The brief for SA Sound Services owner Steve Ashley was to come up with a compact and portable system that was easy to use and quick to setup. The reason for this specification was that Grace Church - who are without their own premises at the moment - are using a local school hall for their services. Therefore the AV - including a console, loudspeakers, digital snake, projector and screen - has to be stored away during the week and then brought out and setup by church members each weekend.
Supplied by Leisuretec Distribution, the Roland 32 channel M-200i was chosen as the digital mixing console for the system based on its compact design, comprehensive feature set and iPad control function. The M-200i is rack mounted into a flight case with the other components which makes it easy to store and 'roll out' when required. Also in the rack, a Roland S-1608 Digital Snake System (16 input x 8 output configuration) again fits the brief as a compact, rackmountable and portable audio snake solution.
The services at Grace Church can involve live music, speech and the use of a projection screen so the audio solution had to cater for set ups that varied in their complexity and in the 'hardware' required. The church members also vary in their technical ability so the console needed to be intuitive and operable at the 'touch of a button'.
With the possibility of a different band playing each week or several in the same week, the members did not want to spend time at each service being 'audio engineers'. To simplify the setting up for each scenario, the 'Recall' function of the M-200i allows all of the individual settings for each band to be stored and then recalled easily 'at the touch of a button'.
Previously, the church were using an analog system which not only took a long time to setup but also proved to be technically difficult especially if there was a problem. The new fully digital system means that setting up is 'plug in and play' and doesn't require a great amount of technical knowledge.
The use of an iPad as the control element of the M-200i also gave the church members the confidence of operating the system using a familiar interface.
Commenting on the choice of the Roland M-200i, Steve Ashley said, "With several consoles to choose from the Roland M-200i came out on top as it had more than enough features and fitted the brief, but also importantly was within budget."
(Jim Evans)
