By Mark FrinkCentral 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.