Active Mixing: Set It But Don’t Forget It

Front-of-house mixing is an art form.

The best and most professional sound technicians in the world are always active mixing. Active mixing is the art form of keeping fingers on the mixing board faders at all times. They’re constantly blending vocals, bringing the bass slightly up or down, or modifying the overall level of the mix. They never choose the mixing option of set it and forget it. As we’ll see below, the sound person is a critical part of the overall team. They ought to be counted as you would a key component of the worship team.

Active Mixing is Active Listening

Active mixing is about your fingers staying on the mixing board faders and your ears staying attentive to what is coming from the stage. It’s easy to imagine that you could set your mix, getting the proper equalization, gains, gates, and reverb, and then leave it alone through an entire service. However, the truth is that minor tweaks of the level of each fader are critical steps to a great overall mix. You can plan some of these fader moves, such as moving the lead vocal up during the chorus. But, the best mixes happen in the little tweaks as you feel the song happening.

Mix like a record while keeping the main voice on top.

Thirty years ago, live shows were mixed differently from records. The main voice would have been twice as loud as on a record. There would be little nuance to a mix. Those days are behind us. With the invention of music in our pockets, we’ve grown accustomed to hearing music a certain way and we can hear it as often as we’d like. It is now the custom to mix live sound like you would for a record. The only caveat is that you may bring the lead voice up a bit more for live sound than you would for the recording. This is simply for the audience’s ability to be able to hear the main thing. Again, this is different than in days past where the main vocal would be so far out front that other parts of the mix were diminished.

Choose your sound level and keep it there.

How do you find the right sound level to keep your service at or below? Is there a right or wrong decibel? Is it about dB’s at all? Whether you’ve already encountered it or are about to, choosing the proper level to keep your mix is going to be something needing to be decided upon. Sound levels are about personal preference and everyone has one. If you work to decide what your church is going to keep the sound at or below and hold to that policy you won’t be swayed by each individual saying it’s too loud or not loud enough. Be a leader and hold a policy. It can be based on a decibel meter or the level running off the main faders. Whichever it is, have a plan and stick to it. Only change the plan if agreed on by your team and those in leadership.

Summary & Action Steps

Active mixing is one of the best ways to have a successful sound. As long as the inputs coming into the board are solid, the outgoing mix should be a pleasure to produce. How does your team mix at your church? What are some other methods you employ to attain a great mix? Leave your comments or questions below.