There’s no doubt that the issue of volume is the most dreaded topic of conversation for a sound guy. It may start as a kind “Do you think it’s too loud?” or a not so kind “It’s too LOUD, turn it down!!” Either way, I always start the conversation the same way. I take a breath. A DEEP breath. I remind myself to take a step back and not take things too personally. I choose to trust that the person with the concern has the best interest of the worship experience at heart. Then, once I realize this isn’t a personal attack on me and my mix, I can objectively move on to helping solve the problem.

Many times the volume complaint is really more of a tone complaint. They’re just trying to tell you that something in the mix is painful, they just don’t know how to articulate what it is that is hurting them. If it is fitting, ask the person to help you identify what it is that is offensive. The usual suspects tend to be the snare drum, cymbals, guitars and vocals. Ask yourself if any of these things may be a little shrill or painful in tone. It may even be a combination of instruments that are causing the pain.

Once you have identified the problem instrument, you have a couple of options. The first is to manage the overall volume of that instrument using the fader or by using a compressor to tame the spikes in volume. The second option is to use the EQ to remove the most painful frequencies from the instrument. The actual frequency can vary greatly but I would start cutting in the range from 1k to 4k.

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned any dB SPL measurements. That’s because I honestly don’t put much stock in metered levels, if it hurts, it hurts no matter what the meter says. A bad mix may get volume complaints at 85 dB while a great mix won’t get a single complaint at 110 dB. You also need to consider the style of music being played, and your target audience. Who are you trying to engage? Too soft can be just as disengaging as too loud. If you aren’t sure who your target audience is, ask!

-Dustin

Volume is one of my favorite topics to discuss. It’s probably the most controversial and polarizing topic around the proverbial Church Audio water cooler. I don’t think we have the perfect answer, but we have developed a philosophy that allows us to deal intelligently with complaints, and make the best decisions for our worship environment. As Dustin mentioned, it’s extremely important that noise complaints not be taken personally. In addition to runaway frequencies, noise complaints might actually be linked to something less obvious: music selection.

In my experience, doing a wide-range of music, I find that more aggressive songs, especially the heavily-guitar-driven songs, tend to get the most noise complaints, irrespective of volume. Most attendees and non-production staff members do not have an audio vocabulary, and when it feels loud to them, they may actually being saying, “I don’t like that song.” It’s very important to ask clarifying questions of those who push back. If you discern that your complainer dislikes the music/song, then you probably need to handle the situation differently.

It is crucial that we know our target audience(s); who are we trying to reach? Without that knowledge, your decision-making, song selection, and service programming is likely based on bad science. This information also provides the answers you’ll need for volume questions. Nothing diffuses a potentially awkward conversation like a well-supported strategy. You’re in trouble when you can’t tell naysayers exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing.

As Dustin mentioned, we never limit ourselves to a pre-determined SPL level, and frankly, limiting SPL is allowing the tail to wag the dog. If we get multiple volume complaints, then we can assume that the masses might be feeling the same way. We use common sense and humility to ensure that the environment we are creating is engaging and exciting for our attendees. How loud is too loud? Wrong question. Better questions: Who is our audience, and is what we’re doing engaging them?

-Chris