Yamaha M7CL for UKs New Testament Church Of God
Published: WORSHIP
UK: Handsworth’s New Testament Church of God has opened a brand new, £5.2m building with ultra-modern facilities installed throughout.
Installed by Birmingham-based Cloud One Group, the audio system is comprised of a Yamaha M7CL-48, a Nexo GeoS PA with S8 and S12 cabinets and Martin Audio wedge monitors. System control is by Symetrix’s SymNet, with a touch control panel installed at the side of the M7CL.
‘The church needed a system that was modern, but easy enough for the volunteer technical team to use,’ says New Testament Church of God audio engineer Rowen Spence. ‘It also had to be rider-friendly, because the building is also used for other functions. It needed to be a console that someone coming in from outside could use fairly easily.’
Currently the M7CL is used for mixing both front of house and monitors, but with an eye to the future a monitors split has been included onstage to allow the subsequent purchase of a dedicated monitor console, if required. Different scenes are programmed on the console for different services. The ‘standard’ praise service features a live band and the worship team whereas, for example, a midweek funeral requires a more minimalist approach.
‘One advantage of the console is that we can tweak an existing scene for a particular requirement and then save that as a new scene for when we need the system set up like that again,’ adds Spence. ‘And it’s extremely useful that incoming engineers who are using the system for other functions can programme their shows offline and load them, via a USB stick, in seconds. We can then, of course, instantly recall our own settings afterwards.’
Located at the spot where Aston Villa Football Club was founded in 1874, the new building has 21st Century energy saving features as well as cutting edge lighting and sound systems. Rowen Spence is also a member of the congregation.