Nearly every church has one and knows there can be problems. Wireless mic systems can bring dropouts, poor battery life or just poor build quality to the life of a church tech. But Shure recently released a line of products designed for the same quality and stability found on professional tours and television broadcasts at an affordable price. As part of the Church Production Road Test User Experience, Bethel Church in Redding, California agreed to try out Shure’s new GLX-D+ Dual Band Digital Wireless Systems.
The Shure GLX-D+ Wireless Systems have received the Church Production Road Test Certification.
"And there is no menu, there's no buttons, there's nothing really to mess with...your pastor cannot mess this one up at all.” - Jesse Maitland, Bethel Church, Redding, Calif.
“The first experience I had with the product was a moment of crisis where we didn't have enough microphones and this had just come in the mail and we had zero time to do any kind of proper frequency management. And I think I literally just unboxed it and plugged it all in and it just worked,” says Bethel’s Live Broadcast Video Director Jesse Maitland.
Bethel’s known around the world for their heart for worship, and also known in the music and production industry for their huge sound and production quality. Maitland says one thing that’s really important for producing excellent services and events is good battery life on the mics – especially when using so many volunteers. “They're not thinking battery life all that often. They're concerned about the picture. And so, you want a microphone that just works that doesn't really need frequency management, that doesn't need a ton of battery maintenance or monitoring. And so having something like this microphone that just works, has an all-day battery life, really helps us deliver a good quality production.”
Both receivers have exceptional digital audio quality and even have a slot that functions as a battery charger.
The GLX-D+ System features new dual-band wireless Technology that provides reliable and consistent signal by automatically scanning both 2.4 and 5.8GHz bands and selecting the cleanest channel for more than double the bandwidth. Maitland says it also features rock-solid construction. “What's nice about this one is this antenna --- it is hard. It is not going to dangle, it's not going to break,” he enthuses. “That was actually a really big pro. And there is no menu, there's no buttons, there's nothing really to mess with except for a simple on and off. You flip it on and you have a brilliant LED and that's it. So, your pastor cannot mess this one up at all, and when he sits on it or drops it on the ground, you don't have to worry about him breaking it. So that's going to be a really big deal!”
Other parts of the GLX-D+ family are two receivers, the GLX-D4+, which is a tabletop receiver, and the GLX-D4R+, which is a half-rack mounted receiver. Both have exceptional digital audio quality and even have a slot that functions as a battery charger. Lastly, there is the GLX-D6+, which is the instrument version receiver. “It was bright, it was brilliant, high-resolution audio. It sounded really good,” concludes Maitland. “And my other concern was transmission, like what does the guitarist have to wear? And it's the same exact GLX-D1+ body pack with that same heavy-duty build quality. And so just strapping it on the strap of a guitar, that thing's going to hold up.”
To see Maitland’s story and learn more about Bethel’s experience with the Shure GLXD+ wireless system, watch this video.
