Re: Digital mixer - pros and cons?
Okay, as others have said, this is completely ridiculous. They are at the point where they need to either start scaling back their diva "needs" or they need to start paying someone competent enough to put up with their diva "needs". Expecting a volunteer to deal with 8 monitor mixes from FoH (?!?!?) is completely out of control. I will regularly do 4 mixes from FoH and be happy about it, and I've done up to 6 when it was actually necessary (and I was getting PAID to do it), but a volunteer I would not expect to do more than TWO. Did you see that??? TWO! If they want to do "big performance" stuff, they need the technical staff and equipment to support it. Otherwise, they need to work with what they have and be happy with it. Obviously they have plenty of people who want to get up on stage and perform, they need to find the rest of the people to populate the positions of monitor engineer and ego fluffer, and the equipment to go along with it.
Yes, you are exactly right, it is NOT a technical problem. This is a problem of people who do not know how to perform together as a group. Take the microphones away from them at rehearsal. Take the band away from them at rehearsal. Make them stand around a piano and sing together as a GROUP. They need to learn how to perform together as a TEAM, not as a bunch of people all singing the same song. They need to learn how to listen to one another and to understand how they all fit together to make a mix. FAR TOO MANY people performing in their churches do not have any concept of how this is supposed to work. Instead they have a very myopic "ME" vision of everything, hence your EIGHT monitor mixes.
Ooo... here's a fun idea!!! Beg, borrow, or rent a really nice omni-directional or figure-8 microphone, gather the singers around it so they are all in the pattern. Put studio headphones on them (Sony 7506's or Sennheiser HD280 Pro's would be ideal) Take that one microphone, mix in a little bit of tracks so they have something to sing to, and make them mix themselves by stepping closer to or farther from the microphone. The point of this exercise is to try to get them to understand where they and their part fit in the mix. Perhaps you will be able to convince them with a little bit of this training that they can all live together with one monitor mix and by choking up on the mic when it is their turn to lead, everything will sound great in the house because they are singing together as a group instead of in spite of one another. This might also help bring the overall level down a bit, if it is currently objectionably high or almost objectionably high.
Yes, the talent does need to be encouraged and nurtured, but by helping the performers become better musicians, the overall experience of the entire church will improve.
