Church Sound Article Thu, August 28, 2008

Church Sound | Feature |

Live Sound House of Worship Showcase - First Baptist Church

By Mark Frink

Summary

  • Part 5 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.

On Sunday mornings, the Gardendale First Baptist Church of Gardendale, AL averages between 3,900 and 4,800 over three services, and also has a thriving seven-year-old TV Ministry that reaches into 300,000 Central Alabama homes. A new system was installed by Todd Tillemans of Anything Audio from Henderson, TN.

To focus the image on the stage and provide even coverage throughout the extremely wide seating area of the sanctuary, the main loudspeaker system employs a Martin Audio center-cluster over the pulpit consisting of three 6-box W8LM Mini line arrays each with a W8LMD down-fill loudspeaker, and all powered by Martin Audio MA2.8 amplifiers. The system also uses six Martin Audio WSX subs powered by two Martin Audio MA4.2 amplifiers.

The under balcony system is comprised of a Martin AQ6 TX 70-volt loudspeaker, while the balcony delay consists of two Martin AQ12 two-way loudspeakers all powered by a Martin MA1.6 amplifiers. Flown behind the main arrays and firing towards the choir loft in the rear, the Choir Monitor System consists of three Martin F-12 two-way loudspeakers powered by another Martin Audio MA1.6 amplifier. The system is mixed from a Yamaha PM1D mixing console and employs a combination of AKG C-451 and C-535 microphones used for music, along with DPA 4066 head-worn microphones for the spoken word.

Discussing the impact of the new system, GFBC’s Minister of Media Mark Ramsey comments “It’s such a dramatic difference in the spoken word that a lot of people have had to make a major readjustment. In terms of the musical and choral reproduction, the word would be ‘astounding.’ For the first time, we have intelligibility without sacrificing the musical aspect of that intelligibility.”