24 August 2009

NORTHWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH SELECTS ILIVE-T FOR NEW WORSHIP CENTRE

Four years in construction, the Northwood Baptist Church’s new 1000-capacity worship centre in North Charleston, South Carolina, has installed an Allen & Heath iLive-T digital mixing system.

Worship pastor, Michael Bell, commented:

“By taking the time to get it right, we got way more than we ever thought we could have. Our new Allen &Heath iLive-T console is a perfect example.”

Design-build integrator, Signature Sight and Sound, handled the audio, video and lighting for the new facility, and selected an iLive-T system, comprising an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface.

“When the T Series was announced it had everything we had hoped for,” recalls Mark Gladden, president and chief systems designer for Signature. “It’s got that Allen & Heath sound quality, with great EQ and mic preamps, plus virtually all the capabilities and ease of use of the full iLive but at a very comfortable price point. We approached the church and said, ‘this is what you wanted,’ and they agreed. After that, it was just a matter of timing.”

The room is a large square with a theatre-style stage set in the back corner and seating arranged on the diagonal. Live video is projected on three large screens, while the primary sound system is a left-centre-right system featuring three clusters of EAW AX Series speakers. Stage monitoring is a combination of truss-mounted speakers and floor wedges for the vocalists, with an Aviom in-ear system for the contemporary worship band. The MixRack resides offstage, handling 48 mic inputs from the stage and a dozen wireless systems. Auxiliary inputs for CD, DVD and computer audio are handled at the Control Surface at FOH position. System outputs include three for the main PA clusters, 16 channels for the Aviom hub, four monitor mixes, plus a separate stereo output for video.

Training was provided by Sterling Coleman, partner and director of installation for Signature.

“We knew we had a huge learning curve with all the new equipment but surprisingly, the mixing system was probably the easiest transition for us,” notes Michael Bell. “Sterling’s an amazing guy, here was a brand new console and he seemed to know it like the back of his hand. I can’t say enough about all the things he did to make this project a success, everything from training to troubleshooting, audio, video and electrical. He’s so much more than an installation guy.”

Northwood offers both traditional and contemporary services requiring very different set-ups, something the iLive-T handles with ease.

“For our traditional service, our engineer is a school principal who had very limited audio background. She was so nervous about the new system, she was thinking about quitting,” relates Michael Bell. “So we brought her in, taught her how to power the system, how to pull up the right scenes and presets and what to do in an emergency, such as a wireless goes down, and she was ready. It took about two hours - amazing!”

For the contemporary service, head sound engineer, David Geddings, and his team have a more formidable task. With a full drum kit, four guitars, three keyboards and 6 to 8 vocalists, plus brass, woodwinds and strings, there can be up to 20 people on stage – not counting the choir - but with iLive-T, the team handles it with ease. In fact, with its exceptional sound and virtually unlimited on-board DSP effects, Northwood Baptist Church now has a system capable of handling the needs of touring artists.

“In the past, we haven’t really had the equipment to host any big name bands,” says Bell. “But with full theatrical lights and a new sound system, all that has changed. In September, we’ll be hosting the group Rush of Fools. The concert promoter looked at our new system and told us it would be perfect for them. We won’t have to rent any gear, and the band won’t have to bring anything but their guitars and amps. It was an awesome feeling to hear that.”