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Foldback for churches?

What is foldback? Do you need it in your church? How can you best provide it without compromising the sound for the congregation? Read on...

What is Foldback?

Foldback is a part of a sound system which is designed to help musicians hear the sounds they need to hear so they can communicate more easily, and perform more professionally. It can also be used for other purposes (for instance allowing the sound desk operator to speak to those 'on stage'), but this page will focus on it's use for musicians. If you need advice for a more specialist area, contact us. The bit of the sound system that the congregation are aware of (sometimes called the "main mix" or "front of house mix") is a mix of the instruments and voices which has been set up to help them hear and participate in the church service. The foldback system does much the same for the specialised needs of the musicians and others at the front.

In a small room, with a small band, musicians may not need foldback, as they are close together and can hear each others instruments and see each others signals. In larger venues, this may not be the case, so they need technical help- foldback.

Do we need foldback?

This is a difficult question to answer, but if:

then foldback may be helpful. It is important to remember that providing foldback to musicians significantly increases the amount of work the sound desk operator needs to do before and during the service, and the level of co-operation needed between musicians and the sound desk operator. This can be a good thing in itself, but it can be a lot to ask of someone who has been able to commit to the simpler task of operating the sound desk for a service when only the main mix is needed. You may need to consider involving sound desk operators in musicians rehearsals etc to get the best out of the system.

How do we provide foldback

Foldback involves the following important areas:

Before you start buying equipment, think about what you need. A good starting point is a single foldback mix, with a couple of foldback speakers, and perhaps headphones for a drummer. Importantly, at least to start with, Keep It Simple! You can always add complexity later, that is why a single mix is a good place to start. You can contact us for a survey to assess what you would benefit from installing initially, or if you find an existing foldback system is inadequate.

Mixing Desk

For each separate foldback mix, you need a pre-fade auxiliary send available on your mixing desk. The controls for these are usually below the EQ (tone) controls on the desk, and may be marked 'AUX' or 'PRE'. Pre-fade means that the signal which the musicians will hear is not affected by what is changed in the main mix, so if you turn the guitar down during a verse of a song, the musicians will still be able to hear it clearly. It is possible to use post-fade sends, but it is more complex, and should only be a temporary solution while saving up for a new desk, or for a one-off complex setup.

Even better is a mixing desk where each channel can be set up to be pre-fade or post-fade, but this is usually an expensive option, and the additional switches can cause a reliability issue as the desk ages. This feature is especially useful where vocalists wear radio microphones, if they go off to the toilet during the service and forget to switch the transmitter off, the foldback could quickly become a source of embarassment!!

The most important factor is that the desk operator should know their equipment, either use it and teach themselves enough to be confident and competent, or contact us to arrange training.

Amplifiers, Loudspeakers, Headphones, Earpieces

Each foldback mix needs it's own amplifiers and loudspeakers so that the appropriate musician can hear it. Standard amplifiers can be used, but loudspeakers are often specially designed with foldback in mind, they may sound less 'pleasant', but provide the essential 'clues' in voices and instrument sounds which help a group play together.

Alternatively, the fairly recent innovation of In Ear Monitoring (IEM) can be used. With an IEM system, each musician wears an earpiece, which can be custom-fitted to their ear, so no loudspeakers are required. This is especially beneficial in churches with the most difficult acoustics, as it reduces the amount of sound power coming from unwanted locations. However, costs are higher, and there is the additional complexity of kitting out musicians with earpieces and associate equipment. If you need advice on whether to select conventional loudspeakers or IEM, contact us to arrange a survey.

Additional Skills

It was mentioned above that the foldback system is there to provide the essential 'clues' to help musicians play together cohesively.

Indeed, this points to one of the pitfalls which the inexperienced sound desk operator and musician alike can fall into. Often, when a foldback system is installed, some musicians expect they will get the same mix as if they were in the congregation, so they can enjoy the sound. If this is done, the result is usually 'muddy' and confused, so the music group then feel that it is too quiet as they can't hear each other properly. If they get their way, the resulting loud, muddy and confused sound is clearly audible to everyone in the congregation.

There are many other traps for the unwary, whether using foldback for the first time or experienced operators who might have trouble in particular areas. Whichever is the case, we can arrange training to bring them up to a consistently high standard, contact us for details.