In order to upgrade the Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, IL, with a digital sound system, TC Furlong of Lake Forest, IL, recently supplied the church with a Soundcraft Vi6 digital console.
Jeff Cech, general manager at TC Furlong, assisted the church in the research process and believed the Vi6 would provide an easy transition to a digital console. “The learning curve is easy, and one of the best options for the budget,” he says.
Barry Luchene, director of audio at the church, confirms, “I don’t have much experience with different brands, but the network of people I travel and work with love Soundcraft, and suggested I check them out. After extensive research and thought, I agreed with Cech that the Vi6 would fit our needs the best.”
The console is used at front-of-house in the worship center, which seats around 2,000 people, and serves four services per weekend. The services feature a modern worship style, including a full band.
The Vi6 allows the church to send mixes to external systems and to record feeds for online and off-location viewers. “Ninety percent of the work day to day is consistent, using about 40 inputs between the band and speakers. We just needed a console that would be reliable and easy to use, especially for our volunteers that are operating it,” Luchene says. “I love the larger surface space and how you don’t need to scroll through many layers to change settings. Everything is accessible and extremely easy to use. The sound quality is excellent and our expectations have been met perfectly.”
The install of the Vi6 is part of a million-dollar project to renovate the entire Parkview Christian Church facility. “We moved the front of house mix position from the balcony to the main floor. This presented challenges that were fixed easily with the Soundcraft stage boxes. We would not have been able to run the system as previously set up with all the wires and connections,” Luchene explains. “The Vi6 has given us many options and we look forward to completing the full renovation. Overall, everyone who has used the console is extremely happy and able to pick it up with little experience.”
