1) There is a difference between pressure and volume. Often, people will say it's too 'loud' (and they think it is), but, in fact, the problem is that the sound is unbalanced. The first Sunday, March 14, we ran the sound very loud. It was mixed well, but the volume was higher than we've run it before. That's on me. I told the tech guys to crank it up. Last week, though, we were running fewer decibels than we ran at the High School. The problem wasn't volume, it was that the sound was 'piercing'. It hurt. I get it. I hear you. I felt it, too. We'll fix it.
2) When it comes to sheer volume, though, it's never going to be quiet and serene. It shouldn't hurt the average person's ears. The sound should not painful or piercing. At the same time, you should not be able to sit in your seat and have a casual conversation during the worship. The music we do has to move people, grab them. I have watched many Sundays as we played killer music that should have had people jumping up and down, but because it wasn't loud enough, the sound remained 'on the stage' instead of being in the seats. If you go to NewSpring, Atlee, National Community Church, Mecklenburg, Elevation, Mosaic, NorthPoint, or most any other church like ours, you'll experience a concert-like atmosphere where the music volume is loud, but the pitch and mix is such that it's not painful. That's what we're after.
3) One of the reasons we're having a hard time getting our room right is that we had to cut some serious money from our sound equipment budget in order to get into the building. We'll add that stuff back over time. In the meantime, we're making some adjustments that will hopefully 'cheat' our way back to comfort.
I assure you that this coming Sunday will be a good mix. I will ensure that.
I'm really grateful to the folks who let me and others on our team know about last week's sound and also who have been patient and gracious with us while we work out the kinks.
See you Sunday!
Hey Brian,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting into the new building. I remember when we first got into our new building after being in the high school for 8 yrs. There is a lot to adjust to. One of the must challenging is the new sound system but hang in there in a few weeks you guys will have a better handle on it and everyone will really enjoy what you can do now that you couldn't do in the school. You guys are in our prayers and we are celebrating with you guys all that God is doing in and thru PCC!