Josh Maichele is an Install Sound Engineer and House of Worship Specialist for the United States and Canada at L-Acoustics.
In 1984, L-Acoustics was founded by Christian Heil whose vision was to focus and direct soundwaves in the same coherent way that laser light propagates. The resulting line source array loudspeaker technology he introduced in 1992 would disrupt the professional audio industry.
Today, the company’s ecosystem of products and services includes software, loudspeakers, processors, amplifiers, sound system design and calibration services. The company has many products that work well within the house of worship market, so we talked with Josh Maichele, L-Acoustics' house of worship specialist, about the church market’s growth both past and future.
Q: What challenges is L-Acoustics addressing in the church market?
A: The church market is going through an amazing dynamic right now, as technology has become more accessible to tech teams of every level of expertise. And with this new technology, as congregations grow, there is a quest to maintain the connection from the stage to the audience, and from the audience to the stage. Over the past decade, I’m seeing pastors pushing their stages farther and farther into the audience in an attempt to help them feel more connected to their congregation. In some ways this is effective, but it brings lighting and video challenges and of course gain before feedback and PA placement issues. Our L-ISA immersive sound technology responds to those challenges, allowing for more natural, more enveloping sound, effectively breaking down the wall between worship team and worshippers, allowing then to feel more connected and focused on the message.
We’ve also seen a hole in the area of performance versus cost, especially for installation-specific products. We launched a new A Series of installation products this year that provide exceptional performance-versus-cost metrics in a package that is accessible, easy to use and versatile. A Series allows churches of all sizes to benefit from the renowned L-Acoustics sound quality at a budget that fits their venue and their needs.
Q: What trends or themes do you expect to emerge in the coming years?
A: I think that as we move into the immersive era – not just in sound, but also in video and lighting – what we will see more and more are churches employing a grassroots method of founding smaller, more intimate satellite venues that use video to increase the outreach of the main campus. With these more intimate satellite venues, there will be a need to recreate the feel of the main broadcast campus in an array of sizes and styles of satellite venues. This trend will come with its own unique set of challenges, but immersive audio will be a major contributor to creating a sense of intimacy and a sense of veracity, helping to break down the wall that exists between main and satellite venues. This in turn should contribute to more houses of worship being able to plant and expand regionally or even worldwide, while also keeping their own unique image and feel.
Q: What new products are making a big impact in churches in 2019?
A: From L-Acoustics in 2019, the product making the biggest waves in the HOW market is easily the A Series A15 Focus and Wide, A10 Focus and Wide with KS21 subwoofer. A Series brings the K1/K2 sound and feel into a package that doesn't require the horsepower of K1/K2, and that’s exceptionally easy to deploy. With a dedicated installation version of the A Series, we can now address both mobile venues and permanently installed venues alike with the signature L-Acoustics sound that has set the standard for years.
Q: Training is so important for church techs and volunteers. How does L-Acoustics deliver it?
A: L-Acoustics is dedicated to equipping staff and volunteers with the tools needed to succeed. This starts with our open training that anyone can register to come to. These days start with a focus on understanding both the offerings from L-Acoustics as well as a deep dive into the design and control software. A second training day offers hands-on time with a given product line. This equips techs to be able to competently navigate the software and understand the design choices made. In addition to training, with any system that requires factory calibration, we spend time with the venue to help them understand their system and how it functions once it’s been calibrated. Lastly L-Acoustics is dedicated to providing hands on training activities in workshops at WFX, FILO, Salt, Tech Inspires, InfoCOMM, NAMM, and many more.
Q: How would you advise houses of worship to approach future proofing?
A: The first rule of future proofing is to understand the difference between making an investment and filling a gap. If you are looking at your purchase as a way to fill only what your needs are today, you are essentially choosing a stop gap and you run the risk of having to replace your system sooner, as your needs overtake your system capabilities. L-Acoustics is committed to releasing products that have staying power - just look at the amount of V-DOSC still in use around the world - that also can be upgraded or modified during their life span with electronic upgrades via firmware. Anticipating your congregations needs helps you to choose a system that’s right for you today, but that can expand with your as your needs grow.
Q: Is there a competitive advantage that L-Acoustics offers to churches?
A: Besides offering the highest cost versus performance ratio on the market, I speak a lot about L-Acoustics being reference quality. This means that what you put in is what you get out. Not a version of what was put in but truly reference monitor quality. This quality challenges musicians to perform at their best. Personally, I believe that audio is a key tool that is pushing the church to be on the forefront of creativity and arts. In biblical times the church defined Art with a capital A. I’m passionate about helping the church be at the forefront of today’s performance art, and I believe L-Acoustics loudspeakers are a crucial part of that.
Q: What do you want churches to remember about the L-Acoustics brand?
A: We no longer function in an industry of Chevy vs Cadillac systems, or good, better, best. There are a lot of good systems out there and it’s crucial that the sound deployment aligns with the vision of the ministry. L-Acoustics products will help elevate the worship experience and help clearly reproduce what is happening from stage - spoken word and music alike. The absolute most important thing happening in AV today is that your message can be clearly heard and understood, and that message is driven by audio. It’s the direct connection from worship team to worshipper.
