We’ve gone back and forth trying to find a good fit for us. This weekend was probably the best configuration we’ve had yet. We used a Mackie 1604. It accomplished exactly what we needed it to. We borrowed it from someone, and will probably continue to do the same for a short time. The most important thing to remember is you’ve got to walk before you run. Our drums aren’t completely enclosed, and we’re in gym, so micing every drum is really overkill. They don’t make it in the mix anyway. We use one mic on the kick and one overhead. We run with 2 vocalist on SM-57s. We use 2 wirless microphones – Shure Beta and Senheisser. Their quality is phenomenal. We run our of the board into a DBX Crossover, then into a 2K Amp into 4 EAWs. We have 2 auxes run into powered monitors and 2 auxes run into another 2K amp for nonpowered monitor mixes. We have one aux for front of stage or vocals. We have one aux for drums/bass. We have one aux for keys, electric. This week we’re going to run our 4th aux to the acoustic guitar.
We’re getting rid of our Yamaha 02R, it’s just not conducive to live sound. We’re almost definitely going with a Mackie. We haven’t made a decision on how big just yet. We could get a “starter” in a Mackie 1604 that we would almost certainly outgrow in a short time, but for $300-$500, it works. My preference would be 24-channel Mackie, but I can’t find any used ones just yet. I found a 32-channel used Mackie, but that’s just more board than we need and we’re trying to keep setup/tear down simple. The price is right, but I’m not sure we want all of the trouble that comes with hauling around such a large board.
Our nonpowered montiors (5) are Peavey PV12M, are nonpowere monitors (4) are Helicon VSM200. Amps are XTICrown 2000s for the monitors and main mix. The amp for the sub is an XTICrown 4000. If you use a EAW subwoofer, check your connections!!! We had to have a cable made especially for our sub (we needed a 4-pin). We use a Livewire 16-channel snake.
Because we’re only 4 weeks into this thing, I can’t attest to how this stuff “stands up.” But I can say everything’s in great working order. We’ve already had some 1/4″ cables go out, but that’s to be expected.
Hope this helps someone out there!
I think things went awesome this morning. The band was on top of it once again. Every week it gets better and better. I think we’ve got our own interia working in our favor. Unfortunately, as time goes by, we’ve got to most of our musicians back over to Cross Point (thanks again, Jarrod), so if you are a vocalist or instrumentalist and you’re interested in helping us lead worship at the UC, let me know! We’re looking to add people little-by-little over time.
Last Week’s Set List
C – I Am Free (New Life Church/Integrity)
G – The Whole Earth (Desperation Band/Vertical Music)
A – My Glorious (Passion)
A – Agnus Dei (Passion)
C/D – To Deserve (Bethany WPC/Integrity)
I completely forgot I was going to start putting this up:
G – The Whole Earth (Desperation Band/Vertical Music)
G – Shout of the King (Hillsong/Integrity)
G – Here I am to Worship (Passion)
G – Bound (Gateway Church/Integrity)
A – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for (U2)
Don’t you just hate it when you turn on the Lord brings conviction into your heart in no time? I turned on the radio in the car on the way back to the hotel (I’m in Chicago on business) and the speaker said, one of the qualities of leaders throughout the Bible is they wore servanthood – not like an action – and this is the killer. I expected him to say – but as a lifestyle. Oh no, that’s not what he said. He said they wore servanthood as an identity. Ouch!
Some may think, oh that’s just semantics, but really, those are two different things. People identify themselves by many things – I’m short, I’m fat, I’m tall, I’m old, I’m a musician, I’m an artist, I’m young…blah, blah, blah. I want to wear servanthood as an identity. It’s not just something for church, it’s something to wear at home, it’s something to wear at work.
Many times when people struggle with pride, they force themselves into a demeaning act to bring servanthood and humility into their lives. I understand the whole idea of “faking it till you make it,” but I want to find myself as a servant to all, no matter my mood, energy level, or personal agenda.
Setup this evening was the quickest yet…a special thanks to Steve, Michelle, Francis, and Pam (the 3rd Pam). We couldn’t have done it without your help. Of course, we also must thank Pam and Cliff Adams, they’ve been awesome from the very get go. I think Cliff spent more time on the ladder tonight than on the ground. We also had a ton of help from David and Zack. You guys are awesome! Setup time has dropped dramatically and things are getting better and better. If you want to join us, we’ll get started next week at 7PM again. We could also use your help tearing down after the service tomorrow! We look forward to seeing you then!
mjd
I’ve had some folks contact me about how they can get involved with UC. A great start to “getting involved” would be to help set up for our service. We set up at 7PM at the YMCA on Saturday evenings. If you are “tech savvy” or if you just want to serve, feel free to show up! We’ll see you then!
Hey guys!
I wanted to recommend a book I just started reading. The name of it is Heart of the Artist by Rory Noland.
I’ve only made it through the introduction so far, but this guy has hit the nail with musicians. I bet this book is going to kick my tail by the time it’s said and done…
