Stopping Sound Reflections

We were asked by a church if there was a way to reduce the reflections of sound off a back wall in their church caused from foldback monitors of their band. We of course suggest that it is best to reduce the sound level coming from the monitors, possibly by considering stand mounting monitors (see another of our posts) however, if the decor of the church allows it, you CAN reduce echos and reverberation with wall hangings and carpets on the floor etc.

Coverings on walls definitely reduces reflection. You need the heaviest possible material, and this should be hung a few inches away from the wall (leaving a gap behind) because then sound is absorbed as it goes from front to back, bounces on the wall and then is further absorbed as it bounces back again - double the attenuation. From an aesthetic point of view, it is difficult to treat walls in churches in this way - unless you are into the look of curtains - and as we have said before, reducing the foldback level is a quicker and simpler solution.

There are also devices such as "bass traps" which are designed to absorb sound. These look out of place in many churches, but the option exists and can work in some buildings.

So, firstly look to reducing the sound level from the foldback monitors, then add carpet where possible, finally consider adding wall hangings or sound traps at strategic points in the church.

We hope this helps.

Tim Ridgway.

***** Visit us online at www.ChurchPA.co.uk *****
***** Phone 0845 430 9486 *****

Disability Discrimination Act - DDA Induction Loops

Since about June of last year ChurchPA has seen a dramatic upturn in the number of churches requesting audio equipment, and in particular induction loop hearing aid systems. Many churches specifically wanted to beat the deadline of October, and many more wanted to have a loop in very soon afterwards. Having geared up to cope with this demand, we were also expecting that levels would return to normal towards the end of 2004, but this has not been the case. If anything, ChurchPA has been installing more audio systems and induction loops than ever in the first quarter of 2005, with no signs that it is slowing at all.

We are concerned that a large number of churches do not seem to know of the October deadline, or their need to try to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act. Other churches have been very caught up with the building access requirements, and have not thought about the requirements of the deaf.

Because of the large number of churches which still require hearing aid loop equipment, ChurchPA is continuing to grow this part of our business, and we anticipate that churches will be needing to have loop systems installed for at least the rest of 2005 before the majority have got the equipment they need.

Churches have very specific requirements when loop systems are installed, such as the need to have cabling invisibly installed. Of course most church buildings were not designed with the Disability Discrimination Act in mind, and it takes our expertise and experience to be able to successfully and safely install induction loop systems in the wide variety of buildings that we meet. We are also very mindful not to damage buildings when installing cables, so it very important to choose a skilled installer when selecting someone to put in a loop.

We feel that it is very important that churches comply with the DDA, and we are able to meet the audio and induction loop requirements of churches very swiftly. Many churches do not have any audio equipment at all, and ChurchPA has found that the requirement to have a loop installed has prompted many churches to assess their wider audio requirements, often leading them to put in discreet speakers, CD players and other audio equipment adding to their worship. These devices also aid those who are not hard of hearing.

***** Visit us online at www.ChurchPA.co.uk *****

***** Phone 0845 430 9486 *****

How can we improve our foldback monitoring?

Many churches with bands/musicians make a real hash of foldback monitoring, yet it does not have to be this way, and a few simple changes can make life easier for the musicians, front of house sound and the congregation as a whole. This is the ChurchPA take on the situation....

Typically, bands in churches still go for the floor style "wedge" monitor to give foldback to the band members. However in most churches these actually cause a large problem. You see, with these speakers, the sound level has to be high for the musician to actually hear themselves clearly. Floor wedges are generally poorly placed due to floor space considerations - if you must use this kind of speaker, the speaker should point directly at the singer, and not have anything in the way, such as music on stands (or worse, word sheets actually on the monitor). To achieve this, the speaker often needs to be about one to two metres in front of the singer, yet they are normally placed right at the singers feet!!

Now, there is a physical law which can really help - thanks to God for a wonderful world. Sound level is proportional to distance SQUARED. What? Well if you halve the distance between a speaker and your ears, you can quarter the sound level from the speaker and still hear the same sound! Amazing! Had you ever wondered why PA systems are rated in the hundreds (to thousands!) of Watts, where headphones are rated at only 100mW? This is why! So..... We supply a discreet range of stand mounting monitor speakers, which are rated at 20W and by being placed at waist height can be a lot lot quieter. The speakers then give the musician a very local sound, and do not fill the church with problematical sound levels. The speakers are small, and if you have enough aux sends from your mixer, can be used to give just the right foldback to the musicians.

The next logical step from this is in-ear-monitoring. This is a small earpiece worn by the musician, so that they can hear exactly what they want. This is out of the cost range of most churches, but the option is there!!!!

A couple of extra monitoring tips -

• Don't put the bass guitar through the monitors - the ambient sound from your PA should be enough for the bassist to hear themselves. Adding them to the monitor mix just reduces clarity in the speakers, and increases the "stage" sound level (a bad thing).
• Get your musicians to play at a quieter level - this then means that the monitor speakers do not have to fight against them. The worst culprit is the.... drummer... we love them, but they cause so many problems! To allow your drummer to play at a normal level, and to stop using brushes (which they hate!), one can use a cost effective transparent acoustic drum screen, which means that all of the musicians around can still hear the drums, the drummer can play loudly but the sound is tamed.
• After *every* song, get the mixing engineer to reduce the foldback just a fraction - the musicians will not notice, but the overall sound level on the stage is that much better off! Sneaky, but this really is a technique used by the top professionals!

So, next time you are being told by the singers that they cannot hear themselves, don't just rush for the volume control.

Bye for now.

Tim Ridgway.

***** Visit us online at www.ChurchPA.co.uk *****

***** Phone 0845 430 9486 *****