Does Your House System Run Stereo or Mono?

[Moosicman]

I'm curious to know what a consensus is and probably more importantly, why? I'd expect that many churches run mono because the sound/tech people are just volunteers and may get overwhelmed otherwise. Curious to know so please share!

[mikeymo1741]

We have volunteers and we run in stereo. Technically. It's still a challenge to get them to widen the mix sufficiently. Plus we don't have a lot of instruments. The keyboard is a stereo input into two channels. Usually there is only one guitar at a time playing, although when we do a two-guitar song we pan left and right a bit.

[efrisch]

We run in mono, partly because off the issues mentioned above, but also because we don't get a great stereo field from our main speakers. Mono gives us a more consistent sound throughout the house.

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

Since we are still in the Dark Ages at my church, and sometimes the choir or special music is done with a split track, it is necessary to broadcast in mono.

In most church auditoriums I have been in, the speakers are placed close together above the center of the room. Even if the sound were broadcast in stereo, the congregation would hear very little separation. Unless there is substantial distance between left and right speaker banks, stereo is pretty much a moot point.
Tom

[chrisburke]

We run with all volunteers (except me).. Our tech team is about 10 people, and worship team is 8 (on average)... And we run in stereo.. I trained our team (I've got about 17 years experience.. From small churches, to large stadiums), so they all have the same teaching.. None of them had touched a soundboard before they joined our tech team.. And they do a great job... Don't underestimate the skills of willing volunteers... "Aim low, you'll hit it every time".... If you expect more of your volunteers, they will give it to you... But you have to know your team well enough to know how much is too much..

Invest in your team.. I'm taking 6 core members of my tech team to "reconnect".. Which is a church tech conference, aimed at church volunteers.. Church is footing the bill..let's them know they are valued.. And thus they give more in return.


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[Mike on Bass]

I trained our team (I've got about 17 years experience.. From small churches, to large stadiums), so they all have the same teaching.. None of them had touched a soundboard before they joined our tech team.. And they do a great job... Don't underestimate the skills of willing volunteers... "Aim low, you'll hit it every time"....

I agree- and an important part of that is you invested in them and trained them. It grinds me when people complain that their volunteers are lackluster, but they invest minimal time and money in training their volunteers. But, I digress...

We run stereo, but the same stuff runs to each channel.

On one hand I understand that stereo is a more hi-fi sound, but my concern that putting certain things in one side (or higher in one side) and not the other might sound good at the board or in the center rear of the sanctuary, but there are a lot of people on the flanks that aren't going to hear the 'other' channel so it's not going to sound right to them.

[mturner]

We have tried both but run mono. Our sanctuary building is wired for mono but we also do portable church at a high school and built that system out for stereo. However, as you'd expect, the imaging is dependent upon where you sit. As a result we now just mix with sources panned to center.

[chrisburke]

Pretty much all our stuff is centered too.. I run my guitar in stereo, because the x3live has a left and right output.. And we run the keys in stereo.. While the channels may be panned, the levels are all identical, don't want my guitar eq to be different depending on what side of the gym you sit at..


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