I can't say this enough

[Esoteric]

If you are considering building or renovating a space, hire a theatrical lighting design specialist with experience in houses of worship (but also experience with theatrical and live music experience) to consult on your project.

We did a little experiment last week, and last year our clients spent $65,000 in labor (roughly 1/4 of our labor total from the year) that would have been easily preventable with an experienced consultant.

So far this year the total is $45,000 (nearly 1/3 of our labor) for the same reason.

The average project has $3,500 in labor fees that are for incorrectly done work (not shortcuts, not code violations, just things not done correctly for the way a worship space works). We estimate that if done at the time of the initial installation that number could have been reduced to $500.

Please, hire a professional.

[cmchamp]

Yuppie Yuppie
And here's one "Pro-Sound" guy who had been doing the pro-sound gig as a summer filler because I was teaching full time. Well, now, I'm gainfully unemployed as a teacher. Need gear, consulting, design, acoustics? Drop me a line please.
C.

[chriswtburke]

this is so true. i cant tell you how many calls i get as a sound tech, to come into a church or other building and fix stuff.. because they decided to just get some random congregation member who claimed they knew about sound and lights, who came in and installed garbage.. always ends up costing them way more than they planned.. do it right the first time, and save money... and don't blow stuff up

[SwordmanJr]

Originally Posted by chriswtburke

this is so true. i cant tell you how many calls i get as a sound tech, to come into a church or other building and fix stuff.. because they decided to just get some random congregation member who claimed they knew about sound and lights, who came in and installed garbage.. always ends up costing them way more than they planned.. do it right the first time, and save money... and don't blow stuff up

How does one correct for a sanctuary with really bad acoustics?

[Brad Weber]

Originally Posted by SwordmanJr

How does one correct for a sanctuary with really bad acoustics?

Besides knocking it down and starting over? Seriously, it all depends on the existing conditions, the goals and what is practical to do. Also consider that 'bad' and 'good' acoustics are directly related to the use and the related desired acoustical environment. This is what many worship spaces currently face as their services evolve and change and thus so do the desired acoustical conditions.

There is the old standby paper from Jim Brown addressing this general topic, http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/3Times.pdf. It is 15 years old so some things have changed but the basic concepts remain the same and many churches still go through the multiple iterations Jim identified for not only sound but also video and lighting before getting to a satisfactory result. It always amazes me how many people and groups apparently feel that they cannot afford to 'do it right' initially but somehow can afford to risk doing it over (and over and over). Budgets are often tight but the tighter the budget, the less likely one is to be able to afford mistakes and surprises and thus the more important it is to make the most of the funds available and get it right, or at least not wrong, the first time.

[cmchamp]

SwordmanJr:
Regarding correction of acoustics in a present worship space, as Brad indicated, it all depends. Is there too much flutter echo (slap back), too much reverb, resonant frequencies, muddiness, intelligibility loss (hard to understand spoken word)?
Each one of these has a recommended treatment for correction, and unfortunately, just putting "soft stuff" on the walls to address one issue can amplify or bring another issue to the forefront.
C.