Freshening Up

This week, I was back in the broadcast booth with my own personal mixing setup again. After putting together the weekly podcast and DVD, I directed my attention to the sound board for the rest of my time. I was actually excited to be back in the broadcast room. I had been learning a lot of techniques from the sound men behind the main board, and I was eager to go back into a "solo" situation and see how much information I had really retained. So on Sunday night, from the beginning of sound check till the end of the first service, I became the sound man to my own personal congregation. I acted as if people were actually hearing what I was doing and tried to stay in that real time mentality for the entire service.

During sound check I set the gain and fader levels, EQ'd all of the instruments, and adjusted the compressor settings to the best of my judgment. Although I didn't create a sound that I was satisfied with at the beginning, by mid-rehearsal I had the entire mix dialed in to my liking. This was a good learning experience because I was challenged to remember how each instrument was EQ'd. When I mixed at the main board, the sound men would have the instruments EQ'd already. In the broadcast room, however, I had to start from scratch. This same process had to be done with compression levels. Compression has by far been the most confusing sound concept to understand for me; but being able to experiment with each knob and listen to how it affected the mix left me with a MUCH better understanding than I had ever had before.

Honestly, I am encouraged by the fact that I'm growing as a sound man and a member of the church. My mentor made it very clear to me a few weeks back that as I continue through my internship, he hopes that I will gain enough experience to mix for church service as a regular sound man. That meant a lot to me as someone who is trying to become more immersed in the church that I am serving. I also applied to be a part of Rock Harbor's worship ministry for the same reason. As a member of the church, I want to offer my talents, skills, and heart to the best of my ability.