For years, technical staff at the Comunhão Cristã Abba, a 3,500-capacity evangelical church in southern Brazil, had been considering replacing their underperforming P.A. system. But when Solid State Logic’s Brazilian distribution partner introduced them to an SSL Live, they soon realized the issue wasn’t the loudspeakers — it was the mixing desk. Now equipped with an SSL Live L200 Plus at FOH and an L100 Plus at monitors, the church has experienced a significant uplift in audio quality, noted by both the technical team and the congregation.
Discovering the real issue
Anderson Marcelino, Chief Engineer at the church, had been expecting better clarity and headroom from their P.A. system. “But during the SSL Live demo, arranged by João Wesley Digigov — CEO of long-time AV partner JWD Audiovisual — we immediately noticed more SPL and improved system response. But what truly stood out was the sonic definition across both low and high frequencies,” he explains.
Replacing the speaker system at the church, would have required a considerable investment. Instead, introducing an SSL Live console revealed that the existing P.A. was more than capable. “SSL solved my problem,” says Marcelino. “If I had invested in loudspeakers and not changed the console I would have been just as dissatisfied, and maybe other issues would even have arisen.”
Alongside the cost savings, the SSL Live system has enabled the church to produce high-quality live recordings, thanks to its integration with a pair of SSL ML32.32 MADI analogue stageboxes. “SSL has always been a benchmark in recording studios,” says Marcelino. “So, when the SSL consoles arrived, we immediately started doing live recordings. And the sound quality is simply sensational.” Marcelino edits and mixes the live recordings in his studio.
Improved streaming quality
The church has also noticed a clear improvement in sound quality in the church’s webstreamed services, with audio now offering far greater fidelity and intelligibility than with the previous setup. “Overall, the sound has improved a lot,” confirms Marcelino.
Intuitive workflow
Switching from the previous console to the new SSL Live presented less of a learning curve than might be imagined. “I found the operational workflow of the SSL console to be very intuitive,” Marcelino says. “Everything you need is at your fingertips — it’s easy to navigate and easy to train our volunteers. The online help and manuals are also excellent; the information is very clear.”
João Wesley Digigov adds, “The touchscreen is fully multitouch and displays everything — channel strip data, routing, EQ — right there. I supported the team during the demo, but even then, they were already getting hands-on. Once installed, they adapted to it very quickly.”
To learn more about SSL products, visit www.solidstatelogic.com.
