The Fundamentals of Sound for Volunteers

It's been a little while since I posted, as my job (the real one) has kept me busy, as well as brushing up on the fundamentals myself with my all-time favorite resource, the Sound Reinforcement Handbook, by Yamaha. It got me to thinking about how I learn this stuff, and I concluded that the most difficult thing is there are many technical papers and such that give good info, but I'm a volunteer guy, and everyone else isn't really even interested in the technical stuff. However, I need all of us on the same page. So I guess I'll be the one to write the how-to book without all the technical jargon.

I'm thinking about covering the simple stuff, like how a main speaker on one side of a room can't be adjusted as if it were the monitor for someone sitting on the other side of the room. I've come to believe people don't understand the whole thing about the directionality of speakers and such, but don't need a bunch of graphs to get the general principles. I haven't found a resource that I think does what I need it to (get to the point clearly, and concisely, but is short enough for people who have other things to do). So maybe instead of rambling here I will start working out some ideas(in even shorter form).

I hear the applause in your head about me not just rambling. Go ahead and let it out.

The Coolest PC's

A guy at work the other day brought it his Mac Mini, and I just kept looking at it because it was, well, so mini. I was thinking about getting another computer just because it looked so cool (never a good reason, at least on my budget). Then, today, I ran across some sites talking about a new MiniPC, obviously a catch-up move but intriguing. Seeing as how I live in a Windows (primarily) and Linux world, this is just the thing I need to fit the bill.

The tech booth at church is small, but one of these can fit on a little slideout shelf right under the counter, making my current tower look like a behemoth. I don't know how quiet it is, but there is enough noise where I am that no one will notice. If they are quiet enough, a church wanting to minimize their setup but still do some cool things might look into these. I have ideas in my head for how these little things could be built in mini cabients that fit right in with the aritechture anywhere. A small LCD screen would make this a great setup. This would also be good for churches who use laptops now (and wish they didn't) because they want to be able to move it to a new room and connect it to, say, a smaller system in the fellowship hall and back again. Now all the power of a full computer can go with you. (This doesn't allievate the fear that the computer can "grow legs" though, so you'll have to figure a solution for that).

Just thought I'd mention it, 'cause I thought it was cool.

Recording Progress

This week, one of the guys in the church asked me to help record his group singing a couple of demo tracks for an event booker to hear. I must say that it did turn out better than I thought, but obviously not up to the standard I desire, as we have nothing close to a recording setup. By some anomoly, I actually could use the faders on the main house board to set the recording mix (while the main and monitors for live reinforcement are fed from aux -- some outputs don't work correctly) but mixing anything on the fly in that environment is challenging.

It did, however, give me an idea of just how close we are to being able to do some "for real" multitrack recording, even in our confined space. Now all I need is a multitrack recorder (sigh).

Many churches, even small ones, can get something basic going. I just took the outputs from the main mixer and ran it through a compressor, then through a mini desktop mixer which served as the interface with the computer and allowed more flexible monitoring options. Then I connected those outputs (compressed and level-matched) to a computer (2.7Ghz Celeron, 384MB of memory, stock audio card) recording with Audacity, which also allowed for editing and and adding basic post-production effects (I can't get enough of that program). That's all there is to it.

I'm excited that technology is moving in such a way that it doesn't take thousands of dollars anymore to create something basic and decent. And let me not forget my greatest find of all, the Epson R220, which lets me print direct-on-disc labels to add a layer of professionalism.

I'll probably start a little sidebar of my favorite gadgets here, now that Blogger has added some cool new features to make it easy. My hope is that if you're looking for ideas on what to use, you can get them here (and if you have ideas, please put them here).

A Software Approach

This may seem a little off my regular beaten path, but I noticed that Harmon Internatonal recently posted record earnings. I'm not much for pumping certian companies (unless I get into the realm of becoming a dealer), but I just noticed some cool things going on there.

If you don't know Harmon, you know their brand family: the likes of Crown, AKG, Soundcraft, DOD, dbx and JBL. The coolest thing I saw browsing around, though, is a "communications protocol" called HiQnet. It had crossed my mind that ease of system setup and administration in the future would likely be almost entirely software based. Not to mention it just looks cool.

Any of their networkable products can "talk" to the master application and all prameters can be set from within that interface. I think churches would benefit greatly from something like this, especially if some company comes up with a simple app that volunteers can quickly learn, giving them control to get the best settings, as well as organize all media to be played back and recorded.

I thought of using my growing base of rudimentary programming skills to work something like this out on computer. Ideally, there would be at least two computers: one for analysis and system tweaking, and the other for recording the sermon, converting to mp3 for web upload, preparing CDs, and such, all from a simple interface. Businesses get more done from automation, and I think a similiar approach would be good in an area where a lot of volunteers operate without a broad base of knowledge.

And did I mention that it would look cool, too?

Feedback Suppression Obsession

Let me add my name to the list of people who confirm that automatic feedback suppression doesn't work in the environments where it's needed most. It is better suited for speech only, so it seems, and not somewhere where the organ and drums play unbridled.

If you want to use one, and insist on the auto functions, then be sure to patch it into a vocal channel. Unfortunately for me, my little mixer doesn't have channel inserts (which only adds to my drive to replace it). Fortunately, however, those thingamabobs also usually work as a parametric EQ, and I have had some luck locating some of the hot frequencies and locking them down.

For my use, I have a pink-noise CD for signal generation (or alternately a couple of programs on my laptop that do the same; Google to find one that suits you and your software setup. On my setup, the evaluation version of NCH Swift Sounds' Tone Generator is getting a test spin (license around $30, depending on your options), and the RTA is a little freeware suite, though I think I'll move to a low-cost alternative produced my Allen & Heath (around $10, with a free trial period). Get one of those calibration mics (Behringer and dbx, produce sub-$100 models, among others), run it through one of those little table mixers (see Behringer, Yamaha, Mackie, Peavey for options on the lower end of the cost spectrum) and then see what happens with pink noise, white noise, and various sweeps going through the system. It's not perfect, but I think it has helped me, so I'm sharing it.

A useful little tool to train your ears to detect where exactly on the spectrum feedback is occuring is the Simple Feedback Trainer. The title is the best description, and, in the absence of an expensive setup at home, it had proven a good way for me to practice.

Seek And You Shall Find

I've been getting more excited recently about getting our media assets listed in a database to make searching and organization far more efficient. I recently made copies of the current hand written logs (backups work in the paper world too, you know) and noticed there are more than 400 entries, and that's just a partial accounting of all that has been recorded over the years. I think many good things will come from my putting forth an effort to get organized.

I also want to briefly revisit my decision to use MySQL and DaDaBIK to get my solution up and running. I had posted before about my difficulty in learning how to use MySQL, phpMyAdmin, etc. Well, I still don't deal with the latter, preferring to use the DaDaBIK interface to revise records (or hand coding some of the changes, if necessary) as well as some of the GUI tools made availabe from the MySQL website. However, I found all the basics I need for SQL in the book "SQL In Easy Steps," published by Barnes and Noble (they have a series of books covering various tech topics). Now this is my kind of learning -- Really slow, getting the basics, building a little knowledge on top of what was just learned. Many tutorials just seem to move way to fast for me (and maybe I'm just slow). But it worked this way, so I'm running with it. It's amazing how fast I can pick up new things now that I have a good foundation.

Now, if only there were a "Get Rid of Feedback In Easy Steps" I'd be set.

Moving Ahead

For those of you who don't spend a lot of time tweaking your church's system (because you know you are breaking the rules, but diplomacy talks to lower musician's volume have stalled), I'm at the point of realizing it has become somewhat of a part-time job. Don't get me wrong; I don't mind doing it, but I think a lot of the work has crept into my domain without me really paying much attention.

When I started, I was just a member of the team. And while I'm all for promotion or whatnot, there is a lot to do and too few people willing to do it (Is that just a condition, or the way it is supposed to be?) It's at that point where you fix one thing and move on to the next immediate, glaring problem. Oh well, it's a common church soundguy problem, as evidenced by the many threads on similiar topics in the ChurchSoundCheck archives.

Anyway, I'm moving forward. I've just about got all the rudimentary info I need to get the database of media assets I've been wanting. I'm using MySQL as the database server and a free program called DaDaBIK to get data into the table eaisly without having to run a ton of "INSERT INTO" statements. With the items in the DB, I'll be able to search and compare sermon topics and references from the past five or six years, with an eye toward using the information to make "tape series" (which is an idea I hear a lot about, but several have found difficult to do), and also to have someone ghostwrite books based on the recorded teachings (another idea thrown around, but difficult without some tech infrastructure). Eventually, it will be on the web and serchable, and one day hopefully people will be able to get downloads of them without leaving home, especially with the many secure ways to take donations online nowadays.

I also put in a Behringer Feedback Destroyer (budget is at a bare minimum), and as expected, it quickly found feedback for every available filter. I knew that, but it does have potiential.

I also ran tests to all but prove conclusively the high frequecy drivers on our largest speakers (probably 20 years old) are out. They are horn-loaded Motorola piezos, and though they still make some like it (as CTS/Motorola), I haven't had luck finding exactly which ones would be a good replacement -- If not the whole speaker itself.

Add to that I have finally gotten a serviceable laptop (with some screen issues, which I might have solved) and I feel pretty good about the progress over the past few weeks.

Now, seeing as how I ramble on here, I really want to put some work into developing my main web page where I can better organize tips and information for better use. (Sigh.) Yet another project.

Fightin' Dirty

Okay, so I've added a new mantra to post up right above the trash can needed for the mantra in the last post: If I have to break the rules, I'm not fighting fair.

I had plenty of feedback problems today at church, and I have no conclusion why. In fact, just yesterday I went in with a rudimentary RTA system (computer software) and my ear and tuned the system to sound better (or so I thought). Surprise, surprise. Well, the sermon did sound great, but it's always praise & worship that gets me, with the unbaffled drums, organ Leslie, and all.

I have no idea what the problem is, but I decided to get one of those budget-class automatic feedback supressing devices from the Bay (eBay, that is). Turns out a church was selling one donated to them to raise money for an addition to their youth facilities. Additionally, I wanted to spend about $50 plus shipping, and that's exactly the deal I got. I figured I'd at least see what this can do before I start into the more expensive variety. Even if it doesn't do all I need, I always enjoy helping other ministries.

So much for trying to be a purist. I just wanted to follow the rules (mics behind mains, 3-to-1 rule, and all that) but space constraints won't allow a good setup (i.e, the "stage monitor" is even with the first row -- I must get diagrams together). My job is to make it work, and I'm having trouble explaining why covering the diaphram of the mic while singing causes distortion and feedback, so I'm just going to get some gear that can fight it. I suppose when I'm consulting I'll do the same, explaining why I want the extra device with the cool lights that the big church down the street doesn't have to use.

Bringing up the Standard

Maybe I should have titled this post "If it acts like trash, it's going to find itself there." That's become sort of my mantra for a lot of the low cost stuff that's been failing recently at church.

Victim No. 1 is a CD player (we use the line out of a portable kind for space and costs reasons -- I really want to upgrade) that acted okay, but sort of buggy, in soundcheck, then decided to not allow me to skip to the appropriate track when a guest wanted to sing along during service (our musicians knew the song, and she was forgiving, thankfully).

Soon to follow are those wireless mics I've been griping about. But the story gets better. A guest speaker wanted to use a lav mic, which had been used before but not in our present location -- just across the highway from a major television tower. So I began testing it, and, by moving it around, was able to "tune in" different channels as if I were sitting in my car. We didn't use it.

The handheld wireless which we had been using acted up as usual. I played with the squelch knob, and found that if I tried to get it anywhere near it's factory setting (fully counter-clockwise), it too became an open radio receiver. I'm closing in on a replacement, with my eye currently on the Audio-Technica 2100 series mics. I wonder if I can get one receiver, a handheld, and a lav, setting it up so I can use either one based on the speakers preferences. I see some lower priced alternatives, but I'm kind of worried about plowing money into those test cases that may fail, not to mention they don't have the flexibility of the A-T. I have not finished my search though. I'm hoping to get something of the price/feature balance that the 2100 series has.

By the way, you can get all the information you need to know and then some about wireless mic system setup and operation from a guide distributed in .pdf by Lectrosonics. If I have to make a case for replacing the wireless systems we already have beyond what has already happened, I'm going to e-mail the file to all concerned and start citing page references.

Remix me, please

I really could use a new mixer for the church. Really. It's to the point that I'm daydreaming about what I could do with a few channel inserts and direct outs, as well as a few sub mixes.

The board we have seems to be a good little servant, except we need more channels and inputs/outputs, and the main outputs have gone out, so we use the aux outs for main and monitors. The sliders actually provide the recording mix to the send/return jack from which we feed the compressor/recording units (okay, so nothing is returned).

I've been on this boat for a few years, though, and I don't have any evidence I'm any closer to getting true action toward getting something new, so I'd better keep thinking about how to squeeze even more expansion into what's there.

As for diagramming, I decided to use Draw in OpenOffice.org. Not fancy, but with a little playing, it gets the job done. Or maybe I will take the time to do it in Inkscape (okay, so I'm looking for excuses to sharpen my vector-drawing skills). As for the database, I think I'll just go with the Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition and construct a front end in Visual Basic.NET and let it go. I'm tried of fooling with the phpMyAdmin/MySQL stuff. I'm a novice, so I'd better stick with the people who give documentation I can understand. Not to mention it's unlikely the church (or any I can think of, for that matter) will move away from Windows for quite some time, so I think I'd be of better service knowing that side of things. And did I mention that the "express editions" of VB.NET and SQL Server are free? Now that's what really settled it. Otherwise I'd still be fighting to get MySQL into shape.

I need to remember scope when I'm working on things. I'm trying to build for the future, something that will last until the last computer is shutdown... but I simply have too much to do and the tech world changes so fast that my idea of what will be in the future might be completely off the mark. I think I will focus on getting some things done, and focus on the "make it last forever" side of things later. Just trying to be a good steward, you know, but this is tech.

Cool Tools

I hope everyone is having a good holiday and was able to at least take a few moments from the grind. It was good for me to be able to set my own schedule for the day, but it is difficult to just sit around when so little free time presents itself.

I've spent a good part of the past few days playing around on my computer trying to get some things working. I also got a chance to dig into a few cool tools that I think might be useful.

The first of these is Sketchup, a 3D modeling program put out by Google. It is free for the personal, non-commercial version, and currently $495 for the corporate unit, with some extras thrown in. By the time I had gotten thorough the tutorials, I had firgured out many little projects that can be mocked up in this neat, easy-to-use program. It won't do what some of the more sophisticated programs -- like Blender -- can do, but I'll probably create mockups of the sound booth, sanctuary, and maybe even some components like amps, mics, and such so I can have a 3D model to use in tutorials and planning. Did I mention it is easy to use? If I really get going with a ton of projects (and enough to go commercial, with consulting for example), I could easily be persuaded to pop for the full version -- and that from a staunch supporter of free stuff.

I'm also toying with WAMP, which is an easily-installed distribution of MySQL, phpMyAdmin, and the Apache web server for Windows computers. It is contstantly on my mind to create a database of our media (and physical) assets, and -- as expected -- I like the idea of freely available tools to make expansion easy. I'm wanting the media database to have a php front end, and I downloaded dadabik to hopefully handle that task. I've toyed a little with Visual Basic.NET and .ASP and such, but I want to try these tools out to see how it works.

I still have a little time left in the day, so I'm going to try to find a good package to use for diagramming our system and signal chain. Can't be too organized and professional about it in my opinion. I'm a huge, HUGE fan of Inkscape, but if I find anything quicker and easier (at the right price, of course) I'm all over it.

None of this will help my mixes sound better immediately, but hopefully putting in a little organization (and some really cool stuff) will pay off in the long term.