South Main Baptist Church upgrades to digital desks
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: South Main Baptist Church (SMBC) in Houston, USA, has replaced its old analogue desk with two Soundcraft Si Performer 3 consoles. The equipment was purchased through Hairel Sound Enterprises.
‘Our old analogue broadcast and sanctuary mixers started to show their age just as we hired our new music minister, Dr Carey Cannon,’ said Douglas Robertson, owner of Citizen Doug Productions, who provided design, installation and training of the desks. ‘The recordings of his first Christmas services inspired generous gifts towards new replacement mixers with recording capability. I recommended that we go with the Soundcraft Performer 3, Compact Stagebox with Madi, and Dante cards to connect the mixers and provide multi-track recording support.
Church services normally include congregational hymns accompanied by a pipe organ and 70-person choir, as well as guest performances. Mr Robinson installed one of Performer 3’s consoles at FOH position in the balcony, and the other in the broadcasting room in the basement.
‘We looked at mixers in all price ranges,’ said Mr Robertson. ‘Only Soundcraft had the card slots we needed and word clock combined with FaderGlow and the flexible channel programming with LED scribble strips. These were important features for our all-volunteer operators.’
Many of the volunteers at the church only had experience with using analogue desks. ‘The Soundcraft Si Performer 3’s interface is so intuitive that we had them mixing to air immediately,’ added Mr Robertson. ‘We tape delay our broadcasts, stream live, and have an active social media effort.’