29 Worship Tools for Under $29, Part 5

By Jon Nicol

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#11: Onstage ipod

No. I don’t have deal for a $29 iPod for you – unless you want to buy my 2nd generation Nano from me. But for less than ten bucks you can have your iPod on the stage with you.

First, the equipment.
You don’t necessarily need this cable, the Hosa 3.5mm St M to XLR M, but I like that it’s all-in-one. Currently I use a 3.5mm to RCA to a ¼” adaptor tapped into a direct box, which then runs an XLR, and then to my board. That’s a lot of cables and junk. This hybrid cable from Hosa goes directly from your ipod (or computer) to your snake or stage inputs. And if 10 feet isn’t long enough, just throw another XLR on it.

Second – why? Here are three great reasons to have this tool:

1. Listen to new songs (or problem songs) at rehearsals without running back to the board, or someone holding his iPhone up to a microphone (you know what I’m talking about: it’s like listen to AM radio through a pumped through a walkie-talkie).
2. Use it for pre-service music. Tired of the 1996 PromiseKeeper CD that the sound tech keeps playing week after week? Create playlist on your iPod or computer and fire it from the stage. That way, you don’t need to rely on the tech to bring down the canned music when you’re ready to start the opening song.
3. Rehearse with a metronome. Nothing tells me my timing sucks like a metronome. There’s no judgement, just the cold hard clicking fact that I’m not quite on. So put your 3.5mm jack to use by plugging in a metronome for your team to rehearse with.

#12: A Metronome

Speaking of using a click in rehearsals, a metronome is one of our 29 tools under $29. You can spend a lot more than that, but most of us don’t need to.

I own a Boss DB-30C Dr. Beat Metronome, which i like. I can create different rhythms, subdivide, tap a tempo and more. But it’s currently running $35 on Amazon (and $39 on MusiciansFriend), so it’s above our $29 ceiling. But the Korg MA-30 makes one that’s around half the price, has several of the same features, and has decent reviews.

Or, you if you have a iPod Touch or iPhone (or other smart phone), you can get a metronome app for only a few dollars (or even free). I like TempoAdvance. You can do everything my DB-30 does, but plus create set-lists of songs for easy recall. And it’s only 3 bucks.

WARNING: Before you buy a metronome (or app) and pump it through your monitors with the above mentioned adaptor cable, let me warn you:

A click track is a unforgiving mirror that reflects the flaws in your teams timing.

They’ll hate it, and maybe you, too. At first. But cast a vision for being a tighter band. Some believe that if your band plays together for a long time, it will get tight. They might. But they can get a lot tighter a lot quicker by simply having great timing.

Practicing with a click will help develop that.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: Several of the links are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click through those and buy the products, I stand to make enough money to buy my next 32oz Diet Dr. Pepper at Circle K.

February 24, 2012