Long associated with the printing and newspaper industries, St. Bride's today stages a wide variety of events - from normal Sunday worship to lunchtime concerts, weddings, conferences, editors' forums, lectures and memorial services.
The broadening nature of the programme meant that serious limitations were being exposed in the existing public address system, and broadcast/multimedia specialists, Interactive View, have specified the replacement of the old sound rig with 16 discrete, ultra-compact Martin Audio AQ6 loudspeakers, as part of an overall package. These are powered by three Martin Audio MA900 amplifiers and optimised using Allen & Heath DSP.
The AQ6 is a two-way passive trapezoidal speaker with a 6.5in. long-throw LF driver and a 1" horn-loaded dome HF driver, with the vented enclosure ensuring extended bass response. It is the perfect solution for St. Bride's.
The church's administrator, James Irving, explains the background to the refit. "The first system we had in the early 1970's, was for preacher reinforcement, using fixed point and lapel mics, but this was unsuitable for anyone not used to public speaking.
"In 1995 this was upgraded to a wireless system, although the existing cable was re-used. It was much improved but still had limitations - and last year, when a mic gave up during a high-profile service, we realised something had to be done." The church already had a relationship with Interactive View. "We had been impressed with them, and so we brought them in to advise."
Refusing the temptation to try and get the system in before Christmas, the system integrators, working alongside an IT and sound specialist who was on the church's board of trustees, put together a more elaborate solution. This included a Sharp 20in video monitor, Panasonic DVD recording and broadcast facilities for media streaming to the web, with a single fixed camera point - all under AMX master control. To facilitate this, a new CAT5 cabling infrastructure was required.
"We wanted to take this opportunity to look to the future," said James, "and to be able to relay what we're doing beyond the church. We have also provided a bit of headroom for the choir in the shape of some boundary mics."
In particular, St. Bride's administrator is delighted with the sensitivity with which Interactive View have treated the mounting of the AQ6's in the Grade I-listed building.
"There is a lot of oak panelling and they have been able to work within the dovetails to ensure that nothing is protruding and the speakers are angled correctly. Aesthetically they are superb - we have used grey AQ6's where they are abutting the stonework and black everywhere else."
He confirmed that the work had been funded by a private donation from a member of the congregation. "It had become top priority and I must say it's a dramatic improvement. The first time we used the Martin system at a Sunday service everyone said how much they noticed the difference. Now guest speakers can be heard by everyone - whether they are professional or not."
(Chris Henry)
