–The first part of the interview with Patrick Caples can be found [button style=”” url=”http://sonicnuance.com/2015/04/21/interview-patrick-caples-part-one/” size=”” block=”false” target=”_self”] here [/button]
Ted: Similarly, do you have suggestions for musical performers to help make the soundman job’s easier?
Pat: I would say come prepared. Be prepared with your equipment. I have a lot of pet peeves [laughs]… As the tech team we try to be prepared so that when the band walks in we can get to work right away. We do lots of things to prepare for that. So my expectation is that every musician would do the same thing. If call time is 10 o’clock so we can hit downbeat at 10:15 for example… be there at 10 o’clock would ya?! If you have an acoustic guitar with batteries, put new batteries in it. Come prepared and be professional. I know there are volunteers but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a professional attitude about how you do it.
Also, work together. Be collaborative with the tech team. At Bridges this comes from our Worship pastor who gives us [the tech team] freedom to speak our minds and give suggestions. What it sounds like on stage (and in our case we are using in ear monitors (IEM)) is totally different than in the room. We have an ambient mic that helps with removing some of the sterileness of IEM. But you are almost flying blind as a musician. As a musician playing on stage, you know that you have no idea of what it sounds like in the room. It is a trust thing between the musician and the soundman. That’s part of breaking down those barriers so the musicians can just play. From the tech booth we minister to musicians so they can do what they’re gifted to do – to play and just let that flow out. So the musicians have to trust that the FOH guy has their best interests at heart to make the band sound as good as possible to communicate the gospel. Sometimes that means checking your ego at the door. And at church that should always be the case, but in reality it isn’t. If you’re so concerned as a musician about everyone hearing your notes all the time… you just have to let that go.
Ted: And sometimes its best to pull somebody out of a mix. [laughs]
Pat: Oh my gosh absolutely… Addition by subtraction. [laughs] And that is an advanced skill from the desk. As you get to be a musical mixer and not a just fader flyer, you learn to do that. If you have a husband/wife/friend somebody who is going to come back to the desk and say they can’t hear a musician… Well, if you and I want to have that discussion I will tell you why, but you have to understand we are doing it for the best interest of the big picture. It takes a while for some guys to learn how to do that. That’s a big thing and it speaks to the tech team and worship team working as one.
Ted: It seems a common complaint at church is volume. How do you handle criticism on volume?
Pat: That’s a tension that every church goes through. The way I handle it is, when my spirit is right and I’m not being prideful, I have to first listen to the criticism. What is driving the criticism? Some of us, and I’ll include myself in this, like music loud. But you have to listen to what that person is trying to express with the criticism. Is there something really there?
We monitor volume all the time at the FOH position and we also monitor frequencies that are being output. Some people haven’t grown up with the type of music I have and don’t like loud rhythm for example. So when you start to dissect it, you have to understand the genesis of the criticism. Does “its too loud” mean, “I don’t like as much bass and drums as you do” or is it that it physically hurts the person at certain frequencies?
But here is what I’ve found. More often than not its the frequencies that will cause it to sound louder than it really is. Let’s say you are running a room at about 90dB and you get a “its too loud” criticism. You may say, “hey, its only 90dB”. But if your vocalist for example or guitar player is screaming at 2kHz and its like a nail right in the side of your temple, its going to sound to the complaining person like it’s louder. So we tend to put the vocals a little bit back in the mix and we have found that will keep complaints from coming back more often than not. You gotta have the room tuned right, the PA tuned for the room and your mix EQed properly so you’re not projecting frequencies that are harsh and painful, but bringing the vocals back a bit seems to help.
There’s a frequency range in the 2-6kHz that if you don’t have tuned right… my gosh it will physically hurt. Don’t get me started on cymbals. Cymbals drive me nuts [laughs]
Ted: Yeah, cymbals and certain snare hits have always hurt my ears, especially when I’m on stage.
Pat: Cymbals are tough as they will wash out a mix. The really good drummers have a touch to the cymbals and can control it. We’ve worked really hard with our drummers to have touch on the cymbals. Its really hard because they get excited and its hard to do that. Only the really good drummers can do it consistently. And there’s only so much you can do EQ wise. We tend to tune our drums darker. A bright drum may sound good in the studio but live its another thing altogether. It just makes a mess of the mix. You gotta get it right at the source: mic placement, the instrument itself, etc. and then you can deal with the EQ.
EQ is really to deal with nuance of the room or separation of instruments in your mix so you can hear distinction between instruments.
So back to the volume concerns. You want the person giving the criticism to know that their concerns are heard… it doesn’t mean you are going to act on them, but at least you can express why things are done a certain way… preferably not in the middle of a service though.
Because of subjectivity, especially “what kind of music is right in church?” (which isn’t so much of an issue now) the question is, “who am I going to really listen to?” First of all, I am going to trust my ears. And then there are a few other people who’s opinion I trust and I will ping them. Who do I have to listen to? Bottom line is I have to listen to my Senior Pastor. If my Senior Pastor comes up and says, “hey Pat, we gotta make an adjustment”. Well, then I’ve got to make an adjustment. So you have to understand who your boss is. Granted, our ultimate boss is Jesus Christ, but come game day as a tech guy I have to listen to my Senior Pastor. If he thinks its too loud, its too loud. Period.
Ted: Do you have a preference of wired vs wireless and why?
Pat: It really depends on the application. If at all possible I go wired because you don’t have to deal with the issues of RF interference. Sometimes wireless is the preferred way to go, but its never the only way to go. Sometimes its easier for vocalists to go wireless if you are going to make a set change for example. If you’re going to go wireless you’ve got to do your homework: scrub your frequencies, change batteries, etc.
Ted: You mentioned IEM. What is your opinion on them and why?
Pat: My opinion is if at all possible it is the absolute way to go. The quickest answer is you get better sound. If you’re using wedges the SPL from them will affect FOH sound: mic bleed, different monitor mixes causes junk everywhere, feedback issues, indirect sound bouncing off the back wall. We made the change several years ago and did measurements. With wedges each musician was getting a different mix and they were all coming out at 90-95dB. It may sound great when you’re standing in front of it, but from the FOH you are just getting the indirect sound, usually the midrange from 300-2kHz. Just awful. Now with IEM you’ve got a quieter stage, and there is a learning curve, but all the sudden the musicians can hear everything. Much clearer, its not even an argument. If the church can afford it and has the expertise it is the way to go. But it is a major financial investment.
If you’re going to go with IEM, don’t let your musicians come with their iPod earphones. Please take them away. If at all possible make the commitment to invest in good IEM headphones for the band. We provide universal earphones. So you need to provide good replaceable earbud tips, as well.
Ted: Amplifiers on stage or off?
Pat: Well that is the same argument as wedges and IEM. To the extent you have the ability to do so, get the volume sources off the stage. Get rid of the junk that is leaking in. For guitar amps especially, in the context of contemporary music you need some volume before you get good tone. If you have a closet you can dedicate for the amp do so. If not you can DIY stuff. Church on the Move’s website shows you how they build isolation boxes. If you have to have something on stage, like a bass amp, it is really only as a monitor. There are some tools out there to deal with this stuff also.
Ted: Approach to compression? Always on, always off?
Pat: Compression probably is one of the most misunderstood tools to the audio engineer. Now if you have a digital board you can adjust and save settings per singer so the learning curve for each service or rehearsal is not so great.
I don’t think in terms of “always on” or “always off” but more application specific regarding compression. You have to know what you’re doing with it. There is a lot of information out there to learn from, but compression is an art. You have to understand what a compressor is doing and what it is not doing.
Generally there is some gating on our acoustic drums. Compression is used a bit on most every instrument on the drum kit. Most amplified instruments are getting some level of compression. Not a high compression ratio, but just a touch. Guitar amps tend to be noisy, effects pedals, etc so gating gets used there too.
Ted: Do you find a common mistake instrumentalists make… maybe newer players?
Pat: I’ll make a joke… Sometimes I wonder if musicians think they’re getting paid by the note [laughs] Just playing too much. Its not necessary to play all the time. Sometimes simpler is better.
Ted: Similar question for singers
Pat: Microphone technique. Knowing where your resonant notes are. Understanding when you need to pull the mic back. Generally speaking, for verses you need to “eat” the mic [keeping it right up to your mouth] and for choruses you need to pull back. I heard this somewhere, there is a “rule of thumb” with mic technique. The rule of thumb is you want the mic no farther than the length of your thumb from your chin. If you hit a note that pierces, you sometimes have to help the sound guy and pull it back away from your mouth.
Ted: Any closing thoughts?
Pat: As a church sound tech person, really understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. We have the most important story in the history of the world to tell. We have to use the tools we have to tell this story the best we can. The microphones, the voices, the mixing boards, the instruments… We all need to make sure we have checked our egos at the door. Everything that we’re about is telling the story of not only what Jesus has done for us on the Cross but continues to do for us in our lives. That is the main thing. Its not about getting the greatest drum sound. But if you can get the greatest drum sound because it helps tell the story that Sunday then that’s what you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re just a clanging gong. And… realize that we get to do this. Many of us are called to do this.
For more information, contact:
Patrick Caples
Technical Arts Director
Bridges Community Church
Fremont, CA 94539
Really nice article Ted. Love Pat’s insights and thoughts on various subjects related to worship.
Thank you for the compliment Paul. I learned a lot from Pat during the course of the interview as well.