Based on the success of Martin Audio MLA Compact arrays at its main Urbana, IL campus, the Vineyard Church recently opted for an MLA Mini system at its Sullivan, IL campus.
Installer Bobby Spangler of Spangler Media explains, “The Sullivan campus is smaller than Urbana, about 300 seats, and we needed to replace the original system which wasn’t working anymore in terms of coverage and sound quality.
“For the upgrade, the church decided to stay in the Martin Audio wheelhouse because they were so pleased with Urbana’s MLA Compact system, which seemed to make a lot of sense.
“We have two hangs of MLA Mini with four flown enclosures and a ground-stacked MSX sub on each side of the stage due to a lack of headroom in the space. They also have a CSX-LIVE 218 sub built into the front and center of the stage because the church really likes their low end.
“In terms of the rigging, the current setup is temporary because, when the church expands later next year, the stage will have plenty of headroom. At that point, we plan to hang the MLA Mini arrays with the subs on top along with an additional center array.”
Sullivan technical director Darrell Beachy adds, “We weren’t getting the clarity we needed from the old system for speech and music. The Sullivan campus averages about 550 people every Sunday with a contemporary worship service that includes a full electric band with bass, drums, keys, electric and acoustic guitars, and vocals in addition to the sermons.
“With MLA Mini, we now have tremendous clarity from the low end all the way up to highest frequencies, which we didn’t have before. We’re very happy with the results––it’s like a night and day difference.”
Chris Ratcliff, overall technical director for Urbana and the Sullivan, Bloomington Normal and Online campuses, is equally enthused: “We chose MLA Mini mainly based on the clarity and tonality we were getting out of MLA Compact system in Urbana.
“As it turned out, there’s an amazing difference between what was previously installed and the Martin Audio system. It sounds great. We get complete coverage from front to back, side to side and top to bottom no matter where you go in the room. Our first Sunday with the new system, we had people from all age groups come up to us with amazing stories about how great it sounded compared to the way it used to sound.”
