Current Issue

May 2012

Print Article     Email Article

  Page 1 of 5   >>

Minnesota Church Upgrades with 96k/Optics-Capable Digico SD10 Console

Minnesota's Eagle Brook Church Transfers SD8/Digirack System To Satellite Campuses and Upgrades Main Sanctuary To Newest

Eagle Brook Church based in Lino Lakes, Minnesota prides itself on staying at the leading edge of technology for its ever-evolving A/V production and broadcast needs. In 2010, the thriving house of worship retooled its overall technical infrastructure at its main campus location, adding three Digico SD8 consoles and Digitacks for FOH, monitors and video broadcast production in their 2,100-seat auditorium.

Flash-forward to the spring of 2011, and the audio team is at it again. Working closely with Minneapolis-based Audio Logic Systems, the latest upgrade involved swapping two of the SD8s at FOH and monitor world with one of Digico’s newest 96k/2 gig optics-capable SD10B broadcast console loaded with the Digico Waves SoundGrid plug-in bundle. They also added three SDRacks, one dedicated to the SD10 and the other two distributed within the facility. In turn, the two SD8s and Digiracks were migrated to the Spring Lake Park and Woodbury facilities. The changes at the main Lino Lakes campus had a ripple effect throughout, allowing all the Eagle Brook engineers at each facility to mix on similar Digico platforms.

Audio mixing professional, Adam Bufis was brought in to work as audio director, to transition and streamline the multiple facilities, to facilitate the newest gear integrations, and to provide a mix position for the broadcast hub at the main location. With a decade of touring experience working with major Christian artists from Casting Crowns to Lincoln Brewster, and Israel Houghton for the last several years, Bufis brought a savvy technical prowess and mixing expertise to the church. The choice of the broadcast console offered many great features for live sound and for Bufis, including 5.1 surround, fader backstop solo and more.

“Originally, the radar was out to get a newer or bigger desk at our main broadcast location,” Bufis explains. “I’d mixed a ton on the SD7 and have a lot of experience on that and with Digico, and really liked the added benefits available with the optical network. We started to look at what it would take to get an SD7 into our main campus as our needs were growing there. We also wanted to bump up to 96K, and I personally wanted to bring in the Waves plug-in package. So when the SD10 came out, it was almost a no-brainer just the cost-factor. With the SD8s, I was filling all 60 channels plus returning stuff with insert returns on groups, so to expand it out to a bigger channel count was almost a necessary move for us. With our ever-expanding band and orchestra, and all the loop/track/bass stuff, that starts adding up as does the input channels. Another big push for me was to get it all running on optical, using an RME MADI bridge for distribution. Before, we were running RME MADI signals to a bunch of different areas for recording and multi-track stuff. With the optical network, it just made the whole system a lot more functional and easy to use, versus flipping switches and changing routing on the MADI bridges. I can do it all basically at the desk now.

  Page 1 of 5   next page >>