On stage it is essential that there is a wired microphone located at a point on the stage, easily accessible, to give the desired instructions.
Juan David Moreno*
Carrying out an analysis of the last ten years, we have seen how the evangelical churches have presented a growth at the level of technology giving their faithful a whole audiovisual experience, without neglecting that the main objective is to carry a message and that everyone has an experience with God.
For this reason, I will leave with you a tip that is a reality today and which we can make use of. Some may wonder about the title of this article, so let me explain a little more about this.
As some may already know, internal communication at the time of a service, or cult as it is known in some Latin American countries, is very important. I mean communication, either between musicians at the time of praise or worship, or communication between the pastor and each of the leaders of the congregation. Many times it happens that we want to give an instruction, whether it is a special song, an intervention by the pianist that allows the pastor to have a moment of reflection, a verse that we want to project on the screen or a video that was not planned and that is required at a special time.
Another example may be when we have a special guest, either to sing or preach, or in some cases to perform both activities, and we want to be in constant communication with him. Fortunately, all these challenges are now a thing of the past.
To contextualize a little to those who are not familiar with live shows or with the dynamics of an evangelical cult, it is important to let you know that for the type of communications that an artist, pastor or musician needs on stage it is essential that there is a wired microphone located at a point on the stage, easily accessible and will be used to give the desired instructions, either to the sound engineer or to musicians and technicians in general.
Among the latest advances, Shure has developed a technology in its Axient Digital microphones, allowing this communication to be much simpler and not so evident to those who are observing. Now, we can talk to those who are part of the staff, musicians, engineers, etc. almost imperceptibly. The goal is to allow internal communication or report a fault in real time.
Microphones are designed to send a single piece of information, using what we call a carrier or radio frequency. However, Axient Digital is internally designed to send through this carrier or radio frequency not only the voice or the instrument, but also information for the receiver through a button located on the transmitter that will make a mute in the room or auditorium and enable a second output either TRS, Dante or AES3 (this configuration is made in the receiver), which will be used by the engineer routing the audio for internal use. Thus, the pastor, musician or guest can make use of this tool, without having to go anywhere and as many times as necessary.
This type of button, as the Talk Switch is known, is available on any of the transmitters in the Axient Digital AD, ADX, ADX-FD line. The only thing we must take into account when choosing what type of transmitter we are going to use is if we want to have an automatic frequency change, since this feature will only be found in the ADX and ADX-FD models. It is for this reason that in the aforementioned transmitters the Talk Switch has a different presentation.
For those pastors or religious leaders who do not use handheld microphones and prefer Headsets, Shure also developed a system that works with ADX1 or bodypack transmitters. Like the talk swichs mentioned above, this system in bodypacks allows the speaker to press the button in order to talk to their technical team or musicians privately and ask for either a special song or give a specific order regarding the cult or service.
As an anecdote, I recommend that when configuring the Talk Switch make a change in the EQ (audio that also returns as a result of having pressed the button) and that usually comes out through the TRS. When the musician, speaker or artist needs to know at what moment the button is being pressed, it is necessary to differentiate both audios, the one that goes to the room and the one that goes only for the internal team. This recommendation was made by German Tarazona, engineer of monitors of the artist Maluma and who also supports the church the Place of His Presence, in Bogotá, Colombia.
There are already several success stories of the Talk Switch in Latin America, however, one of the most recent is from Pastor Billy Bunster, CEO of the International Christian Center church in Chile, who told us the following: "Using Axient Digital with Talk Switch facilitates communication with the technical team and with the musicians, thus being able to have a better performance on stage and streamlining the process of musical direction".
Axient Digital has been designed to provide each of the users with a unique experience in RF transmission security issues and measurement tools that allow us to take the system to its maximum performance and ensure an unprecedented transmission. The system boasts a robustness not only in its RF and audio, but also in its quality and durability, attributes that have been part of Shure and its products for more than 90 years.
Juan David Moreno, is a specialist in Market Development at Shure.
