The 2,500-seat worship sanctuary on the Riverside, CA campus of Harvest Christian Fellowship was recently given a sound reinforcement upgrade with a new system designed and installed by E2i Design (Brighton, MI) that utilizes d&b audiotechnik Y-Series loudspeakers for mains and E6 loudspeakers to bolster underbalcony coverage.
Founded in 1973 by Greg Laurie, who is still the senior pastor to this day, Harvest Christian Fellowship is the eighth largest church in America and third largest in California, with dedicated campuses in Orange County (Irvine, CA), Maui, Hawaii as well as in Riverside. In addition to being the launching pad for the International Harvest Crusades, Harvest is known for its music-inspired contemporary worship.
“We had a 15-year-old d&b Q-Series system so it was time for an upgrade,” explains Christopher Eguizabal, production supervisor at the church. “We based our decision to install the Y to provide the needed SPL, and E-Series because d&b audiotechnik is a quality brand that we have trusted for many years, and the two systems provide clarity and plenty of headroom.”
Zach Brady and Mark Rush of d&b audiotechnik US were both involved in the design and implementation of the system. “We carefuly planned and configured the systems in ArrayCalc and determined we should use ArrayProcessing in the room,” Brady explains. “Given that the room has a main floor and a balcony, ArrayProcessing allows us to contour the tonality and level loss for these two vastly different listening planes, in other words, one mechanical array shape can provide very even tonality and coverage front to back of both main parts of the room. This is key to assuring that no matter where you sit, you get as close to the same experience as possible.”
Brady adds that given the room’s deep balcony they decided to employ some under balcony fills to make sure the congregants seated underneath had coverage and intelligibility. “This is where ArrayCalc simulation software really come into play because we can take the real-world positions available for speakers and find the appropriate loudspeaker type and dispersion to reach our coverage goals. For the low-end reinforcement, we decided to go with two flown SL-SUBs in the center of the space. The dispersion of this sub in this center almost perfectly matches the shape of the room. It’s very even from left to right and there isn’t a power alley or dead spots. The sound engineers can then make things like the kick drum or bass consistent for everyone.”
On any given Sunday, the contemporary worship services includes a band comprised of drums, bass, one to two acoustic guitars, one to two electric guitars, keys/synths and up to five vocalists with guest artists on a regular basis performing various styles of music. “With having mixed on our new stereo d&b Y-Series PA with two SL-SUBS in the air and four 21S subs on the ground, I’ve had so much more headroom, clarity and stereo separation that our old PA was missing,” says Bryan Goode, production coordinator and audio engineer at the church. “The mix feels so much warmer and enjoyable to mix on every week.”
Eguizabal concludes by noting that the church’s previous d&b system ran rock solid for the time they owned it: “The design team knew a system that would provide a solid, long-lasting performance, while providing extreme clarity for preaching but also delivering the punch needed for our dynamic worship experience and various events that we host in the venue was essential to deciding on a PA for this remodel. Therefore, d&b was at the top of our list. The entire team, congregation, and pastoral staff is extremely happy with the amazing audio experience delivered through the d&b system installed by E2i Design.”
