New Life turns to Soundcraft
Published: WORSHIP
MALAYSIA: Petaling Jaya-based The New Life Restoration Centre recently installed a Harman Soundcraft Si Compact 32 digital mixing console at its group headquarters. The city provides the hub of the New Life Group of Churches – an independent church founded in Malaysia over 30 years ago.
The church in Petaling Jaya serves two distinct congregations – one English speaking, the other Mandarin. For the English-speaking congregation, the church conducts two Sunday services with around 450 people attending each service. While around 400 members of the congregation are welcomed to the Chinese service.
According to New Life’s media executive Vince Seah, the Soundcraft desk is central to the new technical setup, as a series of source feeds need to be mixed, including the pastor mic, live and recorded music.
Mr Seah said that after 20 years working with its trusty analogue desk, it was time to upgrade. ‘For our sound engineers to mix three live worship sessions, with three different groups of musicians in a single weekend was just too much for the old desk to take,’ he explained. ‘We were taking hours to sound check and sometimes had to forego this entirely, which often ended up with bad mixing.’
The church was recommended the Soundcraft solution by local dealers AVF Trading. ‘After several meetings, they convinced us that the Soundcraft Si Compact 32 would solve our problems, based on the quality of the product, Soundcraft’s excellent reputation and good after sales support,’ noted Mr Seah.
Vince Seah confirmed that all 32 channels and eight auxes were currently being used, adding that New Life had immediately recognised the advantages of the Si Compact 32. In particular, he highlighted a number of features, including the multi presets, motorised faders, generous aux and bus capacity, quick response, recallable show settings and compact footprint.
‘The Si Compact 32 has been an excellent purchase and represents good value for money within the budget,’ concluded Mr Seah. ‘As our first digital mixer it is providing us with a lot more than we anticipated and will enable our technicians to improve their abilities and indulge in more creative mixing.’