Hillsong extension opts for Yamaha
Published: WORSHIP
AUSTRALIA: Hillsong Church’s Greater West extension service has recently changed its audio system to an integrated Yamaha PA system featuring the manufacturer’s Installation Series speakers.
Hillsong Greater West is one of 12 extension services run outside of the main Baulkham Hills campus of Hillsong Church. Every Sunday the site runs two morning services. Steve Le Roux, Hillsong’s Technical Facilities Manager, was tasked with finding a PA solution that could not only deliver the quality and coverage that Hillsong needed, but also be secure and flexible.
‘When I first looked at a solution for this venue, I wondered “How can I get all the power and coverage it needs and still have something that is plug-and-play?”, recalled Mr Le Roux. ‘The biggest priorities we had were even front-to-back coverage and the security of the system - we needed the processor to be locked-out for most operators.’
To meet this challenge, Mr Le Roux opted for a combination of a Yamaha LS9-32 digital mixer and digital multicore connected directly via Cat-5 to the DME8o-ES processor. This enabled one Cat-5 to run between FOH and stageboxes, and a short Cat-5 patch between the stageboxes and the DME processor.
‘Running one Cat-5 cable from front of house down to the stageboxes makes it really quick,’ said Luke Fairbairn, Technical Director at Greater West. ‘And one of the big things with the DME is that it also means a really easy set-up for us.’
The next stage for the Greater West team was the speaker system. For this it opted for Yamaha’s Installation Series. ‘I had heard some very positive comments about the Installation Series from respected audio consultants, and when I heard them I wasn’t disappointed,’ stated Mr Le Roux. ‘In the end, I was excited about the way the whole system came together.’
The system at the extension consists of two IF2115/95 15s with 60x40 horn underhung with two IF2112/95 12s with 90x50 horn. Two IS125 dual 15-inch subs provide the bottom, and the whole rig is powered by T5n power amplifiers.
Mr Fairbairn can see the benefit of rolling out an integrated solution such as this for similar congregations; ‘Hillsong has 12 extension services and most have to bump-in within an hour,’ he explained. ‘To do that, a system like this is perfect. That’s appealing to a lot of the services – they can set up a PA really fast and know it’s done well.’