Dave Marks of Hempfield UMC's Youth Technical Ministry explains: "We needed a system that could be turned on and operated without technical assistance and that would meet the rigorous needs of our youth program, we contacted Dale Shirk of Shirk Audio, who had helped us with previous projects. Dale presented us with a design using an Allen & Heath iDR DSP for the aerobics and simple meeting events and an Allen & Heath GL2200-24 for the youth programs."
The audio system must handle a variety of events during the course of a day. "The room is used as a play area for the church's day care, a Sunday morning children's ministry, and a Sunday evening youth ministry featuring live bands, multimedia, and worship," says Marks. "During the week there are aerobics classes held in the room and it is also used as a meeting and wedding reception hall."
Allen & Heath's iDR DSP audio system may be custom configured from a range of hardware units, wallplates and remote controllers, and is controlled using iDR system manager software. The iDR integrates via Cat 5 cable with a variety of wall plate controllers using the company's PL-Anet RS485 serial network. According to Marks, the simplicity of operation has made the iDR an instant hit. "The iDR remote touch panel and volume control with LED indicators is extremely easy to use. Dale programmed three settings into the DSP. Two settings control the aerobics instructor's wireless microphone and the CD player, with an added 10dB boost at 30Hz to really push that bass beat. The aerobics instructors just plug in their CD player, wireless mic, and go. The third setting is the auto mic setting. Dale designated four mic inputs in the floor boxes for the iDR. Now anyone can walk in, plug in a mic, and conduct a meeting."
"There is a PL-4 wall plate that is set to control the automated mics as a group to a defined level," elaborates Shirk, "Starting at a nominal level, they have the ability to turn it up or down 4 or 5dB. Then there's a volume control for the aerobics music and a volume control for the aerobic instructor's mic."
Shirk supplied an Allen & Heath GL2200 to handle the church's various Ministry programs. Marks observes: "We can go from several inputs for CD playback and singing for the children's ministry to all 24 channels for a live band in minutes. The GL2200's layout makes it easy for our youth to understand signal flow and create mixes." Shirk also installed Frazier CAT 59 main speakers with Electro-Voice EVID 6.2 in-fills, and custom-built a subwoofer into the room's former organ chamber, with QSC CX Series amplification throughout. Shirk notes: "Combined with the iDR, it results in a streamlined system, when it's all inside DSP the system basically has three components - the console, DSP and a stack of amplifiers."
Marks reports that the entire refit has been a huge hit. "The sound quality is a huge step up from our previous system, thanks to Allen & Heath, and system design by Shirk Audio. Now we have a room that can accommodate a children's program in the morning, aerobics in the afternoon, and a live band in the evening."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
