This spring, CCC was asked to provide a two-hour special to air around the globe on the world's largest religious network, Trinity Broadcasting Network. As the church does not typically produce television shows, they brought in Steve Simmons of Concentric Seminars and Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia, to mix the event. Simmons selected an Innovason Sy80 digital mixing console as his weapon of choice to handle the broadcast audio.
"When I heard that the show would require me to mix 81 inputs and 26 outputs, 24 of which were multi-tracks, I more or less insisted on having an Sy80," commented Simmons. "Innovason consoles are designed from the ground up to make it easy for one engineer to mix a large number of inputs easily and without the need for layers due to their innovative concept of expansion zones (dubbed "X-FAD" technology). In addition, Innovason's any fader can be anything' architecture means that the console molds to the unique requirements of each show rather than forcing the engineer to work around the limitations of a console. This means I have unlimited flexibility in terms of fader configuration and board layout. If the stage inputs change and I need another VCA or another output, I simply add what I need or remove what I don't. Try that with most digital consoles on the market."
Grammy award winning studio mixer, Tony Prendatt, (Lauryn Hill, Carlos Santana) was on site and responsible for monitoring the 24 sub-mixed feeds from the Sy80. While monitoring the feeds, he commented on how impressed he was with the sound of the mic preamps and the simplicity of the Innovason control surface. Once the 26 March show was completed, he remarked, "The church needs one of these consoles."
The show was the second most watched on the network for that day. Indeed, it was so successful that TBN asked CCC to record a second service to be aired around the world. Due to the success of the first event, CCC brought back Simmons and the Innovason Sy80 for the second event. During the days prior to the second taping, CCC experienced numerous gear failures, but the Sy80 performed without a glitch.
(Chris Henry)
