SPL (Sound Pressure Level, or volume).
Life.Church measures SPL to create an exciting and safe experience.
Every location is equipped with Smaart, a software that monitors SPL levels and averages.
OSHA Regulations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has regulations in place for SPL exposure. For more information, please visit OSHA's website.
Life.Church Environment
SPL for Worship should be approximately 93-94 dBA on average over 18 minutes of worship. Quick peaks and plosives should not exceed 99-100 dBA. These fall within OSHA standards and do not pose public health risk to our attendees.
Important: We measure in dBA-slow, or “A-weighted, slow response.”
There are two reasons we measure in dBA:
- dBA-slow is the same weighting OSHA uses when creating health and safety standards.
- dBA-slow is the most accurate in relation to how the human ear perceives sound.
Remember, it is not uncommon for the loudest portion of a song to read around 96-98 dBA, but the number that really matters is the average of the entire 18-minute worship set. There are louder sections and softer sections that balance each other out in order to achieve the desired average of 91-92 dBA.
There are several applications available on mobile devices to help visualize this average. These apps are typically not very accurate. If an attendee is attempting to monitor SPL using their phone, remember it is not a valid measurement tool. It is, however, an opportunity for a conversation that could present pastoral opportunities. Every complaint is a valid representation of how that person is feeling.
Tips and Tricks: Keeping Average SPL Reasonable
Over-emphasize dynamics
- As a sound engineer, you can help the band achieve more dynamics by riding the faders.
- Pull down the verses so they are quieter than choruses. Not only will this help your SPL average, but it will also give the music more impact and perceived presence on the bigger sections when you push the fader back up.
Master buss compression
- Use a small amount of compression on the master buss to tame the loudest peaks and transients (We are already doing this at KLR).
- Remember: no more than a 3:1 ratio; 2-3 dB of gain reduction on the loudest sections. (There should be little to no gain reduction on verses or softer sections)
Thoughtful arrangements and coaching musicians
- Cut out any unnecessary ProTools tracks, as tracks add up. If you have two guitar players on stage, do not use the guitar tracks in ProTools. The same goes for BGVs.
- Encourage drummers to be more careful on the cymbals, as they are one of the biggest contributors to SPL spikes and brightness.
- Encourage tasteful playing on softer sections and cut out any unnecessary parts.
We want to provide the best experience for our attendees, remember it is our goal to keep distractions to a minimum. Thank you for taking the time to read this article and being responsible with our auditoriums and sound pressure levels. If you ever have any questions regarding this topic, feel free to reach out to the Life.Church Central Audio Engineering Team.