Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo, CA, serves an active congregation of 3,000 people with several mid-week and weekend services, utilizing DPA Microphones d:vote 4099 instrument and d:fine headset microphones as a key to its sound reinforcement approach.
The goal is to deliver each sermon with exceptional clarity to both the congregation and the extended community, which includes a live online stream through Live Stream as well as listeners to one of the hundreds of Focal Point Radio stations.
Supplied by CCI Solutions, a church system integrator based in Washington, the d:vote 4099s provide mounts to properly close-mic the violin and drum kit used during worship, while the d:fine headsets are the solution for the spoken word vocals of the lead and associate pastors.
Selected by Jon Lillie, audio/visual/lighting director at Compass Bible Church, on recommendation by fellow church engineers, the mics have become a staple at the church.
“With the mounting system, it’s so easy to use the d:vote 4099 for the violin as the mic always ends up right where I want it,” says Lillie. “I also use the d:vote 4099 to mic the drum kit because it’s very responsive. It works really well with the toms and doesn’t pick up too much of the overheads. What it does pick up really accents the sound nicely and the EQ response is perfect for the violin.”
His fondness for the d:vote 4099s led to the church’s purchase of a d:fine headset mic for lead pastor Mike Fabarez, and it wasn’t long before every pastor at Compass Bible was using the mics.
“The mics are high-quality and don’t require a lot of gain, so their feedback resistance is great,” he says. “When I listen to the individual on the microphone, I find that the EQ response is a lot flatter, which makes it sound as though the pastors are speaking face-to-face to each member of the congregation. I also like that the d:fine is so light and comfortable; people forget they are wearing them.”
Lillie hopes to continue to add to the church’s inventory of DPA products, with the company’s podium microphone next on his wish list.
