If you’ve read much of my content, you know I’m a big believer in getting the sound right at the source. I’ve written extensively on the subject—from singers to drummers, choirs, and even the pastor’s headset. Our job as audio engineers is to do the very best we can with what we have, rather than complain about what we don’t. But the more you understand how much a great guitar tone, a singer’s mic technique, or the drummer’s consistent velocity impacts your mix before you even touch the faders, the more you can identify issues at the source and help your worship team raise the bar for everyone on stage. One last plug for a previous article: if you’re going to speak into a team member’s tone or technique, you need relational equity. I dive into this topic here: Building Trust Between the Stage and the Booth.
Today, I’d like to share some thoughts about—and with—our bass players.
Many years ago, I was on a commissioning team for a church opening their first building. Moving from a very small auditorium with a rough-shod, thrown-together PA system, this was their first step into a professional environment. For them, it was like going from a beat-up used car to a world-class luxury import: lots to learn with a pretty steep learning curve.
My job was to train their audio team and, with the encouragement of the church’s leadership, guide the entire worship team in setting up standards and best practices. Everyone was super excited about this new chapter in the worship ministry; willing and teachable. Well, almost everyone.
There was a young bass player—we’ll call him Luke—who was pretty entrenched in his way of doing things. Even though the church had purchased all new equipment, Luke insisted on using his own pedal board/direct box combo. Always wanting to keep an open mind, I didn’t want to make an issue of it, but I had doubts about how his gear would integrate into their new system.
Soundcheck started, and it wasn’t long before it became obvious that Luke’s bass “rig” sounded like garbage: distorted, noisy, and simply bad. There was no fixing this at the console. Young Skywalker had effectively just spilled a huge bowl of pasta with meat sauce, in the front seat of our new car. With the best bedside manner I could muster, and along with the church’s team leader, we approached Luke and asked him to swap out his board—made up of cheap, noisy cables and pedals—with the brand-new active direct box purchased by the church specifically for the bass guitar. With the worship leader’s endorsement (I think he was glad someone finally said it), I explained to Luke that even though it might (and that’s a big might) sound good to him in his ears, it wasn’t working in the house mix. We needed a cleaner bass sound at the source, and he might actually like this better.
Luke was not happy, but he was outnumbered and overruled by his team leader. “Well, ok, if you want it to sound like crap, I guess so,” was his response. Luke had lived and played bass in a very small bubble: at home on his headphones, and prior to this day, through PA systems that consisted of recycled garage band and pub equipment. He simply hadn’t been exposed to or heard his sound through a good system that reveals everything you put into it. Garbage in, garbage out. I don’t tell this story to pick on Luke, but it’s an extreme case of what many bass players experience. Unless you’ve had the time (and very long cables), as a bass player, you probably haven’t heard yourself in the house mix very much.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I spent a season at a church where the main bassist was a former country touring player. He never added any “extra sauce” to his sound—just an active direct box. During soundchecks before rehearsal, when it was his turn, he would play a few notes and I would cut him off, saying, “We’re good, let’s move to guitar.” The joke—and the reality—was that Tony’s bass tone was perfect: smooth, punchy, and a soundman’s dream. There was no need to fool around when all I had to do was push up the fader and try not to ruin an already great sound. I really miss working with Tony.
The reality in the church world is that most bass players fall somewhere between Luke and Tony when it comes to their tone.
For those who land closer to Luke than Tony, here lies the most common problem I’ve encountered with bass players: pedal boards.
Most bass players design their sound either through small amps at home or headphones or in-ear monitors, rarely hearing their tone through the actual auditorium system or broadcast studio. Many bass players like to add a little distortion (often called dirt, grit, or edge). This can either be great or horrible.
The issue arises when players don’t realize how their chosen distortion impacts the overall mix. Crafting what feels like the perfect amount of overdrive at home or in a practice environment might sound amazing there—but once that signal hits the audio engineer, it’s already baked in, like a cake with way too much sugar. The engineer can’t dial back that distortion, and it can quickly overpower and ruin the entire mix.
A much better solution is to send a clean, unaffected bass signal to the mixer. With today’s digital consoles, it’s easy for the engineer to double-patch your bass into two separate channels: one clean and pure, and the other with exactly as much “edge” or grit as fits the song. This allows the engineer to perfectly tailor your tone, ensuring it enhances the mix rather than degrades it.
There certainly are amazing bass players who intuitively understand how to build a sound that translates perfectly into almost any system, but in church environments, they’re rare. If you’re a bass player and not quite sure you’ve developed that skill yet, then I’d encourage you to “be like Tony”: simplify your setup, send a clean signal, and trust the engineer to add the appropriate level of “dirt” for each song. When you hand us a clean slate, you’re enabling us to shape the bass tone to perfectly support the moment—whether subtle, edgy, or full-on aggressive. This doesn’t mean your personal tone preferences are ignored; it just means we’re collaborating intentionally to serve the song, the mix, and most importantly, the worship experience.
Bass players, we audio engineers need your partnership on this one. Give us a clean signal—a good, basic cake, if you will—and we’ll provide the perfect icing to match the moment. And I promise you this… we won’t forget to listen.
I’m looking forward to hearing how your team is doing in this area. You may contact me at RCochran@WorshipFacility.com.
