I’m probably going to take a few weeks away from the blog while life is especially crazy. This past week, our music director, Danny Cox, released a new CD and we hosted a release concert in our main auditorium on Friday night.  It was a really special night as we also captured the show for potential DVD release.  The team on stage and behind the scenes knocked the entire night out of the park and it was such a great experience to be a part of.  Hopefully I can post some video down the road of some cool moments from the night.  Personally, as a fan of Danny’s music, I think it was one of the major highlights of my time at Kensington…let alone having the honor to mix it!

A week from Wednesday, I’m leaving on a very special music mission trip to South Africa that will take me to Johannesburg and Capetown mixing for a group of guys who were musical heros growing up.  Some of you may be familiar with the group Acappella – a contemporary all vocal christian group a.la. Rockapella or Take6 that has been singing in some form or another for over 25 years.  Growing up they were a huge influence on me and it was a great experience as I was building a professional portfolio to be able to work for the Aca Company back in 2002.  A reunion group of some of the old members has formed, called Acappella Classic, to do an extremely limited number of dates over the next few years internationally and I’ve been asked to mix their shows and road manage when I can get away from my regular gig at Kensington.  In addition to the tour in South Africa, there are plans for a central European tour next year, as well as an appearance in Nashville, TN next summer.

I’m really excited to embark on an adventure outside of the States for the first time.  The only bummer is that my wife isn’t able to join and it will be REALLY hard to be away from my family for 12 days (the longest we’ve ever been apart).  If you wouldn’t mind, I’d greatly appreciate prayers for safe travels and awesome ministry opportunities to be Jesus in a new place to new people.

Here’s a clip I found on Youtube of Acappella from back in the day…

I will return in a few weeks and we’ll be head deep into the marathon to Christmas.  Until then…

Following are a few tips that you might consider following when micing musical instruments for sound reinforcement.

• Try first to get the instrument to sound good acoustically before miking it.
• Use a mic with a frequency response that is limited to the frequency range of the instrument.
• To determine a good starting mic position, try closing one ear with your finger. Listen to the sound source with the other ear and move around until you find a spot that sounds good – put the mic there.  Remember, this may not be practical (or healthy) for extremely close placement near loud sources.
• Remember that the closer a mic is to a sound source, the louder the source is compared to reverberation or ambient noise.
• Place the mic only as close as necessary, keeping in mind proximity effect.
• When possible, use as few microphones as possible due to the Potential Acoustic Gain rule which tells us (among other things) that the volume level of a system must be turned down for every mic added in order to prevent feedback.
• If the sound from your loudspeakers is distorted even though you did not exceed a normal mixer level, the mic signal may be overloading your mixer’s input.  To correct this situation, use an in-line attenuator or pad to reduce the signal level from the microphone, or just back it away from the source some.
• More than anything, experiment and listen!

(Thanks to Shure for the tips.)

Check out a really cool video from Digidesign on the Making of the Venue platform.  One of the best parts of partnering with Digi is the accessibility of the leadership team and this video is a great example.  I’m not aware of another console manufacturer with a more public and accessible team.

Download it here. (10 mb .pdf)

Mics #1 are a set of Audio Technica 835 shotgun mics (purchased for this project) on the outside corners of our stage, mounted just under our side screens, pointed out into the room.  These are the primary audience pickup source because so much of the audience’s energy is directed towards the stage that these do a great job of capturing without adding too much PA to the mix.  They’re inexpensive and sound good for what I’m using them for.  You could certainly upgrade the make/model here to something more boutique but this serves our purposes well.

Mics #2 are a set of Crown PCCs placed on the lip of the stage at the 1/3 and 2/3 lines from left to right.  These combine with the shotguns to provide some presence and immediacy to the signal since another set of shotguns wouldn’t be acceptable aesthetically in these positions.

Mics #3 are a pair of Shure SM81s hung from the first catwalk, almost at the half way point of the room, also on the 1/3 and 2/3 lines to the stage.  These mics serve almost entirely the purpose of room ambience – making the mix sound like it is happening in the auditorium rather than happening in a dead studio.

The three sets of ambience mics serve dual purpose for us – ambience for IEM and ambience for the broadcast/record feed.  In the IEM world, we lean most heavily on the shotguns at the front of the room at the corners of the stage and supplement that with the PCCs on the front of the stage towards the center.  These mics are used mainly because they provide localization of what the artist is hearing in their ears.  For example, when someone to the artist’s right calls to the stage, we want everyone on stage to turn their head in that direction.  Likewise, if someone on the front row is singing their heart out, it’s cool for the artists to be able to sense that from those PCCs on the front of the stage.  That localization goes leaps and bounds towards breaking down the isolation.  Every artist is different with how much ambience is just right.

We may still look to add an additional set or two but I’m stuck because adding them will mean needing to deal with delay times between those mics and the rest currently in place.  Two of my current three sets are directly in line with the PA so there’s little issue there.  The delay induced by the third set certainly does some phase stuff to the mix but the added space it puts in the mix when the speaker is up is worth the compromise to me.  So we’ve dodged the bullet to this point and I’d like to avoid having to go there with more mics.  This is one of the only limitations of creating the broadcast mix inside the Venue rather than in an outboard mixer/processor.  There is no way to have the degree of time alignment control that would be needed in the broadcast feed without making other more significant sacrifices.

The shotguns are the most important piece of the puzzle for me because their pickup pattern is most effective at picking up the audience and rejecting PA and stage bleed.  The PCCs are next important to fill in the center stage imaging – think of the shotguns panned hard left and right and the PCCs panned at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock or 10 and 2.  The hanging mics are almost halfway back in the room and that time delay adds depth to the ambience space. For IEMs, it can be distracting.  But for broadcast, it enhances the size of the room and makes it feel more real when you’re listening back.

Watch the music one first for more on our mission and some stories about our incredible artist team, then check out my team’s profile.

I’ve also seen another forum where one poster blasted me and called me a moron for approaching this topic.  It has been fun to see how literally some people take this whole thing and think I’m somehow saying you should literally mix your show from the gain knobs or advocate poor gain structure in your console or the rest of the system.  QUITE the opposite.  I run my console really hot because we all think the Digidesign mic pre sounds better when its hit pretty hard and the desk as a whole sounds great when you get up and go with it.  I think some are missing the point of my suggested unity mixing completely, so let’s dive into this just a bit to hopefully clear it up.

The whole point of this discussion is to make the inputs well mixed while setting gain, rather than just blindly going channel by channel and setting each to maximum individual gain.  It doesn’t have to be perfect but just get things in the neighborhood so you don’t have to run some faders -30 or -40 dB below others.  This makes mixing monitors from the same desk (which we do at every Kensington campus) MUCH easier.  In this configuration, the inputs are well mixed, so that the sends to the monitor mixes and FOH faders are (more or less) at the same place across the board, making adjustments for the band a lot easier.  If I know the band well, I can often dial in their monitor mixes from the FOH board ahead of soundcheck and nail it with few, if any, changes needed.  We’re still running the inputs as a whole as hot as they should be through the desk so let’s not get into the whole topic of maximizing digital bits in the desk and the like.

Another example… imagine trying to adjust a monitor send, pre-fader of course:

A) with a very hot input, therefore with the FOH fader pulled down a lot, and
B) with a low input setting, with the fader pushed nearly all the way up . . .

‘A’ will be very sensitive to tiny adjustments at 9 o’clock and
‘B’ will need large movements at 4 o’clock.

With a mess like this all over a big mix, the experience is not nice trying to keep the band happy with their wedges and that is what gets so many of our engineers in trouble!

Second, if you end up with a difference, for whatever reason, where one fader is sitting at -30 or -40 dB most of the time, you have a MUCH harder time mixing due to the same amount of travel for a 3dB difference at or near unity, now gives you a 10-20 db difference with every move (Or whatever it works out to on the board, but a LARGE difference).  This makes fine tuning a mix really difficult.

That’s it.  Does this help make the concept clearer at all?

These two tunes are from an all-worship series we did in late August/early September. First, “My Savior, My God”…

Next, a Danny Cox original I’ve posted before but with a fresh mix of the track…

Thanks everybody.  Back to regularly scheduled programming next time around.

As with some of the other mixes we’ve discussed, our vocalists seem to largely prefer their voices dry…if they want to wetten things up, adding more of the extras channel does the trick.  This works well in our particular setup since the vocals are fed to the IEM system direct off of board channels – adding verb would increase the complexity of routing.

I strongly encourage everyone who wears ears to keep both sides in all the time.  My primary reasoning is that your brain does a cool thing when it receives similar input from both ears in summing that source 6 dB internally.  So, if you only wear one ear, you’re going to have to turn up your IEM mix approximately 6 dB in order for it to feel as loud as both ears in.  Obviously you have to be really careful with this because an untrained artist could easily cause themselves hearing damage night after night of crazy levels in their IEM.

I say all that to say, the mix an artist wants changes pretty dramatically depending on whether they are wearing one or two ears.  These mixes you’re going to listen to today are one ear in mixes, so you’ll find that the acoustic, vocal, and click are WAY more out front then in the other mixes we’ve analyzed since the artist is getting a lot of their sound ambiently through their other ear not wearing the IEM.

Our philosophy at Kensington regarding ears has been to do everything possible to gain band acceptance.  By doing that, the stage volume lowers significantly and vocals have a much easier time just hearing themselves through a wedge.  I’ve mentioned that we have 6 channels of wired ears and 1 wireless transmitter/receiver system.  Because of this wireless limitation, we haven’t pushed very many vocalists to jump to ears.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since vocalists often have a much harder time adjusting to performing through IEM systems then instrumentalists because it can effect their pitch center, how loudly they perceive their head voice, etc.  So we’ve had good success getting musicians on ears and, by doing that, getting enough sonic space on stage for the vocalists to be able to hear themselves comfortably through wedges and not have to deal with their transition yet.

I’ve heard from another large church that they have the policy that a new vocalist must sing BGV on ears for at least 6 months in order to get used to them before they would ever ask them to sing lead VOX.  I can certainly see the wisdom in that approach.

We’ll wrap this whole thing up next time with the live mixes of the 2 songs we’ve been using for test material so you can hear overall context.  See you then!

On a given week, we submix as many as three keys sources in mono to send to the IEMs. The first source is Ivory from our Slam Grand.  If the piano shell is not in the set, often times I will still run MIDI out of the primary keyboard into the Ivory system so that tone is available if we want a grand piano patch in the day.  The other two inputs are our house keys – a Yamaha Motif8 and a Korg Triton.  Every once in a while one of our artists might bring in their own boards but it doesn’t happen very often in a month.

I was concerned when we first installed our IEM system that the keys would need to be in stereo just like the drum kit in the ears mixes and that would present channel count issues with our desired allocation.  Thankfully, I don’t think anyone has ever commented on the keys being submixed to mono rather than stereo.  As a result, the only truly stereo submixes in the ears are the drum mix and the extras channels.  Everything else goes to the IEMs in mono and can be panned around in each individual mix as desired.

I’ve received a few questions via email for more information about the ambience mics specifically so I am preparing more info about that to tag onto the end of this series.

With that said, check this out…

Next time we’ll listen to the final IEM mix – lead vocal/worship leader.  Thanks for reading!

Yesterday I re-discovered a concert that I consider a benchmark for the current state of artistic presentations.  A couple years ago Keith Urban introduced the most effective use of IMAG in a concert that I’ve ever experienced and the entire show is flat out incredible.  Check out this opening tune, especially about a minute and a half in once the band fully kicks in.  Whether you’re a fan of country or not, I think the creative use of IMAG, produced video content, lighting, staging, and a really great DVD audio mix makes Keith Urban’s “Love, Pain, & the Whole Crazy Thing” DVD a must-watch.

When we first adapted the PQ system for our IEM mixes, I was concerned that a stereo drum mix that everyone shared might cause problems.  The reality couldn’t be further from that.  A stereo aux creates the submix for the drums and it is slaved to the channel pan so whatever panning is done for the house translates to the ears.  I actually leave the sends to this aux set to unity in my default console setup.  That way, as I soundcheck the drums, I can build my house mix with the faders near unity and it translates almost perfectly to the ears.  It is RARE to need to tweak the mix for the ears – I actually can’t tell you the last time I listened to it other than preparing for these posts.  It just works every time.

By now you should be sensing some trends.  The ears mixes are pretty dry and really simple.  If we had a separate monitor desk, I’m sure there are more things we could do to make the environment even better for the artists (things like manually riding audience levels, riding solos, adding effects if desired, etc) but this system works for our guys, as evidenced by the wide acceptance factor.

Song #1 is still “My Savior, My God”.  Check it out…

Song #2 adds the click and track.  Again the click takes almost singular focus in the mix since everyone is locking to it.  I can’t speak very much into what it takes to be successful with the whole click track thing from an artist perspective.  Kensington has been using click’s for so long that it was just something we do by the time I got here.

Again, if there are questions, let’s use the comments section to discuss.

Next time:  keys mixes.  We’ll have to use different songs then the ones we’ve been using so far since there wasn’t a keys player in this band.  It will be good to change it up a bit, as well!

Right now is a good time to stress the importance of good ear pieces in order to achieve wide acceptance.  When I started at Kensington, all that we owned were some Shure E1s and NO ONE was excited to put those things on for anything.  The first time we did a band with ears for a holiday, everyone but the bass player wore E1s and it was painful.  Now we use Shure products exclusively (I’ve written about this before – check the archives if you’re interested in why) and have a mix of SCL3, SCL4, and SCL5’s.  Since I consider us still in the early days of a transition campus-wide to IEM, only a small handful of our artists own their own ear pieces.  Most use our house sets.  We stock the replacement foam and change it for each set whenever a new artist is using them.

Focusing now on the mix, our artists get a stereo drum mix to their PQ mixer for their IEMs. Everyone gets the same drum mix and we find that works fine for us. The only exception is that the bass player also gets the kick channel individually in addition to the stereo mix since bass players always want more kick then the rest of the band. When you listen to the first clip from “My Savior, My God”, the first thing that jumps out is the placement of kick and bass in relation to everything else in the mix. There’s also quite a bit more of the extras channels in this mix then in the electric mix we listened to last time. One caveat though – due to the channel limitations of our system on this particular night, the bass player chose to have mono extras rather than the normal stereo. Personally the stereo part of ambience is really important to me but this particular artist isn’t reliant on ambience so its a simple trade off. I’m actually surprised in listening to his mix that he has this much extras present. Regardless…

The second clip, like last time, adds a click and track into the mix. What is interesting is that with this mix, the click is pretty buried. In fact, once the drums kick in I don’t think it is very present at all. Again you can get a better idea of the importance of the extras channel in the mix when you hear the crowd singing along.

Again, if there are questions, let’s use the comments section for this. I’m really not sure what else is helpful to share.

Next time: drums IEM mixes

The first IEM mix we’re going to evaluate is lead guitar. Most of our worship arrangements are electric driven so this is a pretty important place to start. Our mixes are generally very dry and we use the extras channels to add space when desired. I’ve worked with artists who like more processing in their ears but this setup seems to work for our artists since we don’t have a dedicated monitor engineer.  There isn’t any significant processing on the mixes you’re going to listen to – they are created with a stereo PQ channel on the Venue, the on-board limiter is engaged to protect the output on the top end, and that mix then feeds the wired IEM system.

I have two samples from tunes to listen to for the electric guitar artist. This first one is from “My Savior, My God”. The instrumentation is electric, acoustic, bass, drums, lead vocal, and BGV. It sounds a little cliche, but you’ll quickly see as we go through this series that each person’s mix probably starts with a “more me” philosophy. This makes sense when you remember that I strongly encourage all of our artists to wear both ears all the time and this results in lots of isolation from the outside world in what they’re hearing. The result is a big need to hear what the artist is doing individually, and then surround that with the other instruments to provide timing, pitch, and ensemble. The band is not playing to a click in this one so you’ll see where our artist placed the drums in relation to everything else. I think it is interesting how out front his guitar really is in his mix, yet you can clearly maintain the placement of the kit, vocal, and the worship leader’s acoustic.

DISCLAIMER – this obviously isn’t the only way to build an IEM mix but hopefully it is helpful to hear what a really good musician is listening to.

The second sample is a little different in the band is playing to a click & track. At the start of the tune, you’ll hear the count off and a really broken down intro. The electric is just doing atmosphere stuff at the beginning and really kicks in at 1:12. The interesting thing here is the difference in placement between the click and the drum kit in this one. As I listen to the mixes that most of our guys dial in, it seems when playing to a click, everyone really dials into that click and keeps it out front with the kit tucking in behind it. This might just be a preference thing but it works for our guys since everyone is so used to playing to a click. Obviously your mileage may vary.

If you have any questions based on what you’re hearing, feel free to use the comments on this post for discussion.

Next time: IEM mixes for bass

Today we’re going to start a little journey over the next 2 weeks to cover each major instrument – bass, electric, keys, drums, and vocals – and talk about what makes good mixes for each category.  I also have actual samples that I have recorded so you can hear what real guys dialed in and we’ll analyze each one.  I’ll be posting Mon-Wed-Fri this week and next to continue this little series.

To start things off, I want to refer you to a video blog I did a few months ago about our PQ system that might be helpful so you can see more about how our particular system functions for our artists, just for context.

Next, a tool that is REALLY critical to good IEM mixes is what we call our “extras channel”.  A common complaint you’ll hear from artists who are first transitioning to IEM is that it can feel really disconnecting and isolating.  All of a sudden, guys hear themselves in glaring detail – for good and for bad.  If the tone is aweful, it’s much easier to ignore it when its just coming from an amp at your feet or a wedge.  When it’s in your ear, there’s no escaping it.  The biggest trick to making the ears feel real and less isolating is effective use of ambience mics.  I’ve written about this before, but we have three sets of ambience mics that I use as the primary foundation of our “extras channel” – a set of shotguns on the side of the stage, a set of PCC mics on the 1/3 and 2/3 lines of our stage lip, and a set of small diaphragm condensors hanging over the crowd about half way back.  These mics are mixed on a stereo aux that is fed to the IEM.

The “extras channel” allows the artist to decide how isolated they want to feel when they’re wearing their IEMs.  It is really important that this mix be stereo so it will feel right.  A couple of our guys choose to have mono extras just because they want to use one of their PQ channels for something else, but for the majority of artists I don’t recommend letting them go mono.  Stereo is really important.

Along with the ambience mics, I also mix post fader sources for anything else the artist might need when they AREN’T playing so they can remain connected to what’s going on – speaker and greeter mics, video playback sources that might role while they’re waiting to play, and talkback from the stage manager so they can hear rehearsal requests and communicate back and forth.

Here’s a sample of what the “extras channel” sounds like when we isolate it all by itself during a worship tune.  It really doesn’t sound like much on its own, but the presence that this adds to the mix has done wonders for IEM acceptance at Kensington.  If you don’t have something like this in your ear mixes, you don’t know what you’re missing!

Next time:  electric guitar IEM mix

A primary responsibility of mixing audio well in a church is to do everything possible to eliminate distractions.  One of the best ways to do this is by having great transitions.  Transitions make a good audio guy into a great one.

• Don’t just mute and unmute inputs.  Always try to fade into and out of elements.  Make them smooth and seamless so they flow together.  If the mic starts feeding back, you can catch it before it gets out of control.  You don’t ever want to just turn on an input full volume – who knows if it will be louder then expected, crackle, or have feedback.
• Always turn on a communicator’s mic right on time.  Too early and you might catch a sideways conversation with someone in the front row or clearing the throat.  Too late and you miss the first few words.  It’s a simple thing, but earn the trust of your communicator by having his back.
• If the communicator is going to have the audience talk with each other for a moment and then they’re going to continue speaking, you should bring their mic back a bit (maybe 5-10 dB) while the speaker isn’t “on” so they can take a drink or speak to someone without disrupting the moment.  But keep your eyes closely on the communicator so you don’t miss when they are ready to proceed.  Again, have the speaker’s back so the mic is transparent to them.
• The worst thing you can do is to forget to turn the speaker’s mic off when they are off stage.  The music starts and you hear the speaker singing – this can be very embarrassing for said speaker.
• Slow, intentional fades are MUCH better then quick mutes and unmutes.

Mr Swedien wrote a book in 2004 called Make Mine Music that gives away detailed information from his lifetime in the studio-from a musical, technical, and very personal perspective. This book has something for everyone who is interested in music, especially those curious about the stories behind the scenes of some of the best music to ever come out of the recording studio.  I came across the book in 2005 but had forgotten I even owned it.  Upon rediscovery, there are too many pearls of audio wisdom in this book to list.

Being such a fan of Bruce, it was with great interest that I found this snippet a few weeks ago on ProSoundWeb from the book that is solid content for anyone who practices this artform of mixing modern music.  Here Bruce writes about developing your own “audio personality” for how you evaluate what you hear and translate it into an actual mix “product”.

Do yourself a favor and check this out. If you’re like me and the article resounds with you, pick up the book.  I think you’ll be glad you did!

Here’s a short video tour of the feature.

Audiovend is a wireless rental specialist – Shure & Sennheiser, Lectrosonics, wired & wireless IEM, Comm – if its wireless, they deal with it.  They also have a very large inventory of specialized mics and wireless capsules.  I first learned about Greg Stevens and Audiovend a few years ago when I needed to rent 12 string mics (DPA 4061s).  One of my friends suggested talking to Greg due to a recommendation from DPA.  They were very easy to work with and provided exactly what I needed for the weekend.  On top of that, rental rates for such specialized mics were fair and reasonable.  It was a win/win for everyone.

Since that time, we’ve done a couple of other similar rentals for special service elements.  A few months ago, however, a unique opportunity came along for us to partner on a higher profile and that event’s success is the inspiration for this post.

Every summer, Kensington does an outdoor baptism event at a local park/beachfront.  Hundreds of people participate to declare their love for Jesus, with several thousand spectators lining the beach to picnic, celebrate, and support.  This event is always one of the highlights of the year.  As a part of the production needs, we have utilized waterproof microphones in the water so that the pastors can make things more personal for each participant and lead everyone through the event.  The concept is REALLY cool and the event hinges on these mics’ success, but for the past several years of attempting this, the execution has been marginal due to poor support from our previous vendor – a large national rental company.

After last year’s experience, I suggested that we seek out a new direction this year and approached Greg for his help.  He designed a Lectrosonics 6 channel system with waterproof transmitters and headsets, helical antennas, and the needed distribution and cabling to remote the antennas 100 feet from the receivers.  Everything was shipped to us to arrive the day before the event.  It was sent in such a way I could unpack, make the necessary RF and audio connections, and be good to go.  Greg did a frequency coordination plan prior to shipping so when the system arrived, it was ready to rock.

Below is an excerpt of the email I sent Greg following the successful evening…

“…Everything worked as it should for the entire event.  This event hinges on these wireless working and your system delivered for the first time in several years of trying!  The headsets sounded really good with little channel EQ, lithium batteries saved the day – we powered transmitters on at the beginning of event and made it all the way to the end with no battery swaps, helicals were great – no RF issues at all.  It was so great to be able to turn the transmitters on and go because the frequencies were all taken care of from the start.  In the past the team has always had to guess and tune with mixed results.  Everyone on our team was very impressed.

You have a raving fan in Kensington – we’ll certainly be making this an annual thing   You made me look very good today but I know you and your team are the real heros.  Thanks again for all you do!”

What is most ironic is that Audiovend provided a similar set of actual gear as our previous vendor – I think the biggest difference was their proper planning, implementation, and improved RF distribution.  Greg and the team are obvious experts at the art form of wireless audio systems.

If you’re also placed in situations where you need to deliver wireless solutions for high-profile events, I HIGHLY recommend Greg Stevens and his team at Audiovend Wireless.  His expertise is vast, his prices fair, and the service and support is excellent.  He’ll make you look very good as well!  Let him know I sent you…

I’ve decided one of the best indicators of the improvements in the room is that now when I mix, the only time I switch over the SMAART is when we’re recording a message for campuses and I need the teachers to be loud enough to a certain dB (usually averaging 70) so that the balance of their mics to the room ambience will be correct for the recording.

I read a tweet a few weeks ago from the OwnTheMix guys that suggested putting away the SPL meter when you mix and instead mix the music so it feels right in the room, whatever that means for your space.  I must say, having mixed both ways on both kinds of systems, mixing on a PA that is right for your room so you can enjoy mixing music is MUCH more fun then being a slave to the SPL meter!

That’s all for today!

My friend Dave Skaff is back on the road with the band for this tour, mixing monitors on a Profile of course!

I’m really excited about a couple of “new” additions to our mic collection that are making a big difference in the quality of my mixes.  There’s some mix samples at the bottom of the post.

The first is an ultra-vintage original AKG D12E.  We’ve been looking for one of these for a long time because they are quite rare and hard to find in great shape.

On the recommendation of our music director, an accomplished drummer in his own right, this is a unique mic for live kick.  The D12E is the original mic that the D112 was based off of.  It’s funny, though, because if you ask me, the two mics couldn’t be more different.  The AKG D12E has a dynamic transducer with its special handmade “Bass Chamber”. The Bass Chamber boosts the lower frequencies in the 60 to 120 Hz range. Its unique sound established the D12E as the world’s standard microphone for bass drum and bass instrument pick-up. the D12E’s frequency response extends down to 40 Hz, and the slight peak in the 60 to 120 Hz range enables the microphone to do full justice to the mellow, intimate quality of the trombone, tuba, or flügelhorn.

It is the complete opposite of an Audix D6 or Shure Beta52 – feels really organic, uncolored, and natural.  As soon as you hear it, you can recognize the sound from many classic records over the years.

The second addition to our collection is a pair of AKG C414-ULS mics.  Again, we’ve been looking for a special pair for many months and a set that was in immaculate condition literally dropped into our laps.

If you’re familiar at all with the history of the 414, there have been several incarnations over the years of this classic.  My favorite by far has been the ULS series because it is the most neutral of the bunch.  The TL & TL-II utilize a different capsule based on the classic C12V.  While the TL series are great mics in their own right, the ULS has a very uncolored and natural sound that is awesome for overheads and electric guitar.  On our d&b rig, the entire kit takes on a 3-dimensional quality that is simply missing with the Rode NT4, Shure KSM32, KSM44, or KSM141, or SM81s.

Another plus towards the older ULS over the current 414 incarnations is that these mics still have hard switches for pattern control, roll-off, and pad.  The new mic’s have an electronic button that remembers the position when the mic is provided phantom power.  This is annoying because it means when you’re setting up the mics, you must have the console on and phantom applied to the channel in order to be able to set the mic’s options while setting up rather than making a special trip to the stage during soundcheck.

If you’re willing to take your time finding a matched pair in great shape, I think they are well worth the marginal investment.  It’s awesome that you can easily save $1,000 over the current versions of the 414 by finding a solid used set of 414-ULS, plus they sound better and are more versatile to boot.  Definitely check them out!

Now for the mix samples…

The first is a board mix of the kit mics isolated during soundcheck.  Kick is the D12E, snare is a SM57, hat a Neumann KM184, Audix D2 & D4 on toms, and the 414-ULS for overheads.  The 414’s are high passed around 140 hz so they are capturing a large chunk of the overall kit sound.  Because of this, the tom mics especially are thinned out just a bit so they will work well with the overheads.  Check out that kick tone!

The second sample is the same kit mics in context of a full band worship tune.

When we started out on the plan to revamp the audio system at Kensington Troy last summer, moving from the Yamaha PM1D to the Digidesign platform, a new PA, new microphones, etc. this is a profile of a similarly designed system. Worth the watch!

I continue to be very impressed by the content of OTM.  The video production is well done and the training materials are spot on for the church audio engineer.  I’m especially excited about new content that will be coming online in the next few weeks with more focus on Digidesign D-Show consoles/software and the essential ProTools training for working with click tracks and virtual soundcheck.

As solid as the micing, mixing, and interview videos are, I continue to believe the biggest value of this content will be for our team to go through it as a group.  While I may not agree with every specific suggested technique, I anticipate the discussion these topics will create among our team will be as valuable, if not more, than the video content itself.

Probably the biggest disappointment to me so far is the social networking side of the site.  It is not the most intuitive to search for other members or groups that would be interesting to follow.  There’s nothing the OTM guys can do about it, but the community side would also be more beneficial if more people actively participated in the forums and their personal profiles/groups.  Perhaps some contests for SWAG to encourage increased participation would be beneficial or something else like that.

There is no such thing as perfect in anything, and the same holds true when you talk about a training resource like OwnTheMix.  However, the content itself is so strong and unique that it overcomes any of the minor weaknesses regarding community participation.  I still wholeheartedly recommend this for teams of any size who are mixing in churches.  Thanks OTM guys for such a spot-on service!