I'm not sure if an objective console comparison matrix exists, but it would certainly be a handy tool to have when beginning a quest for a new audio console. While comparing specs would be a most tempting place for us to begin, I'd like to step outside of the box and address what I believe is far more important than selecting the right console. It's like my wife once softly told me, “Andrew, you can be right yet wrong at the same time.” Confused? Stay with me.
How can we be right about selecting the right audio console and, more importantly, go about it the right way? I believe the whole process is more important than simply being right about the end result. To put it another way, the “how” can be more important in the long run than the “what.” Here is the way I've learned to live this out in my time serving as a technical director.
First off, remember the people in the church who tithe their money to God. This means you are about to play a part in the process that determines how that money should be spent … money that belongs to God. I cannot overstate how seriously we should take the responsibility of being good and wise stewards, whether it's $50 or $50,000. Trust between you and your leadership, your team, and your church are at stake—not to mention the risk of selecting the wrong console for your needs.
Step One: Realize How Little You Control and Pray
Practice the value of prayer (1 Chronicles 16:11)
We are techies. We are responsible for controlling things, and we like it that way. Control is tricky. It works beautifully on gear, but terribly on people. This first step is the easiest to overlook. We get busy. We get caught up in the excitement of replacing our broken gear. Somewhere in the back of our minds we believe we control more than we do, and forget about prayer ... yet we wouldn't actually say that out loud. Philippians 4 encourages us to pray about every situation with thanksgiving. Buying a console falls into “every situation.” We need to pray for at least two reasons:
1.To express thanksgiving for God's provision. If we're considering a console we're blessed financially.
2.To express our need for guidance and wisdom, since we don't know exactly how technology or our church's needs may change in the coming years. God does.
Step two: Lead Up and to the Side*
Practice the value of a humble attitude (Philippians 2:7)
I realize we all are coming from different organizational structures, but I'm assuming that we all have someone we are submitting to as our leadership, such as a management team, executive pastor, elders, and so on. I'm also assuming we are in some way part of a team of peers, such as an arts leadership team. You owe some conversations to each of these groups of people. Dave Kountz, [my church's] executive pastor, has often said, “In the absence of communication things go negative.”
Submit yourself to your leadership and be open and honest about why there may be a need to purchase the new console. Explain the problem. Walk them through specific examples of what needs to be fixed. Give them a ballpark idea of what you think it might cost. Relay as much information as possible.
Then submit. Trust them. God put them in that position for a reason. Give them an opportunity to be on the solution side with you. Remember that they bring a more global perspective of the needs of the church than you. Let this be an opportunity of building trust with your leadership and earning their trust in you. The hardest part here is that they may simply say “no” or “not yet.” Submit and go back to step one. If we are all on the same page, continue moving forward with well-defined expectations in [the] areas of finance and time frame.
Step Three: Lead Down
TRUST BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOUR TEAM, AND YOUR CHURCH ARE AT STAKE....
Practice the value of love and unity (John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 1:10)
In 2004, I made the mistake of not leading down with our lighting team. Without bringing the team into the process, I made an executive decision to order a lighting controller because I was in a hurry to get it done—and because I was personally excited about this particular one. It was a bad choice on both fronts. John Maxwell teaches this concept in “The 360 Degree Leader.” Not only was it not the right controller for our team, but also I had undermined trust between our volunteers and me. I hadn't included volunteers with much greater experience in the process. I had elevated my opinion.
Be creative in finding ways to include the team you lead in the process. Pray together. Discuss ideas. Be open to differences. Value everyone's perspective. Give your team freedom to shoot holes through ideas. Do the process together.
I realize it can be a difficult and much longer process than just moving ahead, but in the end, it's worth it to have the ownership and investment of your team.
Only after prayer and collaboration will you arrive at the time to dive into the specs and other details. Here's how I think about it:
Price, do you know your limits?
Feature set, does it meet your needs?
User-friendliness, will it work for your team?
Expandability, what does it offer for the future?
Price
Practice sound financial wisdom. Start by knowing your limits. We usually establish an “ideal” monetary value that we all believe is wise for the financial position of our church. Next I'll quickly figure for a +/- 10% contingency amount. This is my target range. The key is to live within our means. If we are unable to afford what we need, to me, the answer is simple. We wait.
There is no good roadmap for navigating all of the complex decisions related to financial position. My best advice is to communicate well with your leadership, pray for wisdom, and live by sound financial principles.
SUBMIT YOURSELF TO YOUR LEADERSHIP AND BE OPEN AND HONEST
Feature Set
How you prioritize the feature set depends entirely on how you plan to use the console. There are so many options available to us today. The scope of this article can't possibly cover them all. Here are a few basic discussion questions for you to use when engaging your team:
How much space do you have to place a console? You may be limited by the console's physical size.
How many inputs do [you] need? (figure on at least 6-12 more channels than you currently need)
How many outputs do we need? (consider mixing for overflow environments, nursing mothers rooms, podcast feeds, etc.)
How much channel processing is needed? In many cases, digital becomes more cost-effective when considering the processing power available to each channel in terms of outboard gear.
Does it need to interface with current or future digital gear? AES3, Dante, A-Net, CobraNet, there are many different types of digital audio signals.
What do you need to communicate with digital products?
Do you need an infrastructure in place for multi-track recording?
User-friendliness
Does the layout and management of the console lend itself to your team of users? Remember that you (hopefully) will not be the only one using it. You should have extensive discussions with other members of your team. Look at how you navigate between channels, control audio groups, VCA groups, mute groups, etc. If digital, can you access crucial information easily or do you need an additional computer to view more detailed information?
Expandability
My ideal goal is for a console to have a lifespan of at least 10 years. Several of my pro audio friends think I'm crazy and that a more ideal amount of time is six to eight years. Either way, I want a console to last as long as possible and be reliable for years to come. As unexpected needs arise in your church, will your console be able to adapt? Before buying, you need to know exactly what your console will be capable of. Know the costs involved in additional components or accessories that will expand the functionality. Consider the cost of expansion between different console models and manufacturers.
Working together as a team is, in my experience, the best way to go about it. It can be a rewarding, unifying, team-building experience, as well as helping your church make a wise investment in a crucial piece of equipment.
