be used for its sanctuary.

The sanctuary originally seated 500, but after some renovations in fall 2003 which included removing an interior dividing wall between the lobby and the sanctuary, seating capacity grew to nearly 800.

Connected to the sanctuary structure is another Sprung structure measuring 40-foot wide by 120-foot long, which Steel Creek purchased to use as both a foyer area and classroom facilities.

This second structure was part of Phase II of Steele Creek's facility, completed in October 2000. With Phase II Steele Creek also gained a nursery, preschool suite, staff offices and a music recording studio in a traditional building adjacent to its Sprung structures. According to Smith, another expansion of the facility is in the works and will probably include more fabric-type structures as well as traditional buildings.

Bill Schell, administrative pastor with Steele Creek says a definite benefit that Sprung-type structures offered his church was fast construction turn around. "We were able to expand our facilities quickly to accommodate the rapid growth that was occurring [in our congregation]," Schell says.

Schell adds that initially Steele Creek underwent about one month of planning for its Sprung components and waited just another five months for the membrane areas to be completed.

Aside from supporting the church's mission of keeping people and the message first and buildings and money second, the choice of a Sprung structure for Steele Creek has worked well with other important ministry objectives.

According to Smith, Steele Creek strives to deliver its contemporary services in a non-intimidating, inviting and casual atmosphere. The "tent," as he refers to his church's billowy structures, does that.

Schell echoes Smith's sentiment. "[The structure] provides an atmosphere which is focused on worship and community, rather than the facility itself," he says. "It provides a place where people are able to come just as they are, from all walks in life."
Yet, Smith is quick to point out that a Sprung-type structure may not be for everyone. When church staff is thinking about alternatives to traditional construction, Smith suggests that they research all the options.

"We're very satisfied. We're more in an industrialized area, and [Sprung] was the right choice for our ministry," Smith says.

Smith adds that his church's structure may not fit as well into a neighborhood setting, where some churches are located. "Look at the setting and the situation," he advises.
Dissecting the Sprung Structure

Unlike tents, Sprung structures have indefinite life spans and 30-year guarantees. They meet most building code requirements in North America, according to Avery.
While many Sprung buildings offer arched architectural-looking windows and attractive double doors like those seen in traditional construction, Steele Creek opted for its own look. Schell reports that Steele Creek has no windows in its structure, "which contributes positively to the ambiance and lighting options of the worship area."

Steele Creek did opt for numerous doors, both exterior and interior. The largest of its structures is the sanctuary building, which features several exterior doors. The smaller structure, according to Schell, is divided into rooms containing classrooms, bathrooms, a prayer room, and a bookstore in addition to the lobby.

Inside, Steele Creek opted for basic carpet underfoot for cost and uniformity reasons, Schell reports.

The structures are also effectively air-conditioned and heated. Sprung's website (www.sprung.com) describes a 12-inch-thick fiberglass insulation system and special HVAC ducts that penetrate the structure to deliver heat and air.

Schell reports that Steele Creek's fabric structure delivers cost-effective heating and cooling performance: "Our utilities, both gas and electric, are very reasonable to us."
In terms of architectural design firm involvement, Schell reports that Charlotte, North Carolina-based architect McClure Nicholson Montgomery & Services PA had a different kind of role with the tent-type facility. The firm got involved mostly where the Sprung structure butted up with Steele Creek’s traditional building.

“[McClure Nicholson Montgomery & Services] also acted as coordinator for the project to ensure that plans got through the city building approvals,” Schell says.

 

Special Concerns

A natural concern with any type of structure resembling a tent is durability. Yet Smith and Schell vouch for the sturdiness of Steele Creek's structure and its outer membrane. And after great spans of time, when membranes begin to age, they are replaceable.

As for security, Schell reports that Steele Creek has suffered no acts of vandalism in the seven years since moving into a fabric-type structure. "We have 16-inch, double-insulated walls [in the structures], but theoretically, someone could cut into the wall," he says. "But the threat is really no greater than with a stucco or wooden structure."

Schell also notes that Steele Creek has positioned fire walls and security doors between its Sprung structures and its traditional building which houses its offices and children's ministry areas. In addition, the same alarm system that covers the traditional building ties in with the alarm system that covers the Sprung portion of the church.

An area of installation that does require special care when setting up a Sprung structure for a church setting is audio, according to Armando Fullwood, principal with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Design 2020. Design 2020 designs video, audio and theatrical lighting systems.

"The tent is a dome," Fullwood says. "The energy from the stage is like a band shell that's connected through the building. You can whisper on the stage and hear it on the other side of the building."

So Fullwood says that fabric-type structures require professional audio installation that helps harness bass frequencies, in particular, that will bounce around the structure and can easily get out of control and flow into surrounding neighborhoods. Fullwood advises that churches should be careful where they put a fabric structure if they intend to crank sound from the "tent."

More advice from Fullwood has to do with the logistics of where to place heavy audio and lighting equipment within a Sprung-type structure. He says the building trusses of these structures are not necessarily adequate to congregate all the equipment in one space, so church staff should avoid putting clusters of equipment in one spot. Instead, they should space it out a bit so the structure can handle the weight.

For Steele Creek Church, its biggest concerns have been met. Meshing ministry with a budget it can live with has allowed Steele Creek to grow into a thriving church home that will find a way to accommodate its ever-increasing attendance levels.

Carol Badaracco Padgett is a freelance writer based in Marietta, Georgia. She can be reached at buildwrite@bellsouth.net.

Steele Creek Church at Charlotte at a Glance
Size: 1,100 adults and 350 children in two services each Sunday
Denomination: Non-denominational
Style of services: Bible-based, contemporary
Key events: Connecting/Home Fellowship Groups; Spiritual Growth/Discipleship Series; Family Ministry on Wednesday Nights

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See "The Mother Of Invention" article in news for additional information on this project.

Design 2020 Church Media Consultants Project wins WFX Award!

Church Production Magazine, which held the WFX conference in Atlanta, GA, hosted the 2007 Solomon Awards for technical excellence.

In the category of best design and installation, Westover Church won the award. All of us at Design 2020 Church Media Consultants are proud to be part of the team to help make this happen for Westover! Danny Slaughter, the Media Director for Westover, had this to say about the Design 2020 Church Media Consultants team:

"I would like to thank Armando Fullwood and Paul Henderson of Design 2020 Church Media Consultants for the acoustic design and tuning of the system which shows the entire system for what it is...

"ABSOLUTELY STELLAR!"

Danny Slaughter, Director of A/V Technologies

The Key To Great Sound

By Jeff Ford, Church Production Magazine, Nov/Dec 2006

One of the most important design considerations for a church audio system is the “audio monitor subsystem.” The audio monitor subsystem provides the musicians and vocalists on the stage with a way to hear themselves and the other performers, hopefully with good volume and clarity. If the performers on the stage cannot hear what they need to hear, they won’t be able to provide a quality performance for the church attendees. A simple solution, albeit a substandard one, would be to feed the FOH (Front of House) mix to the performers. This is rarely acceptable, since each member of the worship team will want to hear different instruments or voices more clearly and loudly than others. Thus, the design of the monitor system is key to how well this is accomplished. This article will take a brief look at the two primary methods of audio monitoring: stage “wedges” and “in-ear” monitoring, or personal monitoring systems.

Stage Monitors
Stage “wedges,” so called because of their characteristic wedge shape, are a usual first monitor solution. “Many styles of worship are best served by using amplified wedge speakers,” according to Armando Fullwood, principal with Design 2020 Church Media Consultants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Contemporary worship services, with their R&B or rock style of music, are meant to be felt as well as heard, and the performers will feel the energy of the music with a properly designed stage wedge solution,” adds Fullwood.

Stage wedges enable the musicians to not only hear, but feel, the music -- often a strong preference for rock or R&B music styles.

Stage wedges are typically fed from one of three sources. The first option is to use auxiliary (aux) sends from the FOH console fed into self-powered or externally amplified speakers. The second is to have a separate monitor mixer, usually off to one side of the stage. This mixer will use the same inputs as the FOH mixer, but output only to the stage speakers. The advantages of a separate monitor mixer are to relieve the FOH engineer to concentrate on the house audio mix, and better communication between the performers and the monitor engineer, due to the closer proximity. The main disadvantage is that you will now require two trained audio engineers for each service, instead of just one, as well as the extra expense of an additional mixer and signal splitters.

One major design consideration for stage monitors in either of these designs is how many separate monitor feeds, and thus how many wedges, you will have on the stage. This depends on several variables, including the number of available aux sends on the FOH or monitor mix console and the number of available amplifiers or separate powered wedges. In many cases you may be sending a small number of feeds to multiple wedges on stage, so that the performers have to share the same mix in their monitor wedge. If you do have the luxury of having the aux sends and the available amplifiers to drive separate mixes for each performer or group of performers (an example of a group would be the backup singers), you may have issues with “monitor wars,” where each person on stage wants their monitor to be louder than the others that are near them. As you can imagine, if your audio engineer is too agreeable, the stage volume can get out of control.

A third option is to use a monitor distribution system, which takes aux sends or direct outputs, an output from the console representing an individual channel, and sends them to a set of mixers on the stage. The output of these mixers can feed a self-powered speaker, an amplifier that drives a wedge, or a wired or wireless in-ear “earbud” or headphone. Each performer can have their own mixer, and provide their own mix and volume to their output, allowing them to hear what they prefer. This solution provides much flexibility to the worship team, and is becoming more pervasive in churches today.

Fullwood uses two main techniques to address the stage volume issue with stage wedges. First, he equalizes the wedges to match the frequency response character of the house PA, so that the voicing of the monitor mix will more closely match that of the FOH mix. “This is absolutely critical when monitors are being run from frontof- house (FOH), since a separate channel EQ may not be available for both the main PA and the monitor feeds.” Also, he uses shaker motors that add low-frequency vibration to risers or seats for the performers, but that don’t add any appreciable audible volume to the stage. “These techniques allow for the overall stage volume to be lowered, while providing the feel of the music in the way of bass support to the performers. If the worship team can’t feel it, it isn’t happening for them,” according to Fullwood. The shaker motor techniques can also be used in systems using monitor distribution or in-ear monitoring systems, which Fullwood’s team also designs for churches if appropriate for that facility and worship style.

In-Ear Monitoring Systems
Even without the phenomenon of “monitor wars,” the stage volume that results from stage wedges is a major issue in many houses of worship these days. The contemporary worship style that is being implemented in many churches, with multiple guitars, keyboards, drums, and vocals, has resulted in loud stage volumes and in overly loud FOH PA systems. “If you have problems with stage volume, you need to consider an in-ear monitor system,” according to Bob Blair, co-owner of ASP Integrated Systems, and technical director at Hope Community Church, both in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The in-ear monitor solutions allow the audio engineer to keep the stage volume at an absolute minimum,” adds Blair.

Wireless in-ear personal monitoring coupled with a wireless microphone gives the musician great freedom of movement, enabling them to reposition themselves to address different areas of the house throughout the worship time.

In-ear monitors are small “earbud” type headphones (traditional headphones can be used as well) that provide an audio feed to an individual performer that won’t be heard by other performers or the audience. If these can be implemented across the stage for all performers, the net result is to cut the stage volume by a significant amount. This allows the FOH engineer much more flexibility to mix the house PA at a comfortable listening level with improved clarity.

There are several ways to design a system that uses in-ear monitors. The audio feed can be fed to the performers either over a wired or wireless linkup. Both types of system designs are being used pervasively these days, so let’s take a look at how they can be implemented.

For a wired system, the common system design uses a monitor distribution system, as described earlier in this article. The monitor distribution system uses a hub at the FOH or monitor mix position that digitizes outputs from the console and sends them over digital cable to the stage. Each performer or group of performers on the stage will have a personal mixer with the ability to mix audio signals from the hub to their own liking. The performers can then plug their earbud or headphones into the hub.

The other option is to use a wireless inear system. For this type of system, the wireless transmitter can be plugged into a personal monitor mixer as described above. This setup gives the performer the flexibility to move about the stage as desired. Also, with the wireless system, multiple performers can use the same wireless feed, if desired, by having multiple receivers tuned to the same transmitter frequency.

Another way to use a wireless in-ear system is to provide a mix to the wireless transmitter from a set of FOH aux outputs, or from a separate monitor mix console. The performers on stage then simply wear the wireless receiver with their earbuds.

Performers are generally not comfortable, at first, with in-ear monitors. The loss of stage energy and the isolation from others on the stage are results that must be addressed. “The performers need to realize that the service is not about them,” according to Blair. “We need to provide an environment where the church audience can worship without overly loud PA volume,” adds Blair. A microphone placed over the house to pick up ambient room sounds, as well as congregational singing, feeding into the monitor mix can greatly reduce that sense of isolation.

Blair also points out that “the key to successful integration of in-ear monitors within the worship team is education. This education includes relating the positive aspects of in-ear monitors to both the audience and the worship team, including the aforementioned improvement of the FOH performance, as well as the individual control and mobility of the in-ear monitors for the worship team.”

Summary
So, what is the best solution for your church? As usual, the answer depends on many variables. Depending on the size of your worship space, the style of worship, and the acceptance of the worship team and audience, either solution, when properly designed, can work for you. Find churches in your area that have implemented both solutions properly, and attend a practice or service to see how they have dealt with the pros and cons of the solution. By doing this, you will become more educated as to what may work best for you. Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to work with your design consultants to implement the best solution for your church.

Jeff Ford is the volunteer Technical Production Team leader at Triangle Community Church in Apex, North Carolina. Jeff can be reached at JeffFord@tcc.org.

JeffFord@tcc.org.