New PA for House of Worship

[KingRazor]

My church's old PA died years ago. Since then we've had to rely on our "mobile" PA that we use for retreats. The speakers sound clear, and the subwoofer we have helps support the bottom, but these speakers just don't have enough power.

We're looking at getting a $10k+ set of speakers, but we won't have that kind of budget for our sound department for quite some time.

In the meantime, we're using the two JBL mobile loudspeakers and a center speaker that was already there when we moved in to the building.

The center speaker really doesn't sound very good, but it's helpful to put the vocals in it to help fill in a little better.

Currently we have the two JBLs on either end of the stage sitting on stands and the center speaker is mounted to the ceiling above the center of the stage.

I think it would sound better if we had a pair of loudspeakers up where the center is now and just ditched the center speaker. I've been looking around at companies like QSC and it looks like they have speakers that could probably compete with what we have now that we could mount to the ceiling.

The reason we don't do that with the JBLs is that they feel pretty cheap, and we don't want anything falling apart and hurting anyone.

I think we definitely need higher quality speakers, but at the same time I don't think we have to spend $10k just to improve our sound, I really think getting a pair of speakers of equivalent quality to what we have now that we can mount in the ceiling would help even out the sound in the room. (It sounds different in the back of the room than it does in the front, and it's not a very far throw either)

I don't know, what do you guys think? I'll try to find out exactly what model of speakers we've got to show you what we're working with.

Edit: Pretty sure these are what we have: http://cn.jblpro.com/catalog/support...pe=3&docid=594

[testing1two]

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear but you really need to call in a consultant to evaluate the room including the acoustics, hanging points, and coverage requirements. I made my living for several years as an audio engineer fixing/replacing church systems because "one of our members knows a little about sound." You need a solid, step by step plan based on good data. Yes, it costs more but in the long run doing it right is always cheaper than doing it twice.

If you go to one of the large churches in your area I'm sure their tech supervisor would be happy to refer you to a reputable consultant/firm.

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by testing1two

I know this isn't the answer you want to hear but you really need to call in a consultant to evaluate the room including the acoustics, hanging points, and coverage requirements. I made my living for several years as an audio engineer fixing/replacing church systems because "one of our members knows a little about sound." You need a solid, step by step plan based on good data. Yes, it costs more but in the long run doing it right is always cheaper than doing it twice.

If you go to one of the large churches in your area I'm sure their tech supervisor would be happy to refer you to a reputable consultant/firm.

We know exactly who we would talk to if we had the money, but unfortunately, we don't. I was just looking to see if there was something that we could do in the meantime to improve our setup.

[testing1two]

There are so many variables that I wouldn't know where to begin. You don't really have the right speakers to fly a center cluster, especially if the goal is consistent SPL from front to back. Plus you would need to do load calculations to ensure your building can safely support the hanging weight.

What I can tell you is that 90% of churches I have worked in did not have proper acoustic treatment for live music. The proper combination of bass trapping, absorption, and diffusion will make everything sound better, although it will unmask the coverage gaps in your speaker system but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In my opinion it's a worthwhile place to start and makes mixing much easier and more consistent. It also significantly improves speech intelligibility.

However, this is probably the single most difficult thing to convince a church to do. And again, it takes a professional to take the necessary acoustic measurements and develop a treatment plan for the room (but once the plan is drawn up, the fabrication and installation is DIY friendly). Instead, many churches have blamed all their acoustic woes on the musicians and have trended towards amp-less, monitor-less stages with V-Drums in sealed drum rooms creating what ostensibly looks & sounds like "Rock Band: Church Edition."

[Ben Clarke]

Leave it. Let it be crap if that's what it is.

If you put a band-aid on it and the congregation notices an improvement, the will to spend the money to doit correctly may go up in smoke. When people complain they can't hear Pastor, just refer them to the collection plate or donation envelopes.

[WayneP]

Here’s a great article you might want to check out:

Why Churches Buy Three Sound Systems

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt


Administrator, Tobias Club
Pedulla Club #45
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

[KingRazor]

Well, with the building campaign we have going, we probably won't be looking into a new PA until 2015 or later. The fund for a new building takes precedence over new speakers. Guess until then we'll just have to stick with what we've got and make the best of it.

[BryanM]

Originally Posted by testing1two

I made my living for several years as an audio engineer fixing/replacing church systems because "one of our members knows a little about sound."

Not to hijack the thread but would you by chance be able to PM a young(ish) up and comer any advice on looking to get into that field? It's always been my dream to work as a sound consultant or acoustical engineer but from everything I've been told going to school for engineering would likely lead elsewhere. I did my undergrad in mathematics with a secondary in physics, so I understand the calculations that go into it.