[MusicTlk] Playing guitar at church and a question about music mixing

Tue Oct 11 22:53:48 UTC 2022

Hi Sandra

Trust me … I’ve asked them to turn me up, and I’ve even tried turning my guitar board/amp up.  And let me tell you, when I have asked them (and I’ve done it repeatedly in  the  past because of my frustration) the reaction I get is that I’m a malcontent.  They seem to like the levels where they have them.  But as I say, when you listen to the recording over the internet on YouTube, I can barely  hear myself.  I can hear a note here and there, and that’s about it.  It’s simply difficult to hear the  guitars.  Where is my contribution?  What’s the  point of playing if I can’t be heard?  It might be explainable (is that a word??) if I was playing an acoustic with no amplification.  Sure, that would get drowned right out.  But when you’re playing an electric, you expect a different result.  And get this … they even have sound checks before we begin to make sure you’re at the level they want.  Yeah, I guess that’s the keyword there … the level THEY WANT.  I may just turn the volume up that’s coming out of my guitar processor and see what happens.  I’m sure not getting a good result with how things are right now.

But what’s really weird, as I said in my original post, is that other churches are having the same result with their guitars.  I wanted to find out if it was just our church, so I listened to other churches in our area on YouTube.  It’s the same!  That’s why I made the comment ….”Is there a church mixing board 101 class that everyone goes to and they tell you to turn electric guitar volumes down”?  Maybe they think EG players are going to try to rock the place out and shred.  Not at our church .. I wouldn’t do that.  But it sure makes you wonder when other churches are having the same issues.  And I bet a lot of the music directors don’t even know.

Anyway, it all makes you wonder.

At present I have my output volume set at 1 o’clock.  I guess my next step is to turn it up to about 3 o’clock and see what kinds of difference that makes.  Couldn’t hurt.

Thanks for listening.

Mike

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From: Sandra Gayer via MusicTlk<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 5:09 PM
To: Music Talk Mailing List for Blind Musicians<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sandra Gayer<mailto:sandragayer7 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MusicTlk] Playing guitar at church and a question about music mixing

Hello Mike,
I'm a singer but played guitar as a child. I was going to say that it
sounds like your problem is a scientific one; brass instruments carry,
guitars don't. If they're turning you down at the input stage, have
you asked them not to? Sorry I haven't got any better advice than
this.

Very best wishes,
Sandra.

On 10/11/22, TheOreoMonster via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Nice Rig! How are you using that helix accessibly? My first question would
> be have you tried dialing in the tones of your rig at with the band in
> rehearsal, or are you using the tones you get at home by yourself in the
> band context.  The frequencies and levels that work well for the guitar in
> solo isn’t always what works well in a full mix. Less lows and more  Mids
> for example may help a guitar cut through better in a mix. That’s probably
> where I’d start if you haven’t yet,, readjust those patches with the band
> and save a bank for playing with the band.
>
>
>> On Oct 11, 2022, at 7:09 AM, Mike Jolls via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> OK, I need some opinions.
>>
>> I play electric guitar at our church.  We record our band and show the
>> videos on YouTube.  In the past, I’ve tried to use the YouTube videos to
>> see how I’m doing, how I’m sounding, etc …  BUT, invariably when I listen
>> to the videos, it’s very difficult to hear myself.  You can hear the
>> acoustic piano, the leaders electric piano, the drums, and the singers.
>> When those instruments go up in volume and the vocals are going, all of
>> the guitars (electric as well as acoustic/electrics) get lost in the mix
>> and it’s very difficult to hear what I’m playing.
>>
>> For those interested, I play a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar through a
>> Line 6 Helix which is fed to the sound board in the back of room.  They
>> mix it and record from there, and what they mix gets sent out to YouTube.
>>
>> Don’t get me wrong.  I’m no egotist who wants to be the star of the show
>> all the time.  I get that, especially in a church environment, the vocals
>> MUST be heard over everything else.   The words of the song are the whole
>> point.   But if I have $2500 worth of gear on the floor and I’ve put my
>> time in practicing, I want to be at a volume where I can be heard on the
>> video.  If I can’t hear myself on the video, I question whether I can even
>> be heard at church.  When I’m not heard, I get frustrated.  it’s like …
>> “what’s the point if I can’t even hear myself?”.
>>
>> An interesting thing is that our church doesn’t appear to be alone in
>> this.  I’ve listened to other churches in our area that record their
>> services and post them on YouTube.  They have the same issue.  The guitars
>> get lost.  I’m just wondering (I say this in jest) if there’s a Church 101
>> music mixing class that all sound people go to that tells them to turn the
>> guitars down!!??  Perhaps they just automatically think that electric
>> guitars are going to be too loud so they have to turn them down.
>>
>> My opinion of this is that the people at the mixing board already know
>> what they want things to sound like and they keep our volumes low.
>>
>> Let me also say … don’t tell me to turn my volume up.  I’ve already tried
>> that with no results.
>>
>> OK, with all that said, what I’d like to know is whether any of you
>> musicians play guitar at church and have you had the same issue?  And if
>> so, have you resolved it?
>>
>> Also, are any of you involved in mixing music if you go to church?  I’d
>> like to hear comments from both sides of the fence.
>>
>> Thanks for letting me blow some steam.  I won’t take comments personally.
>>
>> Mike Jolls
>>
>>
>>
>>
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