Radiant Church Chooses Allen & Heath iLive

Unique application of iLive’s EtherSound interface allows the Radiant Church to train volunteer engineers by mixing pre-recorded rehearsals

When Radiant Church in Colorado Springs decided to upgrade their mixing console, Worship & Media Pastor Dustin Guthrie was charged with making sure the church got the most out of its investment. For the main campus, Rutledge recommended the Allen & Heath iLive-144. The system accepts 48 inputs from the stage through the system’s iDR10 mix rack, with 16 additional channels inserted from the mixing surface itself for a total of 64 inputs. An Aviom output card in the mix rack handles the 16 channels flowing through the personal monitor system. The final slot in the iDR10 is the iLive’s EtherSound card, which proved to be a key element in the system design.

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“We run several different bands in both contemporary and blended worship styles, so we knew we wanted to go digital,” notes Guthrie. “Having the ability to save scenes and recall them on the fly makes a huge difference for us.” Dustin wanted to do training by recording services on individual tracks, and allowing the volunteers to train by mixing the playback of the services during the week while the church is empty, an idea that Rutledge strongly endorses. To do this via the iLive, its EtherSound module was connected to a personal computer via a Digigram LX6464ES computer sound card. “It allows them to do 64 tracks of recording, then use the playback as a virtual service so the volunteers can mix it exactly as it happened,” notes Rutledge. “When they open the satellite church, all their engineers will be fully trained and ready to go.”

For services, the console supports mixing subgroups via DCAs on the top layer, including groups for drums, vocals and guitars. “We set up initially and showed them how it works,” says Rutledge. “They’ve taken it from there and made it their own.”

Three main outputs go to the sanctuary’s left-center-right speaker system via BSS SoundWeb processing, while Aux outputs carry the mix to the choir monitor, one stage monitor and subwoofers. The 16 primary monitor sends are sent out via the iLive’s Aviom module.

For the new satellite location, Worship Resources specified an iLive T-112 console. “It was really the price point of the T Series that made this all possible,” explains Tom Rutledge. “Besides the training aspect, the T Series will help save setup time for them. A single Cat5 cable replaces the microphone snake, and there’s no need for an outboard effects rack. Plus they’ll be able to transfer settings saved at rehearsal with a USB drive, so it’s as close to plug-and-play as you can get.”

While several other consoles were considered, Dustin Guthrie kept coming back to the iLive as the logical choice for Radiant Church. “Having used it for several weeks now, I can say that the iLive really meets our needs without compromises,” he states. “Having all that DSP on board with the ability to save settings gives us a lot more control over the sound of each instrument. Even though we didn’t change the speakers, there’s been a huge improvement in our sound quality. It’s also very intuitive to learn, and with our recording setup, the training aspect is handled. It’s made a world of difference.”

Source: Technologies for Worship Magazine

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