The long history of Paisley Abbey in Scotland, dating back to 1163, has seen the church has been restored and renovated numerous times, with the most recent effort also including a new, flexible sound reinforcement system utilizing a range of Dynacord components in a project led by the integration team at Adlib (based in Knowsley, England).
With more external companies coming in to use the Abbey for special events such as music recitals, exhibitions and weddings, the previous 30-year-old sound system was no longer able to deliver the service required.
“They required a sound system that was very simple to use but that could also be augmented by external production companies,” explains Andrew McCully, applications engineer/project manager at Adlib. “They also needed to be able to zone the speaker system, as they might have a small communion service just in the chancel area, or a small meeting in the chapel or, of course, a full Sunday service using all zones. Above all, they were looking for professional advice.”
Adlib came up with a design that revolves around a Dynacord MXE5 matrix mix engine that provides the control and sound processing required by the different functions of the site, while SONICUE system software was utilized for system setup and customizing a user-friendly GUI for the TPC-1 Touch Panel controller to help ensure straightforward operation.
“We spent a lot of time around the user interface, as that is such a key element to the success of the project,” McCully notes. “If the interface is complicated or confusing, the users don’t have a good experience – no matter how good the speakers sound. SONICUE was used to create a GUI with presets for the TPC-1 specific to the needs of the user and provided a system that both sounds great and is easy to use.”
Control is delivered to the user via an iPad or the IP-networked TPC-1, which both allow scene recall and level adjustments. The church selects one of three presets — Normal Mode, Chapel Mode and Chancel Mode — each activiating different elements of the system and a different combination of mics.
Adlib chose Dynacord TS installation loudspeakers from the vertical-array series. Four TS 400s cover the main nave of the abbe, with a further three TS 100s and the same number of TS 200s in place to cover adjacent spaces. “We’ve used quite a lot of the TS series in other houses of worship and they certainly perform really well,” states McCully. “We selected the TS range as it provided great coverage and an aesthetic quality to the installation.”
To complete the setup, an Electro-Voice EVU ultracompact loudspeaker has been positioned discretely under the pulpit to provide frontfill. A pair of IPX 5:4 four-channel amplifiers, joined by a C1300FDi model, deliver the audio power.
The age and historic nature of the building provided the main challenge for the project, as Adlib faced limitations in the loudspeaker positions and fixings that could be used. A Dante audio network infrastructure was used to reduce the cabling, and the Adlib team also focused to make sure that anything that on show is as neat as possible.
McCully: “This is predominantly a Dante system, though with the flexibility of the MXE5 we’re feeding the C1300 with an analog output. We used a couple of Dante I/O plates to allow the church to connect additional mics when needed, or to plug a mixing desk at a FOH position for whenever there are additional requirements and the need for a dedicated operator on faders. We also had to strategically position an induction loop amp which is fed from an output from the Dante I/O plate, again meaning that we could run a single Cat-6 cable instead of a four-pair multicore.
“This was never going to be an easy install, due to the nature of the building. The sound is very good, spoken word is fantastically clear and playback is rounded and warm. Our team did also a great job with the cabling, which is neat and hidden were possible.”
