System design considerations:
Most realistic businessmen have no problem coming to grips with large budgets if they truly believe that they will get their money's worth in performance. It is likewise a revelation for many laymen to realize that one can spend upwards of $100,000 for a sound system… especially if they have never heard how good such a system can be. The contractor and/or consultant must often embark on a patient course of education in order to put points such as these across.

Regarding the basic choice of system for conventional reverberant structures, we can do no better than present the ideas put forth by David Klepper in his 1970 article in the Journal of the AES titled "Sound systems in Reverberant Rooms for Worship." This basic data is given in Appendix I.

Historic and other special venues:
On occasion, the contractor will be informed that "the system must not be seen." What this usually means is that the system cannot be allowed to interfere with the major architectural features of the space. In the case of registered landmark structures, there may be serious constraints, such as the requirement that a new system must go into the space occupied by the earlier system… which may not have worked well in the first place. If the application is speech only, then custom line arrays may offer the only workable solution, since they can usually be adapted to existing architectural details and still provide the necessary coverage and level requirements.

When the situation appears difficult, a consultant who has specialized in such problems may offer the best solution.

When to call in a consultant:
The contractor should call in a consultant anytime he feels himself on unfamiliar terrain. In addition to difficult systems concepts, such as the line arrays just discussed, any major acoustical problems should be referred to a consultant.

Today, there are many older highly reverberant Roman Catholic parishes which are anxious to make certain acoustical changes so that their services may be better in the spirit of the Vatican II reforms. Many such spaces have been ruined by indiscriminate carpeting, and these mistakes could have been avoided by a competent consultant.

Many of today's fan-shaped structures, as good as they are in terms of sight lines, present significant acoustical reflections back to the platform area. These problems should be referred to competent consultants.

Hands-off versus manned system operation:
For speech only reinforcement, an automatic microphone mixer, carefully adjusted, can handle up to five or six microphones-provided that there will be no great level variations at the input. Be sure that a client understands these constraints before specifying that mode of operation. Obviously, most systems will fare better with an operator.

Appendix 1. Sound system designs for reverberant spaces.



Summary of typical sound reinforcement systems for worship spaces.



MARKETING CONSIDERATIONS

Establishing contractor credibility:
Most religious groups rely on word of mouth recommendations for professional services, and the simple fact that a contractor has been contacted implies that he has passed that first test.

Religious groups are impressed by seriousness and purposefulness and will look for that in the work of a sound contractor. The contractor should have well documented dossiers on past jobs, including comments from the owners. He must in fact sell himself through past work. A contractor just striking out on his own can justifiably refer to work that he supervised as the member of another firm, provided it is clearly presented as such.

Focusing and helping define the user's needs:
The contractor needs to prepare a detailed checklist of possible system features and functions to serve as discussion points with new clients. Out of this will come speedier definition of what the system should be, and the client will probably discover in the process that the system can do more than he may have anticipated. For example, what may have started out as a simple need for sound reinforcement may end up as an audiovisual management center, with broadcast and recording capability as well.

A workable design within budget constraints:
It is easy to start out with a no-holds-barred approach, and much of the contractor's design time will probably be spent scaling the system down so that it fits within the client's budget limits. Typical of the questions to be answered are:

What are the performance tradeoffs between large and small format compression drivers?

When will a 4660 or other packaged system perform as well as a custom system?

How much console flexibility is actually needed?

Planning an on-site demonstration:
A Vermette hoist can be used to elevate a small system to a height of 18 to 20 feet, and this is usually sufficient to demonstrate the rudiments of good design in medium size rooms. This is a tried and true technique, and it is especially useful when a religious group is contemplating its first professional system. More often today, there is already an awareness of what good sound is, and scheduled field trips to more sophisticated installations will probably be more in order. Remember that no job is too small to do well, and that small jobs lead to big ones.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Appendix l: (Data printed with permission from D.L. Klepper, "Sound Systems in Reverberant Rooms for Worship," J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 18, No. 4 (August 1970)