ATLANTA — For nearly a decade, The Catalyst Conference has been inspiring and guiding the next generation of church leaders. From 1,500 attendees in its first year, the annual event has grown, and a capacity crowd of over 13,000 packed the Gwinnett Arena for this year’s two-day event.
Dustin Whitt mixed FOH for over a dozen bands in those two days, relying on four Sennheiser SKM 2000 wireless vocal mics, 10 Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G3 wireless personal monitors and a Sennheiser evolution 900 Series drum mic kit with MKH 8040s for overheads.
Whitt is the audio director at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, the nation’s third largest church. He’s also co-founder of OwnTheMix.com, an online audio training solution for the modern church. The Sennheiser SKM 2000 advances the RF leader’s technology to deliver auto-tuning capability and ever-more robust RF performance. “Having previously demoed a 2000 system, I fully expected that the SKM 2000 would be the perfect tool for this job,” said Whitt.
“What I didn’t expect,” he added, “was to be so completely blown away by the MMK 965 condenser capsule. It seems to punch through a mix in the most pleasing way. It’s not harsh or painful in the least, but rather a perfect blend of clarity, presence and warmth.” Whitt noted that vocalists seldom get too excited about the gear they have to use, and their banter is usually about new bands or their favorite TV shows. But with four SKM 2000s with 965 capsules on stage, and over a dozen acts getting to use them, it was all the buzz.
Sennheiser wired and wireless technology was used throughout the stage. Except the drummer, everyone used Sennheiser ew 300 IEM G3. For his preferred drum sound, Whitt used Sennheiser e 901, e 902, and e 904 for close miking and Sennheiser MKH 8040 cardioid condensers for overheads.
“I used to mix-and-match my drum mics,” explained Whitt. “But ever since I went with the full Sennheiser package, everything sits together better. The mics are complementary in a way that makes the whole system work together with minimal tweaking.”
Whitt and his business partner, Chris Green, frequently recommend Sennheiser microphones and RF technology on OwnTheMix.com. “I always feel that Sennheiser mics and RF technology offer a lot of professionalism at a semi-pro price,” added Witt. “The sound quality is excellent and the RF reliability is unmatched.”
For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com.
