Tips & Tricks
Getting the Best Sound in a Worship Environment
Featuring input by Wes Hartley, media pastor for Lake Pointe Church

Worship environments can be quite tricky to mic. Choirs, full bands, animated worship leaders, audio distribution over multiple areas, and large-scale auditoriums could present audio dilemmas without the proper equipment and know-how. With these tips and tricks from Wes Hartley—media pastor for Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, TX—learn how microphone selection, placement, and familiarity with the equipment can help you achieve the best sound in any house of worship.

Tailor mic selection to the facility and its users
First and foremost, microphone selection should be chosen specifically for the environment and its users. Hartley recommends choosing a microphone only after listening carefully to, say, the singer's voice; that way, a microphone with similar qualities will highlight the striking vocals. It's also important to consider whether the microphones will be in the hands of amateurs or experienced professionals; in the case of Lake Pointe Church, "I buy Sennheiser because our volunteers understand it," says Hartley. "They know it will work, they can trust it, and it's easy to use."

Familiarize users with the equipment
Many mic users in church environment may not be professionals, so a little patience and coaching is necessary when introducing them to new equipment. Hartley takes special care in initiating performers to ear monitors, in particular. "When we have someone trying ear monitors for the first time, sometimes it may be scary for them," says Hartley. "So we start them out slow, have them come early and get used to the process. We start them with one ear to get them used to it. But we want to move them quickly to both ears to take full advantage. We have also found that mixing in audience mics helps the performers feel more of the room."

Place the mics properly and creatively
Microphone placement is another key element to clean, clear sound. Not only is proper placement crucial for spoken word and singing applications, but it also can result in some truly breathtaking effects. "We close mic violins with lapel mics clipped on the strings behind the bridge to get the resonance and string attack, along with an overhead mic for the air and ambience for broadcast," says Hartley.

To achieve stellar audio results with other stringed instruments, Hartley wraps the Neumann KM 184 cardioid microphone in foam and places it under the bridge of the cello and upright bass. "You get all the nice buzz from the strings," raves Hartley. "That's pretty sweet."

For example, if a need arises to broadcast the same audio program over a scattered area for distribution using multiple powered speakers, Faulk suggests following his solution: "We take the IEM transmitter and feed it our program audio and send it out over a helical antenna. We cluster two or three powered speakers together and daisy chain the output of a single EW receiver (with the pilot tone disabled) to allow for the same program to be heard over a large area."