Brisbane Sound Group equips three churches with Yamaha

BSG sales specialist Rosh Bellen’s experience in the worship community has equipped him with some great insights into the needs of a contemporary congregation. ‘Establishing what style of worship they have is important – do they need full range or is it just speech?’  He also sees a big variation in the kinds of spaces that are being used for worship. ‘More and more churches are moving into industrial areas to get the size of auditoria they need at a reasonable price. It takes a consultation process to determine what the church needs. For example, are they going to only fill half the space half the time?  Do they need a delay ring they can switch on and off?’

CityNet Christain Outreach Centre in Beenleigh has been loyal BSG customers for more than 10 years.  Like many vigorous young churches, its congregation is expanding as well as embracing a more contemporary style of worship.  The church’s existing combination of simple 12-inch and horn loudspeakers deployed for speech reinforcement were not delivering the performance required for a contemporary, music-driven service.

Mr Bellen arranged an on-site demonstration of Yamaha Installation Series speakers, which was so successful that the church now boasts an Installation Series FOH system with integrated digital mixer. The system consists of two IF2112AS FOH left and right supplemented by an IS1218 dual 18-inch mono sub. Four IF2205 dual 5-inch fill speakers are also in use along with an LS9-32 digital mixing desk.

‘The Yamaha Installation Series really impress me; they look good and sound fantastic,’ said Mr Bellen. ‘When I heard them for the first time and checked the price, I was pleasantly surprised – I thought a speaker that sounded so good would be a lot more expensive.’

Bridgeman Downs Christian Outreach Centre was rapidly outgrowing its existing FOH speaker system – a small collection of Yamaha MSR400 powered speakers. A newer generation was coming into its own on the worship music team and along with them was coming a requirement for a full-range PA with greater flexibility. 

The system now incorporates four of the largest units in the Installation Series – the IF3115 three-way.  These are complemented by four IS118 18-inch subwoofers and two IF2108 single 8-inch as foldback, driven by a combination of PC-N and P Series amplifiers. Processing duties are handled by the SP2060.

Bridgeman COC music director Condy Canuto speaks highly of BSG’s customer service. ‘BSG always go the extra mile for me and our relationship exceeds that of a business relationship; it feels a lot more personal,’ said Mr Canuto. ‘BSG understands church sound and that we have different requirements than bands playing in pubs.’

As the system is driven by a Yamaha O2R96V2 digital mixer, the signal path is Yamaha from input to output. ‘While the Yamaha brand is very recognisable and is well received by clients, the most important thing is that it just works; you can rely on it to be working week after week,’ add Mr Bellen. ‘If you’re an installer, you don’t want to be going back constantly fixing problems.’

Completing the list, Mr Bellen decided to install an integrated Yamaha system in his own church, Metro Church in New Farm. Functioning as a house of worship on Sundays and as a multipurpose venue open to the broader community during the week, the system needed to be clean, intelligible and suitable for a wide variety of material. 

Mr Bellen chose four IF2112AS 12-inch with asymmetrical horn, complemented by two IS1218 dual 18-inch subs, all driven by PC-N Series amps. Monitor duties are handled by eight MSR400 powered speakers. An LS9-32 digital mixer provides a mixing solution configurable for any level of skill. ‘We’ve had lots of very positive comments,’ said Mr Bellen, ‘and the pastoral staff are thrilled.’

www.yamahaproaudio.com