Dealing with a sound system that wasn't actually designed for your space is a frustrating problem. And this was the situation that First Baptist Church (FBC) of Decatur's director of technical ministries, Doug Collingsworth, dealt with every week at the Alabama church.
Collingsworth began his relationship with FBC Decatur as a contract production manager and front of house (FOH) engineer for special events. Eventually this service role turned into a salaried staff position supporting all technical production areas of the church. “I knew the system needed to be redesigned and replaced from my first time in that room,” Collingsworth states.
The church's system left some of the 1,100 seats with no sound coverage, lacked clarity in vocals and choir, and simply wasn't designed for the wide range of musical styles the church needed to support. “Our services and events range from traditional choir and orchestra for two Sunday morning services, through rock ‘n roll bands for special events—and everything in between. Versatility has always been key,” says Collingsworth. And versatility is precisely what they didn't have.
So, when equipment failure compounded the problems with the inadequate sound system, the church decided it was high time to move forward with a complete audio system replacement.
With years of experience working in audio for a live event production company, Collingsworth worked towards plans for a new sound system over a period of time. However, the traditional architecture of the church facility posed a challenge: the installed loudspeaker system needed to be small enough not to detract from the natural beauty of the exposed wood beams and ceiling, yet still provide excellent sonic quality and even sound coverage.
Collingsworth and Seth Daniel of Icon Live Technologies in Muscle Shoals, Ala., spent many hours discussing sound system options without finding the solution they desired. But when Meyer Sound introduced its new Mina line array cabinets, it was clear to them that this was the cabinet for their venue. “The Meyer team brought down a Mina demo for the church and it blew them away sonically,” Daniel recalls.
System design
In tackling the new system design, there was one key over-riding goal. “My first priority in designing this audio system was the spoken word,” says Collingsworth. “A worship leader friend once put it to me best: ‘People come here to hear and to see.'”
Collingsworth tackled the system design himself, with mentors from his touring career providing input—along with some help from the former sound system as well. “Those years of frustration ended up being great insight into the real needs of the church. I was able to design a system to meet the daily needs of the church, through the experience of working within the limitations of the former system,” Collingsworth reports. “Steve Bush at Meyer Sound was also instrumental in helping turn my vision and knowledge of the building's structural and aesthetic limitations into a loudspeaker system design that accomplished all of my goals.”
The goal of Collingsworth's design was a system where the sound coverage was consistent throughout the seating area, while keeping sound off the walls to reduce unwanted sound reflections that reduce intelligibility. Quality monitoring for the musicians on stage was also important. But Collinsworth really wanted a solid foundation for future growth—an aspect that emphasizes the stewardship elements of the new sound system, because a system that must be replaced when expansion is needed is oftentimes a poor use of God's resources.
The finalized design provided for an all-Meyer loudspeaker system. Two line arrays, each consisting of eight Mina cabinets flown under a 500-HP compact high-power subwoofer, are flown left and right of the platform. Additional Mina cabinets provide front- and under-balcony fill, and Meyer UP Juniors and UPJ-1P cabinets provide balcony and side fills.
To support rock ‘n roll-type events, Meyer 650-P subwoofers can be brought out and added to the mix. These subwoofers are fed via an aux send from the console, enabling the FOH engineer to choose which inputs are directed to the subs, and to control the level of utilization for these subwoofers for any given event.
A Meyer Galileo 616 loudspeaker management system handles signal distribution and processing for the loudspeakers.
For FOH, Collingsworth selected the Digico SD8 console after numerous discussions with Daniel over the options available. “The customer service thing was big for us,” Daniel says. “Anytime I pick up the phone and call Matt Larson, sales manager at Digico, he's always there to help.”
For monitoring, PSM 900 in-ear wireless monitors were selected for the church's mobile musicians. “My biggest design challenge was a monitor system for the choir,” comments Collingsworth. “There really isn't a good place for a loudspeaker system. I ended up making a custom mount for the Meyer MM4-XP miniature loudspeaker and mounting them to our Audix MicroBoom choir mics.”
For microphones, Daniel recommended that the church try the Sennheiser EW500 wireless system. “[Collingsworth] became a huge fan of the 965 capsule, which is switchable between cardioid and super-cardioid pickup patterns,” states Daniel. “I have always been a Sennheiser fan—we [tend to have] great luck with the product.”
Installation issues
“Icon Live was chosen as the contractor because of [its] long relationship with the church,” says Collingsworth, “as well as [its] close proximity.” And Daniel adds, “Doug Collingsworth and I have worked together on many projects prior to this installation. They also wanted someone who is close enough to be available for service and support.”
In the 1970s, when the church was constructed, audio, video and lighting design was not something architects generally thought about for houses of worship. “The biggest challenge in this project was installing a modern audio system into a structure not designed for it,” Daniel says. “We needed a lot of engineering approvals, and [we] created custom rigging to make it look like [the] speakers belonged in the space. I didn't want the PA to look like it was shoe-horned into the room with a bunch of exposed rigging. The church building is a beautiful space and we wanted to keep it that way. We created custom brackets for the beams and painted them to blend in.” Also, the original conduit was not installed properly, and much of it needed to be replaced.
For flexibility in how audio signals are routed through the sanctuary, a patch bay system was part of the installation. Six2 Inc. designed the custom patch panels and laid it out so that volunteers can patch inputs easily. “We couldn't be happier with how they turned out,” Daniel says.
No components of the old system were reused in the new system, but useful components were donated to a church that lost everything in the outbreak of tornados that hit the South last spring.
Other systems
Audio is the primary technical system at the church, but services and events are also supported by an ETC lighting system with Source Four fixtures lighting the platform, controlled by a Unison architectural system with sensor dimming.
The church plans on overhauling its video system in the next major technical overhaul. The current system includes two Sanyo 5,000-lumen projectors illuminating two 8x12-foot screens, with a 60-inch plasma monitor attached to the front of the balcony to provide confidence monitoring for the musicians. An FSR Compass System provides primary switching capabilities, and Renewed Vision ProPresenter is used for media.
Collingsworth is very pleased with the performance of the new sound system, and can't think of a thing that he would change. Icon Live is also happy with the results, and appreciates the opportunity to work with the church on the project.
“One of my favorite things about this system is its ability to handle anything that comes into the church,” Daniel comments. “The system handles Sunday worship (which is more traditional), but it also supports the concerts held on a regular basis and handles the rider requirements with ease.”
And he adds, “Anytime we can work with a church to install a system that meets their needs and is a great long- term investment, we get excited about that.”
