Image Courtesy of Bay Community Church, Daphne, Alabama.
About ten years ago large-format digital mixing consoles were making their first appearances in houses of worship. Priced well out of reach of all but the largest churches, they were the forebearers of today's small-format versions. Over the last decade there's been a huge shift in price/performance, with quite a few respectable digital consoles costing between $2,000 and $4,000 street price, a small fraction of the cost of a complete sound system.
Neither format, analog or digital, should be characterized as being better than another. Rather, it's important to select the right type of console that will get the job done efficiently, with the least potentiality for operator error.
Let's look at the distinguishing characteristics of the two formats:
Analog
An analog console, by nature, has all controls for all functions located on the console control surface. Each channel has a fader, EQ controls, mic gain trim, assorted switches that vary in purpose from one design to another, and a number of Aux Sends. Aux sends are used to create monitor mixes that differ from the house mix, and also to route the signal from one or more channels to an outboard effects device, such as a reverb or delay device. There are also small hybrid consoles these days. A hybrid is an analog console that has built-in digital effects that usually include several types of reverb, flanging, delay, and sometimes more.
Digital
A digital console almost never has all controls on the control surface. Instead, it uses a fixed number of knobs, faders, and buttons to access one channel at a time. Some digital consoles require the operator to switch among ‘layers' that re-purpose the faders, to make level adjustments from one channel to another. Switching among layers takes some getting used to for experienced analog users. That said, more and more small-format consoles provide all of the faders on the control surface so that hunting for the right layer is not needed. However, EQ, dynamics, Aux sends, and sometimes other functions are only selectively available to the operator. In a typical arrangement a single set of EQ and dynamic controls (compression, gating and limiting) become active when a specific channel has been selected. This can be the same for Aux sends, but some models provide a dedicated row of Aux sends that become active for a given channel when that channel is selected.
The take-away is that digital is not the same as analog in which changes can be made to multiple channels simultaneously, a very useful aspect when two or more operators are working together. Also, digital consoles invariably exhibit a few milliseconds of latency, but normally that's not likely to cause any real problems.
The Importance of Aux Sends
Unless you have a separate monitor console and operator, the importance of Aux sends cannot be overemphasized. You may never use a single effect (though most mixing techs use at least a touch of reverb), but the Aux sends are where the various stage or monitor mixes will be established and adjusted. If IEMS's are employed (in-ear monitors) the importance of establishing a good mix for each musician becomes even greater than with stage ‘wedge-type' monitors. Digital shines in this task for two reasons: first, most small-format digital consoles have more Aux sends than a similar class of analog; second, some models of digital consoles allow you to link two adjacent Aux sends to create a stereo mix, which will definitely please the musicians using IEM's - but puts an extra load on the operator to manage several stereo mixes. This can be especially difficult if the house is not receiving a stereo mix, perhaps because the room is too wide for effective stereo. Running mono and stereo at the same time can be a bit of a brain teaser, but with practice and a strong sense of focus to the task, it can be managed.
Aux sends are also where are separate mixes for the cry room, backstage, a video or audio recording, or an adjacent feed to an overflow room will be generated and adjusted.
The Learning Curve
All consoles take some time to learn and understand, but digital is more difficult to become effective at quick and efficient usage. This is because most buttons and controls do two or more things depending on the mode the console is in. If the operator is a part time volunteer, she will need to devote quite a few hours, perhaps several days of time, to learn her way around the console. If she has no prior experience with mixing and audio, it's best to organize a few hours of training from the supplier or re-seller. Not all owner's manuals are written in a way that can be readily understood, even by experienced users.
Analog consoles on the other hand, are comparatively simple to learn. Typically, everything is laid out in a logic physical format that echoes the internal signal flow. Knobs are dedicated, meaning they serve only one purpose. Occasionally there's a ‘hidden' switch, such as pushing an Aux send pot to turn the Aux send on or off, but that's about the extent of the surprises.
Mid-sized analog consoles often are equipped with ‘matrix' sections that allow the operator to send different audio content to different loudspeaker zones. For example, if front-fill speakers are present in the system they may not need musical content, only vocals, because there may already be too much music coming off the stage from the guitar amplifiers, drum kit, horns, etc.
Smaller analog consoles that do not have matrix outputs, and digital as well, can give up the convenience of using Submasters (if so equipped) for the house mix, using them instead to create several variations in content for different areas of the room.
Scene Presets and Motorized Faders
This goes directly to the heart of the differences between analog and digital. A scene preset describes a means of recalling some, or all, of the settings on the console. Presets can be very useful when a new vocalist joins the ensemble; when worship music ends and the pastor's message begins; when changing from Bible study night to Sunday service; and when different musicians take the stage. Scene presets are part and parcel to digital consoles. Although a few analog consoles, generally very large ones, have scene presets, most do not.
The most important aspect to consider when using scene presets is, ‘how does the console shift to the new group of settings?' In larger consoles the knobs use shaft encoders that have no pointers and no rotational end points. Instead, they are usually ringed with LED indicators that instantly display the new settings. Likewise, motorized faders rapidly snap to the proper position when a scene has been recalled. In short, changing from one scene to another is nearly instantaneous and quite painless.
Smaller digital consoles, however, are not always so equipped. When a preset has been recalled the operator may need to manually move the faders to the new position using a set of indicators that will ‘null' when the fader is in the proper position. It can take quite some time, depending on how many channels have changed values. Knobs are sometimes actual pots, not shaft encoders. The new values may overwrite the old, but the knobs remain in the same rotational position with no indication that the value has changed. On some consoles, when knobs are turned the value jumps to the new knob position, not the recalled value. This can cause significant confusion, and possible disruption, if the architecture is not thoroughly understood. Consoles that do not have motorized faders and shaft encoders cannot be used for instant scene changes. They can, however, be used for room reconfigurations or scene recalls in-between services.
Are Scene Presets Needed?
If only minor changes are made throughout the service, and the sound system is not multi-purposed for other events in the worship center, then the luxury of having scene presets has minimal value. Conversely, let's say that different musicians play the early service than those who play the late service; or the line-up changes during the musical worship segment; or the room is used for different events throughout the week that require all new settings on the console. In such cases scene presets are a true blessing. The Sunday morning operator can immediately recall his settings, as can the Wednesday evening Bible study operator. Conversely, with an analog console, the operators will have to rely on written notes and tape marks alongside the faders and knobs. This is not necessarily a bad thing; if only a few changes are needed to accommodate the different formats, a few notes and marks may suffice.
Sound Quality
There is plenty of debate over which sounds better, analog or digital. The answer is not simple. A wonderfully designed digital console can sound very, very good. A poorly designed analog console can sound quite bad. And vice-versa. Invisible problems such as internal buss overload are common in lower-priced models of both formats. But to provide an answer to the debate, the very best sounding analog consoles have the simplest signal path and therefore the fewest features and controls. Speaking pragmatically, it's essentially impossible to beat the sonic quality of a pristine, high-end analog console because all digital consoles get their signals from mainly analog sources, and eventually have to convert back to analog for the output to be useable. The converters are where most of the latency occurs, as well as most forms of imprecision (dither and jitter) in the signal quality. That said, a well-designed digital console will do little to distort or degrade the signal but nonetheless, various forms of subtle signal alteration will invariably take place. But seeing as recorded output is almost invariably stored on digital media these days, and many churches wish to distribute CD's, internet streaming, or other forms of digital media, on a practical level the argument is essentially moot.
Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Multi-track recording from an analog console requires an outboard, stand-alone multi-track recorder of some sort, along with all the cabling necessary to send each channel's signal to the recording device. When playing back to mix the tracks, or to run a ‘virtual soundcheck' (one in which the band is not actually present), you'll probably have to re-patch all of the cabling.
Digital consoles, on the other hand, often provide simpler solutions depending on the brand and model. At least one popular console comes equipped with full-featured DAW software (digital audio workstation). With it, the operator can capture all inputs and outputs on separate tracks, then rapidly switch over to digital playback for mixdown to CD (or other format), and/or also run a V-soundcheck.' It's also possible to play backing tracks on some channels along with live mics on other channels. If multi-track recording is an important component of your church's worship experience, then purchasing a digital console with accompanying DAW software will be a logical and cost-effective choice.
Summary
We've looked at the main differentiators between analog and digital console formats. While flexibility will always be greater in a digital console, it carries the burden of added complexity, a steeper and longer learning curve, and a generally higher price tag than analog --- about 40% to 80% higher (and up) for most 24 and 32 channel models. However, digital may well be worth the added investment in dollars and time if the situation requires the added features, and if the longer time to mastery, especially for inexperienced operators, is not an obstacle.
