Mixing Monitors for Worship - Part 2

Sound Advice by Leon Sievers Sound Professional November 02, 2011

When mics on stage are not being used, it is best that they are muted off, this prevents unwanted feedback and eliminates ambient echo and phase shifting. A "sound gate" will perform this function automatically - it will mute the mic when no one is speaking, and will open instantly when someone speaks (sensitivity is adjustable).

Identify the vocalists who sing best on key, and highlight their volume slightly - not a lot, just slightly! Reduce volume and high frequency gain slightly on those who sing off key. Less high gain tends to take the "edge" off of sour notes. Whenever a normally good singer is consistently off key, it usually means they cannot hear themselves, or cannot distinguish their voice from the music or other singers. Slowly raise their individual mic gain in their monitor speaker and see if this corrects their singing - it usually will. If it doesn't, slowly return fader to original position so that you don't mess up the settings for everyone else.

Most worship teams get used to hearing their voice through speakers and learn to gauge their vocal volume and tonal quality by what they hear. They need to have a consistently good monitor volume to feel confident with their voice. Too little volume through the monitor will cause the vocalist to "eat" the microphone to make it louder. It will also cause them to strain their voice from trying to sing louder. Too much volume will cause them to draw the mic too far away and cause them to sing meekly. Watch where they hold their mike - if too far away, lower the monitor volume. If too close, raise the volume. 

I recommend spending the extra time to be part of the worship team's rehearsal process. This is when you can spend the extra time to eq each member's vocal or instrument and become familiar with what works best with your worship team. Practice makes perfect.