Taipale Media Systems

09/06/2026

Good morning to everyone who is already awake, already dressed, and perhaps already on the way to church.

You’re often among the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Like me, before most people walk through the doors, you’re turning things on, checking microphones, testing batteries, solving problems, and doing everything you can to make sure the worship service goes smoothly.

And if you do your job well, most people will never know everything you did.

They’ll simply hear exactly what they need to hear, when they need to hear it—and never know how it happened.

I spent more than 15 years serving in church production booths, so I know what Sunday mornings can feel like.

In fact, the image that I shared above reminds me of all the Sunday mornings that I stood at the side door of Prestonwood Baptist waiting for one of the tech staff to let me in. I mixed FOH there for several years, but I wasn’t on staff, so I needed someone to let me in.

I also know how easy it is to carry the responsibility of the sound system without ever being given the opportunity to truly understand it.

That’s why I created Church Sound Boot Camp.

Our next six-week Instructor-Led Cohort begins October 5th. It’s an opportunity to move beyond pushing buttons and making educated guesses—to understand why your sound system behaves the way it does and begin mixing with greater confidence.

This morning, though, I simply want to say:

Thank you for showing up.

Thank you for serving your church.

Thank you for caring whether every word, every note, and every moment is heard.

Be encouraged. What you do matters.

And sometime after the final microphone has been put away today, you can learn more about joining us for ILC-17 here:

https://churchsoundbootcamp.com/cohort.html

Our Labor Day offer saves you an additional 30% on any individual or team registration through midnight Monday.

Coupon code: LDC30

Now go have a great Sunday morning—and Be Blessed!

09/02/2026

Why Your Mix Sounds Different Every Week (and how to fix it)

https://churchsoundbootcamp.com/cohort.html

08/24/2026

My Monday Story.

https://churchsoundbootcamp.com

08/24/2026

Soundcraft Si Impact

80 channels. One console. Zero excuses.

With up to 80 input channels to mix, Si Impact gives you the flexibility to take on bigger shows without overcomplicating the workflow.

More inputs. More control. More room to mix.

Ready to take on a bigger mix? Explore the Si Impact:
https://www.soundcraft.com/en-US/products/si-impact

(Comments from their FB post.)

FREE Soundcraft Si Impact 2.0 Firmware Update Doubles Total Channels to Mix! In our continual qu...

08/19/2026

Testing Audio Transformer Assets & Issues

The question came up in our CSBC Cohort recently wondering if we could identify which direct boxes on the market perform the best (and the worst).

I'd love to hear some personal experiences from y'all.

What is your favorite direct box (always sounds amazing), and what is your least favorite direct box (low frequency distortion, picks up hums and buzzes)?

In the meantime, this video clearly shows that not all transformers perform the same in each category. Worth watching for sure

Another great series of experiments with Dave Rat

I test 6 different high quality audio transformer designs from Cine...

07/02/2026

Are you in this photo?

This is the Church Sound Boot Camp class photo taken at Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, NJ in November 2018.

That was a great class. Roughly 190 students! My son and I actually went there a few days early -- the church asked me to tune their loudspeaker system while we were in town. It's a great-sounding system, originally designed by my friend Dale Alexander.

06/05/2026

Think you have good ears?

Let's find out.

I've hidden 19 different sounds inside a simple music track.

Some are common audio problems that sound techs encounter every week.

Others are just plain weird.

Your challenge is simple:

Listen to the track and see how many noises you can find.

Bonus points if you can identify what each one is.

A few are obvious.

Some are sneaky.

And a couple have frustrated church sound volunteers for years.

I'd recommend headphones.

Let me know how many can you find.

(There are 19 total.)

04/27/2026

Most people don’t realize how old their audio console actually is.

I spent way too much time mapping out the release and discontinuation dates of major mixing consoles going back to the late 1960s.

What I found surprised me—especially how quickly some manufacturers move.

If you’re considering buying or upgrading a console, this might change how you think about it.

I turned it into a free timeline you can download here:

http://bit.ly/3Qlqr6i

04/16/2026

The Secret Figure-8 Cable Trick

I learned that Over-Under cable wrapping technique from my mentor in school. Bill Porter, Elvis Presley's engineer. Another technique that he taught us was to coil the cable in a Figure-8.

Thinking back in the days before wireless microphones, when an entertainer in Las Vegas would run out on the stage with their microphone, they couldn't let that cable knot up in any way. So there had to be some way to deal with that. Well, the Figure-8 thing actually does that.

Watch this short demo and think about when and where this Figure-8 cable trick might be valuable during a service, concert or other event.

Keep Learning at ChurchSoundBootCamp.com

04/03/2026

Can a Compressor Cause Feedback? What do you think?

Here's an illustration of using compression on a vocal mic in a live sound environment.

Compressors are a great tool to smooth out the vocals for our front of house mix.

But some vocalists don't want to hear that compression in their monitors. It sounds unnatural to them.

Turns out there's another good reason for being careful when using compression on vocal mics. It increases the potential for feedback on those mics in the floor monitors and in the house mix.

If you're hitting the compressor hard, it's going to lower the overall listening level of that mic. Your vocalist is going to want you to turn the mic back up, and one way to do that is to use the makeup gain in the compressor.

That works fine when they're singing, but when they stop singing, even between phrases, the compressor will allow the signal to come back up to its uncompressed level.

And since you've used that makeup gain to give them that level, it may cause a feedback issue.

Listen to this experiment.

When you're ready to stop guessing and start truly understanding audio, I'd be honored to teach you.
https://www.churchsoundbootcamp.com