Our aim in all our work on tech team is to serve the congregation so that they can focus their praise and worship on God. A good mix is key to this.

Think carefully about how each instrument/voice needs to sit in the mix. Everything needs to be heard but work hard to ensure that the key things are at the front of the mix with supporting instruments/vocals a little further back.

The lead vocal should be prominent so people can sing along in tune and be led to know when to start and stop etc. (singers will further aid this with visual cues).

Backing vocals (often singing harmonies) should be dropped back a little so they add a nice layer without confusing congregations. This can vary depending on the song. A new song may want harmonies really dropped back while people learn but as they become more familiar can be pushed a little more. Again, the band will back this up as they lead.

At Endcliffe we currently have no drummers but occasionally  someone plays a cajon or single kick drum so our rhythmic lead tends to come from the piano and/or acoustic guitar.

As such these need to be reasonably prominent in the mix to help people keep in time but they probably want to sit a little below the vocals. As a rule of thumb, the guitar should sit a little behind the piano (if there is one!) to avoid too much of a wall of sound. 

Listen well in rehearsal to see whether the piano is doing more lead melody or the guitar is adding some picking melodies and adjust the mix (often on a song by song basis) to ensure things sit well. Keep an ear out for changes and increase or decrease the individual instrument levels accordingly. 

We’ll often have one or more melody instruments (flute, violin, clarinet, trumpet, electric guitar, cello – see also ‘Bass’ below). These are most often used to play harmonies and to  ‘fill in the blanks’, either playing music motifs or the melody line in intros/links/outros. 

It’s helpful to ensure they don’t compete with the lead vocal but instead are used as a complimentary element to add interest to the mix. 

Do be ready to ‘ride the fader’ and adjust depending on the song/part of the song but do so subtly! For example, you may well want to push up a little in the links but listen for what the player is doing.

This may come from the bass guitar or sometimes a cello. Again, listen to how these are being played on the week you’re on and adjust accordingly. They’ll naturally sit under the mix due to their sonic frequencies so ensure they’re there and adding  to the mix without being unduly prominent.

Think carefully through each voice/instrument and whether it’s low, middle or top end. The nature of the instruments and how the band arrange songs will impact this but a good mix can help to create space and enable all elements to be heard rather than being muddy.

As a very basic overview…

• Bass, double bass and cello will all sit nearer the bottom end. Depending on player and song, keys can sit here too (or the lower octaves at least).
• Guitar, keys, male vocals will tend to sit in the middle of the mix in terms of frequencies.
• Keys (!), melody instruments and higher female vocals will sit at the upper end of the mix.

Use this to guide your EQ settings both to enhance an instruments natural space in the mix but also to ensure you don’t overdo things (eg. making an already high violin sound harsh). See below.

This is a really complex area but will have a huge impact on how things sit in the mix. Again, just some general rules.

Don’t overdo it – if you apply changes do a quick check and take the EQ out – does it really sound better?

High pass filter – we have a very resonant building (and a decent subwoofer) and lots of low bass sounds can quickly swamp the mix. Use the HPF on pretty much everything in the low/mid range just to roll off some boomy frequencies.

Get a ‘clean’ mix – avoid boosting low mids (e.g. 200hz – 500hz) at all costs. Always think, ‘Could I cut in this area without it sounding too thin in the mix.’ If you can get away with it – cut it – it will sound better.

If you’re struggling with some nasty sounds or something isn’t cutting through in the mix use this little guide. Don’t overdo this! As a general rule you’d be better to cut frequencies rather than boosting where possible. eg. cut frequencies to remove sibilance and nasal honk rather than boosting vocal intel frequencies.

• SHEEN 12KHz to 16 kHz
• SIBILANCE 5 kHz to 8 kHz
• PRESENCE 3 kHz to 5 kHz
• VOCAL INTEL 800 to 2000 Hz
• NASAL HONK 400 to 600 Hz
• TUBBINESS 200 to 400 Hz
• BOOM 80 to 200 Hz
• DEEP BASS 30 to 80 Hz

See below for more detail.

• Sheen is that metallic sound of cymbals or violin strings at their highest frequencies. Add a bit more Sheen (maybe +6 dB) to make cymbals sound more alive.
• Sibilance comes from an exaggeration of sound that projects from the roof of the mouth. You can tune it out by sweeping the frequency knob with gain knob boosted about 6 dB. Then listen for the really offensive point on the frequency knob and cut it by -6 to -12 dB. Be careful not to overdo this and risk removing vocal intel (there is overlap with all this!).
• Presence frequencies can make an instrument stand out in the mix without increasing its overall volume. So add maybe +3 dB at 4 kHz to give a vocal or guitar more “punch.”
• Vocal Intel frequencies are where we understand the words. So you can apply +3 dB of boost around 1,000 to 1,500 Hz if you want words to be more intelligible. Again, be careful not to overdo this. In our church building we have some feedback issues around 1000Hz so boosting here can cause issues.
• Nasal Honk is that nasty group of frequencies that sound like you have a cold. I generally cut a few dB around 600 Hz to get rid of the honk on vocals and percussion, especially on kick drums.
• Tubbiness can happen to instruments such as acoustic guitars that are shaped like a tub. I generally cut a few dB around 200 Hz to clean up the lower register of the sound.
• Boom can be useful on shell and floor toms, but not so much on snares. So I’ll often get rid of some of the 100 to 150 Hz tone of a snare drum, but I’ll probably boost the floor toms a bit in those frequencies.
• Deep Bass is usually reserved for kick drums and bass guitars. But do your boosting sparingly since it’s easy to overload the woofers in your PA system. Let your ears be your guide.