ChurchSoundcheck 3.0

Nothing to see here.

Most people don’t realize how old their audio console actually is.

I spent way too much time mapping out the release and discontinuation dates of major mixing consoles going back to the late 1960s.

What I found surprised me—especially how quickly some manufacturers move.

If you’re considering buying or upgrading a console, this might change how you think about it.

I turned it into a free timeline you can download here:

http://bit.ly/3Qlqr6i

The Secret Figure-8 Cable Trick

I learned that Over-Under cable wrapping technique from my mentor in school. Bill Porter, Elvis Presley's engineer. Another technique that he taught us was to coil the cable in a Figure-8.

Thinking back in the days before wireless microphones, when an entertainer in Las Vegas would run out on the stage with their microphone, they couldn't let that cable knot up in any way. So there had to be some way to deal with that. Well, the Figure-8 thing actually does that.

Watch this short demo and think about when and where this Figure-8 cable trick might be valuable during a service, concert or other event.

Keep Learning at ChurchSoundBootCamp.com

The Secret Figure-8 Cable Trick

I learned that Over-Under cable wrapping technique from my mentor in school. Bill Porter, Elvis Presley's engineer. Another technique that he taught us was to coil the cable in a Figure-8.

Thinking back in the days before wireless microphones, when an entertainer in Las Vegas would run out on the stage with their microphone, they couldn't let that cable knot up in any way. So there had to be some way to deal with that. Well, the Figure-8 thing actually does that.

So the idea is to lay it out in a Figure-8, in big loops. So I've got this long 80 foot cable like this, and I'm just going to coil it up like this. You’d think I'd use a shorter cable for this demo, but think about it, a cable that you might give an entertainer on a stage, and they're going to run out onto a big stage with the audience. It could be a 100 foot cable.

Alright, so here we go. So imagine I have a microphone on here, and I'm going to walk out here. I'm not going to run.😎 I'll walk swiftly and we'll see how this works. Here we go!

So how did that work? Cable came undone. No tangles. No knots. No nothing. Nothing to hang up the artist as they run out on the stage. Even if you're using wireless mics all the time, you might find a good application for this Figure-8 kind of pattern. So now it's in your wheelhouse. You can use it wherever it applies. Hope that helps.

Keep Learning at ChurchSoundBootCamp.com

The Case of the Missing Windscreen

One of my very few pet peeves are these things.

I've seen these things so smothered with lipstick that, like it’s a wonder that sound could ever get through.

Now, I'll give you one of my favorite windscreen stories again from Bill Porter, Elvis' engineer, who said that at one period he was having trouble, with the sound character of Elvis' voice.

It wasn't sounding very clean and bright and clear.

So he tried different things to fix it.

Couldn't find a solution. One of the stagehands asked him saying, “Hey have you ever cleaned his windscreen?”

And Bill came from the recording studio world, he hadn’t thought about that.

And so, he went and got Elvis' mic, took the windscreen off, went in the restroom, filled the basin with water and plunged this thing under the water and squeezed it.

And he said, the water just turned black. You can imagine from you know, performing in lots and lots of smoky nightclubs.

This microphone over here, this BETA 87A has a really good windscreen on it. I mean the metal grill itself becomes a windscreen. And then there's a foam windscreen in here that further benefits it.

I've been using this microphone for decades. I know the mic very well.

And I was consulting with a church in the Dallas area. And during rehearsal, and the vocalist was singing and they're having major, wind pops, breath pops on the mic.

And that shouldn't do that. That mic has a better windscreen than that.

Anyway. So I had to go investigate and this is what I found.

My only guess is that whatever solvent they’d used for cleaning, had eaten away the foam on the inside.

And so now there was no windscreen at all.

So that's why it was sounding like when she was singing, she was getting those major breath pops.

I know we just ate. But I have to share this with you.

One of my clients at a church, their vocalist tends to spit a lot when he sings.

So, yeah, you’re ready for it.

And so, they decided to get his mic one day and get the windscreen and just take a closer look. And here's what they found.

Yeah ... I won’t show you the close up. There's something green actually growing, literally on this thing.

Anyway, clean your windscreens! Especially during cold and flu season.

Be friends to all your vocalists. Clean those windscreens on a regular basis.

Join our conversation in the Church Sound Class on Skool.
https://www.skool.com/church-sound-class-5932