Tape Recording Worship Services Quickly And Conveniently

 

Evening Light Tabernacle, a 250-seat, non-denominational house of worship located in Milton, Ontario, has recently implemented a method to offer tape recordings of all services to parishioners - almost in real time.

Steve Snow, head of audio at the tabernacle, assembled 15 Marantz Professional PMD511 independent dual-well cassette decks, all linked to a Superscope WRC220 wired remote control. It's a combination that allows all 15 machines to simultaneously produce 30 first-generation recordings of services, with tapes simply unloaded and labeled before being offered to parishioners as they exit the building.

Fourteen Marantz PMD511 dual-well decks rack-mounted in a remote room, linked to the Superscope remote control at FOH.

"Not only does this approach allow us to distribute high-quality recordings right after a services, but it also eliminates the need for volunteers to spend hours duplicating tapes," explains Snow. Further, tapes can be mailed immediately, by request, to those not able to attend services.

Previously, the church had utilized high-speed duplicating machines, working from a master, for tape reproduction. The machines eventually became outdated, resulting in poor-quality duplicates.

In developing the new recording solution, Snow considered factors such as time, quality and price. High-speed duplication was ruled out due primarily to quality issues.

Out-source duplication houses also were deemed to provide unacceptable quality in addition to delayed delivery times.

In addition to immediacy and recording quality, the Marantz Professional units also presented the advantage of expandability. In fact, the tabernacle tech staff is planning on purchasing 10 more units over the next year to meet increasing demand. (Up to 100 Marantz units can be control by a single Superscope remote.)

The Superscope remote control and remaining PMD511 deck at FOH.

Snow adds, "In addition, the PMD511 decks allow easy access when loading and unloading cassettes. They're ideal for real-time recording of multiple tapes in any application, and especially in a church environment."

Fourteen of the PMD511 cassette decks are rack mounted and stored in a remote equipment room, with the remaining deck residing at the house system's front-of-house (FOH) control position. The remote also resides at FOH, linked to all 15 units, providing convenient control. Monitoring of the system can be done via the deck at FOH; it's operation and performance quality is identical to the remote units. Snow concludes by noting that the recording system has also performed dependably. "The decision to invest in this solution, as opposed to high-speed duplication in any form, has without a doubt proven the right way to go."

Thanks to Paola Barron of Contact Distribution, Scarborough, ON, for this report.