Church Sound Article Wed, August 20, 2008

Church Sound | Feature |

Central Christian Church - Henderson, NV

By Mark Frink

Summary

  • Part 1 of an 11 part series from the Live Sound International Showcase of Churches

    In the beginning there was the Word. As the congregation grew, sound reinforcement was needed to hear clearly at the back of the sanctuary. Few sound systems have as many challenges as those installed in modern houses of worship. Contemporary worship services have incorporated rock bands and have ambitions that rival corporate and theatrical productions. The service is often a cross between a high school musical and a Broadway show – all on a mission from God. Expectations are high, yet the band, singers and crew are volunteers, while most buildings have inherent architectural and acoustic challenges. The technical department is consumed by training operators and a budget that gets eaten up by moving lights, video and broadcast equipment. Yet all agree that the single most important improvement is a top-shelf sound system.

    Many churches upgrade their technical systems – video, lighting, and sound – in phases, addressing one department or core function at a time as finances allow. With a plethora of high-quality sound equipment to choose from, the time has come to look at recent upgrades in modern houses of worship.

Central Christian Church has been called the “best free show in Las Vegas.” The sanctuary seats over 3,000 for five weekend services; two Saturday night and three Sunday morning. Technical Director Dale Sahlin became involved with the church two years ago, and started upgrading the lighting and video last year. His new d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system, the first J-System installation in the US, was designed by Spectrum Sound of Nashville’s installation manager Ken DeBelius.

The system is based around six-box d&b J-System line arrays hanging left and right, with two 80-degree J8s at the top and four 120-degree J12s below. Sahlin points out that one attraction of the system was the wide horizontal coverage that avoided additional loudspeakers for side coverage in a fairly wide room. Four d&b cardioid JSubs hang in a center column, with a single d&b Q10 underneath for downfill, but there’s also a half-dozen d&b B2 subs under the stage, plus a two d&b Q10s as left and right front-fills.

d&b’s Rope C software is used to control the amps, and Sahlin likes the fact that all the processing is in the 13 d&b D12 and E-PAC amplifiers which have replaced multiple racks of amps and processing of the previous LCR system.

The main console is a Yamaha PM-1D, as is the monitor desk, and a third PM-1D is used for audio to video mixdown and for live captures to their Pro Tools HD rig through the PM-1D’s DIO8 units. They also have 16 Shure UHF-R wireless microphones, with a Countryman E6 headset microphone for Pastor Jud Wilhite, KSM-9 capsules for lead vocals, and Beta 87s for the rest. The wedge-less stage uses 14 Sennheiser IEW 300 in-ear monitor mixes. Sahlin mentions that one of his best investments was the PWS Helical antennas that keep it all drop-out free.