Our Systems & Buildings Should Be "Glimpses" of Heaven

The writer of Hebrews is making a much larger point than this, but this little application/reminder jumped off the page at me.
Hebrews 9:8-9 ⁸The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, ⁹which is a symbol for the present time.


2 things that jumped out at me while reading last week on vacation. 


#1
These buildings and systems are ONLY a cheap imitation.  I think there is a danger in becoming consumed with building multi-million dollar buildings & trying to keep out systems “cutting edge” or “excellent”.  The danger is that we subtly lose sight that this is not all there is.  
Heaven will absolutely blow this stuff away.  Meyer, Pro Tools HD, Midas, Red cameras, Hog lighting…  All this technology is at the top of the heap.  But, compared to what awaits us in heaven, its just that.  A heap.  Nothing to distract us, disconnect us, or disturb us due to technical issues, or lack of absolute perfection when we are finally in God’s presence.  And we as servants will NEVER fail Him again when we are there.

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; ¹²and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.


#2
Kind of the opposite of #1.  These buildings and systems ARE symbols, ARE our attempts at building places of worship where we are entering into what I like to call our “down payment” of worshiping our Savior in eternity.  So, doing our BEST at putting together systems, building structures that reflect the awe, wonder, beauty, majesty, and our reverence of who God is – it’s a good, good thing.  I think its important that when God gave instructions on building earthly temples and tabernacles, they were detailed, and every detail had a purpose as a symbol of the coming Christ, and ultimately the eternal holy place.  The supplies list for building these temples and tabernacles included the best of the best.  The most excellent supplies available to man.
So, as with a lot of other applications of biblical truths, there is a friction point that we have to strive to stay in.  That point here is between doing things poorly by “brown bagging” the technical arts and on the other hand, becoming so engrossed in achieving technical excellence that we lose sight of where it fits in the eternal grand scheme of things.  Like other polarizing topics in the church, I see this becoming more and more of a separating issue where some churches have “tech guilt” and avoid doing anything that has even the “appearance” of new technology and they are quite boastful about avoiding such evil pitfalls.  While on the other hand, I see some churches that have a dangerous and not-so subtle pride about the fact that are installing the most cutting edge excellent technology available, and are quick to point out how MUCH it is costing them.
Lets do our absolute best to give the world an example of the majesty and the exhilaration of worshiping our great God, but lets never brag about it.  Instead, lets be quick to remind each other that heaven will be SO much better because we will be IN God’s presence!

The Right Tools For The Job

The Right Tools For The Job

This weekend I got the opportunity to do some mixing at Pure Mix Studios, right here in Raleigh, NC.  This studio has the best of everything.  I came away from this weekend re-evaluating some things.  It was also a great illustration for the importance of having the proper acoustics and equipment in our churches.  So, let me sum it up first:
Without the right tools (room acoustics, proper system design, quality components, great source material) it does not matter how skilled the audio guy is.

First of all, because of what I was working with (SSL console, Wes Lachot designed acoustic room, Dynaudio M3A soffit mount mains, and great source material), getting to a really great mix quickly was remarkably easy.  Why?  Mainly because I could truly HEAR what I was doing!  Just go to Pure Mix’s gear list, if you want to see more detail about what is there. 

The bottom line is, with the right room, the right speakers, and the right console/signal path, someone with a fairly basic knowledge of mixing can make a REALLY great mix.  The opposite of this statement is true, which was a really encouraging revelation to me.  3 & ½ years of mixing in a gymnatorium with a very poorly designed loudspeaker system… it can really get you down man.   But driving home Friday night listening to a CD-R reference in the car, I was reminded that, hey, I really am actually pretty good at this mixing thing.   

Another thing I noticed:  I got to A/B the sound of Pro Tools summing inside the box vs. summing on the SSL (through the buss compressor by the way).  I used to think Pro Tools HD sounded pretty good.  Now I know.  Hey, it sounds like the equivalent of a photocopy of a picture of an apple.  Passing the signal through the SSL is the apple.  Its not really that Pro Tools is flawed, it just doesn’t impart any character.  Now I completely understand that the sound of epic recordings comes is possible because it has passed through the CONSOLE.  API, Neve, and SSL.  That’s a really small list of game changing sonic quality imparted from the console.  And after working on the SSL for 2 days, I TOTALLY get it now.  It doesn't hurt to have Apogee converters either though...

What did I learn? (most of these were reminders, but this experience drove these home)
1. I actually am pretty good at this mixing thing (given the proper tools). J
2. Doesn’t matter how skilled you are if the sonic tools are no good.
3. I need to be working outside the church in a place like Pure Mix to stay sharp and encouraged.
4. I REALLY don’t like mixing in a gymnatorium with a horribly designed loudspeaker system.
5. The SSL is really as good as all the hype.  Its magic.
6. There is no way to get the mix right (particularly the low end) on mixes without a room & loudspeakers that properly translate the sonic information.

And what does this mean for sound in the church?
1.  For our new building project.  Room acoustics & sonic tools MUST be done right.  There is no substitute.  Improper room acoustics & poorly designed loudspeakers cannot be overcome by “mixing”.

2.  While its too late to do anything about room acoustics in the gymnatorium, replacing the loudspeaker system is a necessity.  Its so wrong that no one could possibly make it sound “good”.

I believe I can illustrate this to our music pastor on Monday by tossing him a copy of one of the mixes I worked on over the weekend.  I could just hand it to him and say, “THIS is what I am capable of”.  Lets figure out how to get the tools we need for live sound.  I think I’ll do that…

Cool Tools August 12, 2010

Here are some cool tools I think are worth mentioning.

Kick drum go to setup:
Kelly Shu & Audix D6

www.USBfirewire.com  :
Clean up that desktop!  Found a bunch of cool USB & firewire adapters - right angles, ups, downs, extenders, etc. Good for cleaning up that cable mess on my desktop.

Interleaver
Hey Pro Tools nerds.  Need to interleave a busted up pair of tracks to a single stereo track?  Don't want to open Pro Tools and wait on the eternal bounce in real time?  Panning & gain needs to be RIGHT when you're done?

AutoLoader screwdriver by Tripplett:
Saw this one at InfoComm this year.  Cool little screwdriver.

cyberguys.com IEC power cable adapter.
I had a bunch of IEC power cables of a pretty generous length sitting around after revamping the amp rack power sequencing system for our main PA.  I bought 20 of these, and now use them all over the place.  Very handy.  cyberguys.com also has a bunch of other very cool gadgets you may not find anywhere else.

5 Necessary Qualities of a Church Tech

5 Necessary Qualities of a Church Tech

1.       Big Picture.
I know I know, the gospel is the big picture here.  But when I’m looking for volunteers - keeping the “talent” happy and relaxed through preparation IS the big picture when it comes to setup.  Nothing has the potential of train wrecking the day as much as making the leader feel nervous because you simply didn’t have him ready first.  I can’t tell you how many times our worship pastor has been part of setting the rest of the band/singers at ease because of some technical difficulty, simply because he was put at ease by knowing his equipment was the priority and it was working.