CUMMING, GA — First Redeemer Church has recently completed several technical upgrades to the audio system initiated by its creative arts director, Christian music producer and vocalist Eulises Canada. Among other changes, the chuch has replaced its wireless microphone systems with Sennheiser ew 165 G2 handheld microphone and ew 112 G2 lavalier transmitter/receiver systems. First Redeemer’s campus has two main buildings. The first contains a 2,000-seat sanctuary where an orchestra and a 200-voice choir deliver a blended service every weekend. Led by Pastor Dr. Richard Lee, that service is broadcast throughout the country via the “There’s Hope America” network. The second building has classrooms, student facilities, a family center and smaller auditoriums for youth band performances and other church functions.
“RF has always been an issue in the church market,” said Canada. “In my professional career, I transitioned away from a competing manufacturer to Sennheiser for all of my wireless applications… and many of my wired applications too. I found that with other brands, it was only possible to manipulate frequency structure on the high-end products, and even then it was difficult. I felt like I had to learn all the bands and all the frequencies that go with each band. With Sennheiser, it’s easy on both their entry-level and high-end lines. I just look at the frequency band within the selector and pick a different frequency.”
Following Canada’s direction, the church now has 25 Sennheiser wireless channels split between the ew 112 G2 lavaliers and the ew 165 G2 handhelds. Most of the systems serve the main sanctuary, but others reside with the youth band and the classrooms. Canada coordinated their frequencies by first finding an open channel for one system and then using the “auto search” feature for the remaining systems. They’ve remained solid ever since, even amid the RF chaos of nearby Atlanta.
Mindful of the need to spend the church’s money wisely, Canada was pleased to find out that the transmitters and receivers on the ew 112 G2 and ew 165 G2 systems complement each other, letting him mix and match components to suit the needs of a particular program or service without any additional investment.
Canada also credited the Sennheiser systems for the sound they produce. “The 865 super-cardioid condenser capsule does a great job at bending to the faults of a weak singer so they come off sounding better, perhaps, than they really are,” he said. “At the same time, strong singers sound exceptional even with very little processing.” When he needs to, Canada switches out the stock 865 capsule for Sennheiser capsules with different polar patterns or frequency responses.
Canada’s other large purchase was a Digidesign Venue console to wrestle 96 inputs from stage and interface them with a Pro Tools system capable of recording or playing 120 channels. By recording every channel, the Venue gives him the chance to do “virtual sound check” between services. As the budget allows, Canada plans to replace almost all of the wired microphones on stage that currently capture the orchestra. “I currently have Neumann KM 183 and KM 184s for the choir, strings, and brass,” he said, “and they’re going to stay. But I’d like to replace the rest with high-end orchestral mics from Sennheiser and Neumann to get the sort of classic sound that we don’t quite have right now.”
So far, services have gone smoothly for Canada and his team of volunteers. The next big challenge will be First Redeemer’s ambitious Christmas program. “It’s not your average Christmas production,” Canada said. The program will repeat three nights and will call to the stage every piece of gear owned by the church, including all 25 Sennheiser wireless channels.
For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com.
