First Alliance Church turns to Soundcraft
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: Calgary’s First Alliance Church has recently upgraded the sound system in its 75-year-old, 1,700-seat sanctuary. The size of its congregation, combined with the various styles of music and dynamic worship services, prompted technical director of environments Paul Nadeau-Bonilla to upgrade with a Soundcraft Vi6 digital console, installed by Sapphire Sound.
The Church hosts full orchestras, choirs and bands, on top of its annual Broadway-style Christmas musical. The Vi6 was reportedly chosen for its ability to accommodate and switch seamlessly between all types of productions with minimal setup times and clutter.
‘Before buying the Vi6, we researched flagship models from many other brands,' said Mr Nadeau-Bonilla. ‘From an ergonomic standpoint, the Vi6 is head and shoulders above all the other consoles. The intuitive layout and visual appearance drastically improves our workflow, and the onboard features are really easy to work with, unlike some of the confusing navigation on other digital consoles.’
‘The details in the layout of the Vi6 are amazing,’ added to Wayne Jeschke, associate of technical arts. ‘Someone can run wireless microphones and orchestra at the same time, while the Cue Advance buttons and Snapshots are readily available and well within reach. We wanted something as user-friendly and analogue-like as possible, and I believe the Vi6 hits the sweet spot. Even some of our non-technical engineers are able to work on it flawlessly.
‘We did not expect the sound to be this good,’ Mr Jeschke continued. ‘The difference in clarity from our older board is so great, that we get compliments from numerous untrained people all the time. The user-friendliness combined with a clean, natural sound makes the Vi6 an extraordinary console within its class. It blew us away.’