Too Loud? Or Not Enough Dynamics?

This weekend while mixing services at my church I realized something. It isn't how loud the service is, it is how you use dynamics! For the past couple of years we have been using Electronic Drums.  The reason we do this is that while our sound system is extremely good, the room itself has some issues.  First, the sanctuary is somewhere around 30'x80' and utilizes a horseshoe balcony.  This configuration causes the room to resonate a lot through 200-450 hertz. Much of the energy in this frequency band manifests itself in standing wave energy above 96-98dB.  Therefore I usually keep our service levels around 96dB PEAK.  Using the electronic drums (Roland V-Drums) allows me to split the drums out; Kick, Snare, Toms, Cymbals, and dial in the drum sound I want.  The major limitation with this is the disconnect of the drums from the rest of the band.  As we utilize a Pro Co Momentum system for In Ear Monitoring, the only way the praise band hears the drums is in-ear.  There is no "feeling" the kick, and the pianist often cannot hear the beat over the acoustic energy of their piano as they utilize a hot spot monitor.

The advantages of course are being able to "fit" all the instruments together in a well blended mix in the sanctuary.  Of course this ends up sounding fake, because the spontaneity of the sound of real percussion disappears.  This gives me fantastic control of the volume of the overall sound as well as the tonality.

Now, notice how I stated 96dB Peak.  There are several factors that influence how we perceive sound. Loudness is measured in decibels, this is a measurement of the amount of energy that a sound wave has.  There is also something known as Dynamic Range.  The best way to describe this is to think about the difference between a whisper and a gunshot.  a whisper would be around 20-30dB and an gunshot can be around 120-150dB.  If both of these sounds were in a scene of a program there would be a dynamic range of over 100dB!

Dynamic range also effects our perception of loudness. Metallica released their last CD and was immediately blasted by critics for having only a 4dB dynamic range through the WHOLE CD.  In my current production process at the church I usually have a range of 87-96dB, or a dynamic range of 9dB.  Using the acoustic drums this weekend, I had a peak of 98dB and a range of 93-98dB. While not being appreciably louder, the dynamic range of 5dB made the service seem louder overall. This is the same thing that makes commercials seem louder than programs.  The program may be mastered to -12dBu with a wider dynamic range than the commercial that is also mastered to -12dBu but with a dynamic range of 4-5dB.  All the acoustic energy is packed into a smaller range, therefore it is perceived as louder.

Therefore, if you are a church sound engineer, you don't have to turn down to make everyone happy, just work with your praise team to find a way to increase your dynamic range.  It may be as simple as not having all the guitarists play every verse, or utilizing more single note runs over layered power chords. Remember that the sound engineer is as much a part of the praise team as the worship leader and communication between both creates a way for us all to further His kingdom through worship.