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

Tue Oct 11 23:08:28 UTC 2022

Hey OreoMonster

Thanks for the reply.  Let me answer your question as best I can.  I’m pretty sure I have my effects and the end of the chain is a Twin amp.  I do not believe I have a microphone in the chain.  That’s because when I setup the effects chain, I was thinking about how I’d do it at home with a regular amp.  That would be guitar into effect 1 + effect2 + effect3 + amp output at the end of the chain.  So again, the amp is the last thing in my chain.  But am I doing something wrong there?  Am I supposed to also have a microphone … maybe at the end after the amp … in my patch chain?  I ask that because if I was playing with an amp at church, you’d mic the amp and the mic input would be what is going to the house mix board.  Can you answer that question?  If that’s the case, then the problem could be my configuration.

But here’s another thing to consider … why I thought the problem wasn’t me.  Before I got the Helix, I had a Fender Princeton that I used.  Then it’s the guitar into my pedalboard and output to the amp.  Then you mic the amp and the mic goes to the house.  In that scenario, you STILL couldn’t hear me well in the mix, even though the amp was mic’d.

This problem has been going on for probably 2 years and nobody can solve the problem.  And if you keep saying something, they treat me like a monster.

If you can offer suggestions, I’m sure open to hearing them.  Thanks

Mike

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From: TheOreoMonster via MusicTlk<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 12:16 PM
To: Music Talk Mailing List for Blind Musicians<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: TheOreoMonster<mailto:monkeypusher69 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MusicTlk] Playing guitar at church and a question about music mixing

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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