HOUSTON – Clint Collins, media director at Houston Northwest Church, said the 2,000 members of the Baptist church have been benefiting from the decision to move from an analog console to a new Soundcraft Si3 digital live sound console.
"We needed a new console because our old one was past the 10 year mark and showing its age," said Collins. "It was a 48-channel console and I had every channel taken up with a need for more room to expand. With the old analog configuration I had to have three full racks of outboard EQs, compressors, limiters and other gear, and our patch bay was over 25 bays long. We were long overdue for an upgrade."
Collins needed a console that could handle the requirements of an HNW service, with music that can range from hymns and gospel to rock and country.
"I run six wireless mics in addition to 10 ensemble mics, five choir mics and four wired solo mics. Our band configuration is 12 channels of drum mics, two electric and two acoustic guitars, bass, three keyboard players, percussion and sometimes even a brass section.
"I looked into various digital consoles and kept coming back to the Soundcraft Si3," Collins added. "I have been an analog guy pretty much my whole engineering life, although I'm also a certified Pro Tools engineer, so being used to using nothing but analog desks and analog outboard gear, I needed something that would allow me to make the transition into the live digital world as quickly and easily as possible. I have never liked ‘banking' through layers of parameters or searching for the source I am trying to mix quickly. My band often requires me to make changes on the spot and major changes between songs.
"I needed a console that would, although digital, still have a fairly large footprint in order to make access to priority channels a breeze," Collins continued. "The Si3 allows me to make multiple changes quickly and easily. Another advantage is that so many features are built right into the console, including all the onboard compression and limiting, reverb and time-based effects, and input/output virtual patching. All this allowed me to put my patch bay and outboard racks on a serious diet! It's now so much easier to recall setting for various songs and multiple services.
"I love the quality of the sound and the onboard effects," Collins added. "The compressors sound great and the Lexicon effects are a tremendous step up from our previous time-based units. Also, I need to have the option to gate any channel across the instrument spectrum and the Si3 allows me to do this."
Collins also credited the Si3 for its value. "Our church, like many others in today's economy, was under pressure to keep the budget for the upgrade as low as possible and make the most out of what we spent. The Si3 gave us a tremendous amount of features and room for expansion at a fraction of the cost of other digital consoles. Basically, the Si3 was my bridge into the digital mixing world and I would not have been able to do it if the Si3 didn't offer so much for the money." Ease of use was another factor. "I am extremely pleased with how easy it has been to set up, configure and learn the functionality of the Si3 in a very small amount of time."
The Soundcraft Si3 features a Virtual Channel Strip above each fader, with rotary encoders that change function according to the mode selected, providing ready access to key parameters. The console also offers an array of connectivity and configuration options that includes 64 mic inputs, four stereo inputs, 24 bus outputs, four independent Lexicon processors and more.
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