LOS ANGELES, CA — Second Baptist Church is one of the oldest churches in Los Angeles, and Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke from its pulpit. It has been equipped with Aviom’s Pro64 digital snake and Pro16 personal mixers by Audio Production and Design Services, LLC. “Second Baptist Church was using the same system that was installed probably 15 or 16 years ago, and it was not operating the way the church wanted it to,” said Rick Boot, contractor and systems designer with Audio Production and Design Services.
“Acoustically, the church is a very challenging space. Although it’s small, it’s very live,” Boot added. “The system that was in there wasn’t adequate, and getting pristine live sound in the sanctuary itself for the services, as well as for other distributed areas in the church was becoming more difficult.
“The Aviom digital snake with the personal mixing systems has cleared up many of the problems. Although a large following comes to church on Sundays, a considerably larger following—around 40,000 to 60,000 people in the LA area—listen to it on the radio. The addition of the Aviom system has made a big difference with our live radio mix as well.”
Boot was familiar with Aviom before beginning work on the SBCLA upgrade, having previously used the personal mixing system in a number of theatrical events. Boot specified the Pro64 system for the audio connectivity in SBCLA after hearing the sound quality and seeing the simplicity and flexibility first-hand.
“Whether you’re using the personal mixers or the digital snake for a broadcast feed, something very important to mention is that the church is dealing with volunteers and people that are not really audio engineers,” Boot noted. “Basically with the Aviom equipment, we’re making everything as simple as possible and still getting a very high quality audio output.”
The Pro64 snake gives SBCLA the flexibility it needs to integrate both its current systems and its planned expansion. The system uses two 6416Y2 A-Net cards installed in the church’s 48-channel Yamaha digital console at front of house, fed by two 6416m Mic Input Modules located on stage with one handling voice and one handling instruments for 32 inputs.
The audio coming into the console via the Pro64 digital snake is then split and sent to the additional 16 channels on the 48-channel Yamaha board to be used for the radio mix. Typically, the vocal channels receive additional processing and EQ to tailor the signal for radio, while the instruments are sub-mixed into the radio feed.
One 6416Y2 A-Net card also provides the feed for the church’s A-16II Personal Mixers through an Aviom ASI Pro64 to Pro 16 interface and A-16D A-Net Distributor. The other 6416Y2 card also sends mix outputs to the stage and the amp rooms to one of the church’s two 6416o Output Modules. From there the audio is distributed to the additional monitors on stage, the center PA speakers in the church as well as the speakers in the sanctuary’s balcony.
While radio broadcasts are an important element of SBCLA’s current programs, the church plans to add a TV broadcast as well as DVD capabilities. The Pro64 system will be used to provide audio to these new facilities as well using the second 6416o module once the expansion to television broadcast is complete.
“The Pro64 digital snake allows us to split everything two, three different ways without any copper,” said Boot. “Having the ability to just plug in another console and get a monitor split or a broadcast split was very appealing. The key to the system is the combination of performance and simplicity.
“Those who are running the system don’t have to deal with a lot of gear or have an in-depth understanding of it so basically it’s a set-and-forget kind of thing,” Boot added. “The Aviom system, along with the rest if the setup at Second Baptist Church, is very straightforward, very easy. We’re making it simple, and we’re still getting a very high quality.”
For more information, please visit www.aviom.com.
