The AI Audio Revolution: Can Artificial Intelligence Mix Your Church’s Worship Music?

The world of audio engineering is experiencing a seismic shift, and it’s happening faster than many of us expected. What once required years of training, expensive equipment, and a finely-tuned ear can now be accomplished with the click of a button—thanks to artificial intelligence.

Recently, I decided to put this technology to the ultimate test. Using an old session from last year’s Church Front conference, I attempted something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: mixing an entire worship song using nothing but AI-powered tools. The results? Well, let’s just say they were both impressive and slightly terrifying for those of us in the audio industry.

The Experiment Setup

The challenge was simple yet ambitious: take a raw Logic session and mix it from start to finish using only AI tools. No manual EQ adjustments, no subjective listening decisions—just pure artificial intelligence doing what it does best: analyzing patterns and making recommendations.

Here’s what I used:

• Waves AQ: An AI-powered EQ plugin that analyzes individual channels and automatically applies appropriate EQ curves
• Waves Curves Equator: A more surgical AI tool designed to identify and eliminate problem frequencies
• Logic’s built-in AI mastering: Apple’s answer to automated mastering
  
  

The source material was a fantastic electronic worship song with phenomenal musicians, but like any raw recording, it needed some work. The vocals sounded dull, some instruments lacked clarity, and the overall mix needed that professional polish we all strive for.

Watching AI Work Its Magic

What struck me immediately was how intuitive these AI tools have become. As I loaded up Waves AQ on the kick drum channel, the plugin automatically detected what instrument it was analyzing. “Adaptive kick drum,” it announced, as if reading my mind.

The AI didn’t just stop at identification—it provided multiple EQ options tailored specifically for kick drums. Want a brighter kick? There’s a curve for that. Prefer something fatter with less low-end? Another option appeared. The plugin essentially became a virtual audio engineer, offering creative choices based on its analysis of thousands of professionally mixed tracks.

This pattern continued across every channel. The snare drum was instantly recognized and treated appropriately. Tom-toms received their own specialized treatment. Even the hi-hats got the AI touch, with the plugin automatically understanding the frequency content and applying suitable enhancements.

The Vocal Game-Changer

Perhaps the most impressive demonstration came with the vocal channels. As I played audio through the plugin, it didn’t just recognize “vocal”—it specifically identified “female vocal” and “male vocal,” then applied EQ curves tailored to each voice type.

The before-and-after difference was striking. Vocals that had sounded dull and lifeless suddenly had clarity, presence, and professional polish. The AI had somehow managed to enhance the natural characteristics of each voice without making them sound over-processed or artificial.

Bus Processing and the Big Picture

Using the Waves Curves Equator on the drum bus and master bus added another layer of polish. This plugin took a more surgical approach, identifying problem frequencies and smoothing them out across the entire mix. It’s like having a experienced engineer listening for those subtle issues that can make or break a professional sound.

When I finally applied Logic’s AI mastering to the entire track, the transformation was complete. The song had gone from a rough mix to something that could compete with commercial releases—all without a single manual EQ adjustment.

The Results: Impressive and Concerning

The final comparison was eye-opening. The before-and-after difference was substantial enough that anyone could hear the improvement. The AI had managed to:

• Brighten dull vocals without harshness
• Enhance drum punch and clarity
• Balance instrumental frequencies
• Create a cohesive, professional-sounding mix
• Add appropriate mastering polish

But here’s what really got my attention: this level of quality could be achieved by someone with virtually no mixing experience. The AI tools handled all the technical decisions, from frequency selection to processing parameters.

What This Means for Houses of Worship

For churches and worship teams, this technology represents a democratization of professional audio quality. Small churches that can’t afford a full-time audio engineer could potentially achieve professional-sounding mixes using these AI tools. Volunteer sound technicians could focus on the basics while letting AI handle the complex EQ decisions.

The live applications are particularly exciting. With plugins like these running on systems like Waves SuperRack or built into consoles like the DiGiCo LV1, you could theoretically walk into any venue and let AI optimize your sound in real-time.

The Human Element Still Matters

While these results were impressive, I’d be lying if I said they were perfect. An experienced engineer could still go in and make manual tweaks that would improve the mix further. The AI provides an excellent starting point—perhaps 80-90% of the way to a professional mix—but that final 10-20% still benefits from human creativity and musical sensibility.

There’s also something to be said for understanding why certain EQ decisions work. AI can tell you what frequencies to boost or cut, but it can’t teach you the musical reasoning behind those choices or help you develop your ear for future projects.

Looking Toward the Future

As I listened to the final result, I couldn’t help but wonder about the future of our industry. If AI can achieve this quality with minimal human input, what does that mean for audio engineers, both in studio and live environments?

The technology isn’t going to replace experienced professionals overnight, but it’s definitely changing the game. The barrier to entry for achieving professional-quality audio has been dramatically lowered. Churches, content creators, and musicians who once needed to hire professionals or spend years learning complex audio engineering principles can now achieve impressive results with AI assistance.

The Bottom Line

This experiment proved that AI audio tools have reached a level of sophistication that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. While they may not completely replace human expertise, they’re certainly making professional-quality audio more accessible to everyone.

For worship teams and churches, this represents an incredible opportunity to elevate their sound quality without massive investments in training or equipment. The future of audio engineering is here, and it’s more accessible than ever before.

Whether this makes you excited or nervous probably depends on where you sit in the audio world. But one thing is certain: the landscape is changing rapidly, and those who embrace these new tools while maintaining their commitment to musical excellence will be the ones who thrive in this new era of AI-assisted audio production.