On Point Audio OPA 18" Self Powered Subwoofer

On Point Audio OPA-10 Active

The OPA-10 Active is designed for applications where small size, premium audio quality and high output capability are required. Thanks to its high built-in power, sophisticated digital processing, premium components and tour-grade enclosure, the OPA-10 Active out-sounds and out-powers much larger systems. You won’t believe the huge, well-balanced, wide-band sound that emanates from this system!

• Built-in class-D amplifier with 2,000 watts of total system power –
a 1,000 watt low-frequency amp and a 1,000 watt high-frequency amp
• Perfectly-matched power amps, digital processing and high-quality transducers
deliver high output capability with incredible sound quality
• 10-inch (254-mm) woofer with large-format 4-inch voice coil and neodymium magnet structure delivers the sound quality and output of larger drivers
• Tour-grade 13-ply 3/4-inch (18-mm) marine-grade birch trapezoidal plywood enclosure is
finished with PowerCoat™ and equipped with
full-faced steel grille, comfort-lift handles and metal pole mount.
• 10 x M10 
inserts are included for permanent installation or rigging
• Extraordinarily high acoustic output-to-size ratio

System Type: Powered 10-inch two-way full-range
Frequency Range (-10 dB): 60 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Frequency Response (-3 dB): 65 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Coverage Pattern (H x V): 90º x 40º rotatable
Total Power (Peak / Continuous): 2,000 / 1,000 watts
LF Power (Peak / Continuous): 1,000 / 500 watts
HF Power (Peak / Continuous): 1,000 / 500 watts
Crossover Frequency / Type: 1,600 Hz / Linkwitz-Riley
LF Driver: NP10N 10-inch
HF Driver: ND175 44.4 mm Titanium
Measured Max SPL (Peak / Continuous): 128 dB / 125 dB
Dimensions (H x W x D) inches: 22.2 x 11.4 x 14.57 in
Dimensions (H x W x D) mm: 565 x 290 x 370 mm
Enclosure Material: Marine-Grade 13-ply Birch
Net Weight: 55 lb / 25 kg
Suspension Accessories: Eye Bolt Kit-W (4 x stainless steel forged shoulder eyebolts); OPA-10-U U-Bracke

IMAG

IMAG (Image Magnification) has been a growing trend in today’s house of worship. I want to go over a few IMAG topics that will help you make good decisions when it comes to bringing IMAG into your Church.

Choosing to go IMAG
IMAG is an enhancment for larger rooms. This allows larger Churches the same intimacy that you have in smaller rooms. Some smaller Churches have made big mistakes going with IMAG when the room does not require it. The system becomes distracting and people think the money could have gone other places. This is not what you want after spending the money to install a IMAG.

Rule of thumb is that if your Churches futhest seat is around 80-90 feet from the stage you should look into IMAG. Also if there are harsh sitelines or areas where people cannot see.

IMAG Projector
There is a lot of opinion on what is better DLP or LCD. Fact is either one works for 90% of all Churches. Get the brightest lumen output your Church can afford and give it a good input.

One thing to consider is the projector processing delay. If any at all, the last thing you want is image delay.

IMAG Camera
Everyone is pushing HD however we still think SD is just fine for IMAG. It’s funny…most people going HD go out and buy a 1/2, 1/3, or even a 1/4″ image sensor HD prosumer camera. I’d rather have a SD 2/3 inch image sensor camera that would blow the socks off any of the above mentioned HD cams in low light situations.

Keep in mind….no matter what you do your IMAG image will never get any better then what your camera can capture.

If your Church can afford the following this will be your optimal camera. Not in order of importance.
1. SD-SDI output, avoid composite outputs
2. The ability to turn off auto focus
3. Fast lens f1.4, f2.0 in brighter rooms
4. large image sensor

Having a great tri-pod is very important. If your shooting tight any wobbles will be noticeable. The head of the tripod is most important. Make sure there are arms where external controls can be mounted.

Have questions? Leave one below and we will answer them…..

YESTERDAY, I DID THAT.

By: Rob Robinson
Written with no breaks....

You know when you offer to do something for somebody and they say, no, don’t worry about it, but you insist for some stupid reason and so you go to do the job and just after you get there, you discover that a very major element of the job was miscalculated, but now your in the middle of it and you can’t leave because you insisted on doing it, and now you need your tools so you go out to your car to get them and schlep them inside and you go you use your cordless drill only to find out that the battery is low, so you go to grab the spare only to realize that it’s back at the shop along with the charger, meanwhile the clock is ticking on all of the other stuff that you must do today, and you get back to the job with your stuff and after unscrewing what you thought held this bracket in place, you find out that they used a nail gun anyway so that bracket that you planned on moving isn’t going anywhere without a bulldozer, but luckily at the shop you grabbed some wood and after you take some new measurements you head outside to cut a new bracket and one step out the door, the rain sees you and decides to soak you and your skill saw, but you’re at a church and bad words must not come out of your mouth or you don’t look so good, and now you get to climb the ladder over all of the stage gear to install the new mount but everytime that you try to find a comfortable position to screw it in, the stupid drop ceiling gets in the way and you look like Clark Griswold on a ladder hanging Christmas lights, but you don’t have a choice and even if it’s uncomfortable you have to try to screw it with your left hand, which is totally useless sometimes and to add to the frustration somebody yells down “how’s it going?” and you have to grit your teeth and say “Great”, but that’s a lie and thank God that you don’t have a flame thrower, and later when you get the mount up and level you go to stretch the cables to their new position, you find out that they were only long enough for the old position and right there on the top of that ladder you immediately summon God to ask if this is somehow funny to him and you end up laughing a little yourself because you’re the idiot who insisted that he do this job and what was an hour job at the most now has sucked your day dry and you’re even wondering if you’ll be out of there before the Wednesday night church crew comes is, but you finally get a couple things to work in your favor and get things running despite every little set-back, but you’ve made a mess and you can’t just leave it so you search out a vacuum cleaner and after you plug it in it falls apart right in your hands and by now you’re sure that you are being video taped for an episode of punk’d but then realize that you couldn’t ever be so fortunate as to know Ashton Kutcher and nobody is watching you at all and this is just a very long series of unfortunate circumstances that are trying desperately to tell you something and your just not getting it at all but you finally get the vacuum back together only to realize that the belt on it is just floating around so of course your own cynicism starts saying things out loud on it’s own like “that’s just perfect”, but 7 hours later you managed to do a 30 minute job. Well, yesterday, I did that.

the moral: From my Dad to you, measure twice, cut once. Hey, even measure three times.

Worxaudio X2i 160 Degrees!!!!

The X2-P Line array incorporates two modules, each with a medium format, 1-inch exit compression driver coupled to a stabilized proprietary FlatWave™ Former (wave shaping device) that delivers clear, penetrating high frequencies over a predictable and controlled coverage area. These compression drivers are paired with dual 8-inch cone transducers coupled to the (A.I.M. ™) Acoustic Intergrading Module that minimizes cone filtering throughout the entire operating spectrum and provides a rich, fully balanced sound with a frequency range that spans from 45 Hz to 20 kHz (-10 dB). Hence, the X2-P loudspeaker system provides a total of two high frequency drivers and four bass drivers—all housed in a rugged enclosure.

The new X2-P’s throw capabilities mark a dramatic departure from conventional line array systems of this size and class. The upper module of the X2-P provides 10-degree vertical dispersion while the lower module delivers a 25-degree vertical pattern. Combined, the two modules create a 30-degree vertical system with an unusually broad horizontal dispersion of 160 degrees. The new X2-P’s exemplary dispersion characteristics make this enclosure an outstanding choice for a wide range of sound reinforcement applications—delivering pristine audio quality with even coverage that eludes many competing systems.

The new X2-P’s cabinet is the result of painstaking attention to detail and is intended to provide years of great-sounding, trouble-free service. The loudspeaker enclosure is constructed from sturdy multi-ply Baltic Birch and is heavily braced for cabinet rigidity. Protecting the enclosure is a multi-layered, two part polyurea ProTex™ finish — available in black or white—designed to withstand the most demanding applications. A 14-gauge, perforated, cloth-backed, powder coated steel grill with a high transmission ratio protects the transducer complement.

Characteristic of WorxAudio Technologies’ TrueLine Series loudspeakers, the new X2-P ships with a first-rate complement of custom-designed flyware. The X2-P‘s black or white powered coated, aluminum TrueAim™ grid incorporates a series of holes that control the angle of the suspended enclosure. The system’s included EASE Focus aiming software incorporates all the various parameters—including weight, distribution, and rigging points—and provides a single-step “Auto Focus” process that details the optimum angle to suspend the enclosure at, which is accomplished by setting the TrueAim grid at the recommended hole. The entire process is quick, easy, and ensures optimum coverage throughout the space.

Designed expressly for use with the X2-P is WorxAudio Technologies’ highly-regarded PMD-1 digital power amp. Housed in the rear of the enclosure, the PMD-1 eliminates the headache of selecting the right amplifier/signal processing to mate with the loudspeaker and saves space as well. Featuring 500 watts of pulse pounding adrenalin for the low frequencies and 250 watts for the highs, this powerhouse amplifier incorporates twin digital program processors, a mute switch for each output, a detented volume control, an XLR transformer with isolated I/O, and industry-standard AC PowerCon switchgear I/O.

We dont have a budget....

Had a great conversation with a Pastor on the east coast today. I saw what their vision was for their new Church but due to financing their budget was cut after construction began. This was a pretty heavy blow and would be for any organization.

One thing I want to stress. We have a God big enough that has a plan already in place. Trust in Him and all things will work out.

How silly would we feel if we sat in front of him talking about how we don't know how things are going to work out...

Turn it down!!! "Sir, we havent started yet"

This is just a quick post I wrote during the first service at my Church. I'm using my android so pardon any mistakes.

For the past few weeks I've had this guy who has decided to bust my chops every chance he gets. Now this guy is your typical old school ex pastor who feels his ten percent is just a little better then everyone elses ten percent so he has the right to criticize every part of our service.

That said...it all started a couple weeks ago where this guy comes up during service and asks for it to be turned down....and not in a ( I know your working on 2 hours of sleep and I appreciate you being here volunteering your time kind of way)

SIDE NOTE: Now I'm not saying to ignore the requests of the congregation because it important to know what's going on. But you need to observe the worshippers....(read my blog "how loud too loud")

I told him OK and looked at the associate pastor and showed him the db meter reading 85db. He just shook his head and said leave it.

Next Sunday the dance began...he looked at me I looked at him and smiled. He again approached the Booth and pleaded for me to turn it down. This time I was confused.....I replied...."sir, we haven't started yet....that's just background music at 55db. Now with the inverse square law it may have been 61db at the front row. The entire worship service he held his hands to his ears. Now it bothered me that this guy is so wrapped around getting his way that he's missing out on the whole reason he got up this morning. And not only that...he's ruining it for me too.

Next Sunday he decides to recuit people....this is comical now...if you feel your right and you want your way what do you do? Divide the church. LOL....I see him talking to usher pointing and giving ugly looks. The user approached me and the associate pastor and said he wanted the sound turned down. I then said "ask him if he knows just how hard it is for me to volunteer....I have 4 kids two jobs and no sleep...I'd rather be home. I don't need to deal with his grudge.

Bottom line...if your the engineer remember the demographic your mixing for...if you try to make everyone happy your mix will suffer. Talk to your pastor...find out how they want to worship to sound and how loud they want it. If your consistent your church will filter out the people who are not into what your wanting to do and will be filled with people who do.

Second...if your the complainer....swallow this happy pill. When You waking up brewing coffee & getting ready....were here already preparing. If you want to express how you feel remember your dealing with volunteers. If they quit you just put the church in q bad place. Don't forget to praise your volunteers.....well I have to go....first service is wrapping up...

Forward this....

Saving for a rainy day

We just put in the purchase order for two projectors today and the freight charge....

$935!!!

Got your attention? This was a eyeopener for me so I felt like sharing.

Last year we were asked to go to a Church and take a look at their current projection system. The system was installed about 5 years ago but still working enough to get by.

After inspection we noticed the lumen output was a little low for the ambient light in the room and the low contrast ratios of the old projectors didn't produce very good blacks. We recommended new higher lumen projectors with larger LCD chips & higher contrast to get a better picture on their large screens. The whole project was going to be a little more then they had to spend at the time so we talked about saving money for a bit and do it correctly when they had the funds.

On a side note: The projectors we were going to provide are perfect for Churches. The filters would scroll automatically so you wouldn't have to go up 30' and clean them & it came with 2 lamps built in! That means during your fall production if a lamp went out the other one would kick in. NO DOWN TIME! http://www.eiki.com/Products/LC-XGC500

So time goes by and we check in on them to make sure everything is still operational. Once every other week, once a month, to eventually once every other month. It seemed the funds were just not being put away.

Today we received the call. "How fast can we get two new projectors"? I told them it only takes about a week. "We need them tomorrow to install them for Palm Sunday"!!! I raced down to the Church...took more measurements and told them I'd do everything I could to get them projectors with special lenses next day.

Here's what had to happen. I pulled all my resources to make sure all the components needed were available...parts from California, Indiana, and Wisconsin all had to be shipped next day air to arrive in time to do the installation.

The Church had the original quote from a year ago and was relying on it to be accurate. Unfortunately there was a price increase of 2% plus the near $1,000 freight charge that had to be tacked on. We knew this was going to be a issue so Creative Sound Solutions donated the additional funds to the Church to make sure the cost didn't keep them from buying the right gear.

Moral of the story....you think you can't afford something now? Wait till you need it tomorrow!

Loud Low Frequency Noise from PGX4 or SLX4 Receiver

If your having a low Frequency Noise from your SLX or PGX the following my be the solution......

The low frequency noise may be caused by a low power line voltage condition. Check these symptoms to determine if this applies to your situation:

1. Intermittent, intense, and offensive low frequency noise

2. PGX4 or SLX4 receiver

3. Does not occur with microphone transmitter turned off (receiver squelched)

4. Does occur when microphone is turned on

The PGX4 and SLX4 receivers can generate a low frequency oscillation noise when the DC power supply voltage dips below approximately 10.5 volts. Under normal circumstances, the supplied PS20 power supply provides 12 - 14 VDC at normal power line voltages of 110 -120 VAC. However, when the power line voltage dips to 95 VAC and below, the DC voltage output will dip below 10.5 VDC, resulting in the undesirable noise. Several reports of the low frequency noise issue have been received from DJs - the problem can be traced to a marginal or heavily loaded AC supply circuit for running both sound and lights - which results in abnormally low AC line voltages.

The solution is to replace the PS20 power supply with a power supply that is less sensitive to AC line voltage fluctuations. The Shure PS21 power supply is the recommended replacement, and should work on AC line voltages down to 80 volts or less. We do recommend that if you are experiencing AC line voltages below 105 volts AC, a qualified electrician should be engaged for analysis and correction. Unusually low line voltage can be detrimental to many electronic devices with linear power supplies.

A second alternative is to use a generic regulated switching power supply rated at 12 VDC with 400 mA (or more) current capacity, capable of wide AC input voltage swings, and with a matching DC connector (coaxial, 5.5 mm x 2.1 mm, center pin positive, such as the Switchcraft S760).

Red Flags

I was talking with some people about some of my experiences with all the different Churches & Pastors I've worked with and thought.....If they only knew the things I've seen & heard. So, I'm writing a book about every job I've done and every Church I've been to.

I don't want to write a book about the 7 steps to change your church...I want to write a first hand account of what someone sees from the outside. There will be a lot of good which I hope people can learn from but there will also be Red Flags.

The book is going to be called Red Flags and its about just that...the little red flags that pop up that some people on the inside don't see.

Here are the first few paragraphs...it starts back when I was introduced to this new way of doing church. I hope this will help a lot of people.

8 AM, I’m dead tired; I was still at work just hours before I decided to head to a new “awesome” Church all my friends are attending. I have been toying with the idea of going but it was difficult because I did sound jobs until 2AM on Saturdays. 9 AM I’m up and getting ready. I’m really hoping this new church is everything everyone was talking about.

I left the house around 9:30AM, stopped and grabbed some coffee then headed towards the church. The directions were easy and much to my surprise there were signs all along the road side pointing me to the local high school. I’m thinking to myself, this is a high school, and not even a Christian high school…what’s the deal. I pulled into the school parking lot and noticed there was special parking for first time visitor’s right next to the entry doors. “Don’t mind if I do” I was thinking as I pulled into one of those coveted easy access spots. As I got out of my car I notice some contemporary Christian music playing from a strategically placed self powered speaker on side of the building…I’m thinking yea! This place rocks! And I haven’t even walked through the doors. First impressions….good!

The main hallway of the school was the churches foyer. Young and hip was the apparent theme which worked for me…I considered myself young and somewhat hip. Not a detail was missed! Coffee, sugar, non-sugar sweeteners, every type of creamer, special stirring sticks, napkins, kids wipes, donuts, bagels and high top tables all laid out in an atmosphere anyone could feel comfortable in. Walking towards the God’s 8^th day creation, the donut, I passed three kiosks. The signs on the kiosks read, 1^st time, 2^nd time & 3^rd time visitors and on the kiosks counter were what appeared to be gifts. I thought to myself “ok, I could use one more coffee mug”. Next to those kiosks were information tables with small group sign up lists & CDs from previous services. When I saw the CDs I felt what most people fell….O boy, another church that sells everything they could get their hands on. But, nope…they were free. Glad I didn’t think outloud…Again the atmosphere, the well thought out plan made me want to stay and see more. The further I walked down the hallway the more I was impressed. The closer you get to kids world the smaller the tables got. You could get there early, grab some breakfast and sit with your family and eat before church.

The kid’s church even had its own feel. A system was clearly in place. You would check in at a set of doors that were the only way in and out. If you went back into the kid’s area you needed a pass or a kid’s check out ticket. You could leave with a calm feeling knowing they were safe. The classes were setup for the age groups and looked nothing like a high school facility. I didn’t see how they could pull of such a feat every Sunday. But they did.

While looking lost I was greeted by a couple of members who seemed very interested in who I was and was happy I was able to come to Church. This broke the ice and made me feel very welcome. I talked for awhile and noticed they let me do most of the talking. They must have been trained to listen because if I was in their position and I knew the person I was talking to was new, I’d be talking a mile a minute about how awesome we are.

It was almost time for service to start so I began to head to the sanctuary. Walking into the sanctuary, AKA the school theater, I was again greeted by another welcoming smile and a bulletin. In my mind I was thinking this is the friendliest place I have ever been to. Up until then I had never experienced such a complete well thought out environment. They thought of everything!

The lights were dimmed a bit accenting the animated countdown screen and a pre recorded sound track was playing with intermittent announcements notifying everyone service was about to start.

When the Worship started you knew right away this was not your ordinary church. You could feel the kick of the drums and the bass guitar while the electric guitars ripped through your entire sole. The sound was amazing! You could tell no expense was spared on the audio equipment. The mixing console was very impressive and the flickering lights of the system outboard DSP reminded me of Christmas time. The projection screens were filled with live scenic scenes with the words of the songs overlaid. The two main screens were position clearly for the rear of the church so two additional smaller screens were at the front of the stage making it easy to interact with the worship leader.

The house lights at this point were completely off and your focus was on the performers. The stage lighting was full of color starting with the backlighting. Accent lighting was on the move with brilliant gobos and stage fills. I felt this was some of the best production around. Production, a funny word to describe your church isn’t it? Yet it was flawless and not distracting.

After the worship was done you felt emotional and moved. The band began to exit the stage, house lights came up and the announcement team got into position. It was a two man announcement show, sometime serious but always entertaining. As the announcements ended the house lights went down and a video was played to introduce the series the Pastor was preaching on. You kind of had a hint of what the sermon was going to be about because of the enormous 30 foot long banner on the backlight scrim. When the house lights came back up the pastor was sitting at a small high top table with a ear to ear smile.

The Pastor was not of this world. I’d admit, I’ve had some of my best sleep in the walls of a church, but not here. From the moment He opened his mouth I was hooked. I laughed, I though, and I questioned my life. After the message was done the band came up and played one last song and we were dismissed.

At that point I decided this was my church. It felt right. I knew I needed something and this was it. It impressed me so much that I found myself talking about the church all the time. People thought I was crazy and church should be that good. My excitement made people want to go.

After about a month the media director caught wind that I played drums and offered a position on the worship team. It was a good feeling to be asked but I knew there was a commitment so I had to think about it. Over the next few weeks I met so many Christians and began making new friends. I really started to feel like fit in. It was like a family.

At that time there was only one worship team so I heard they were looking to grow depth not to burn out any volunteers. So I decided to join. We had practice on Thursday nights and were at the Church at 7AM to setup for the early service. The team had a pre production meeting before the service to go over ques and the order of worship. A quick prayer and we were off. Every Sunday we setup, did two services, and tore down all out of a trailer.

Being on stage and being a part of the Church was an experience I needed. I learned a lot about the ins and outs of a mobile church. The time restraints of load in and load out was probably the most stressful to us volunteers. Having to be careful with someone else’s building was another. We started to come up new and faster ways to setup and consolidate our equipment. Putting the drums on a rolling stage and having them already miced saved about 15 minutes. Putting the mixing console on a rack that held all the pre-wired DSP saved about 10 minutes and using a multi-pin splitter snake saved us from patching in the mixing console every morning. We were a well oiled machine setting up a full production in under 30 minutes with sound check. This helped us not feel so burned out every Sunday.

Months pasted and I felt I needed more. Playing on the worship team was great but I needed to be fed as well. Sometimes we forget while were ministering we still need to be ministered to. One Sunday we finished setting up early so I went to go grab some coffee from the foyer. I passed the small group table like I did every morning but this time I felt something. I Stopped and looked at the different groups but nothing jumped out at me. I just figured I’d join when some of my friends join one. Just then one of the small group leaders stopped at the table and introduced himself. That was good enough for me. I joined his group and was in his living room that Wednesday night.

It was kind of awkward; I wasn’t big on going to strangers houses, especially with other strangers. The group was compiled of mostly new comers seeking more of what they get on Sunday. Much to my surprise, the leader has only been going to the church himself for a month! I asked if he had to do any special classes or become a member to lead a small group and evidently you don’t. This was the first time I felt the church that thinks of everything missed something. If they only knew the leader of my small group was planning on starting his own church and felt like asking us to be his first recruits. I never went back.

The Pastor and I became friends in church and professionally. See, I had always had a heart for church planters and this pastor wrote the book on church planting. Still to this day there is no one I would trust more to train a new pastor then him. He had me start helping him train the new pastors in Audio, Video & Lighting. I began to travel the country training and setting up systems for new mobile churches. From that my story continues.

Why do I need Sound Treatment?

Many times we are asked to look at a Church and figure out what is wrong with a perfectly good sound system. Most times the problem is the acoustics in the room. If you took your sound system outside and ran everything flat it would probably sound great. So throwing more money at Speakers, Amps & DSP may not be the fix.

Acoustics in the room can cause a few audible issues which we will cover today.

Standing Waves

A standing wave is the result of a sound wave that bounces between two or more surfaces and emphasizes one specific frequency that you hear as the waves reinforce each other.

When the wave bounces off the surface, it cha

nges phase. In the case of waves that create a standing wave, the reflected wave is a mirror image of the original. The waves then combine.

If the amplitudes of the two waves have the same sign (both positive / both negative), they will add together to form a wave with a larger amplitude. This adding together is called constructive interference. This added wave doesn't appear to move, thus it's called a standing wave. Standing waves are usually low frequency waves below 300 Hz. Above 300hz, the waves tend not to reflect directly back and the sound is greatly influenced

by the objects in t

he room and the composite of the room's walls, floor, and ceiling.

Here's a chart to give you an idea of the size of wavelengths based on the frequency. As you can see, the lower the frequency, the larger the wavelength such as a 20 foot distance from crest to crest.

What Causes Standing Waves?

Standing waves are created when the distance between the walls is a multiple of a sound's wavelength.

Walls that are 20 feet apart, with a wavelength that is 19 feet long, won't produce the conditions for the wave reinforcement. However, if the walls are 20 feet apart and the wavelength is 10 feet or 20 feet, then a standing wave will be produced because of the reinforcement.

Standing waves can be caused when waves bounce between;

• Opposite walls
• Four sides of the room
• All six sides of the room (given most rooms have four walls, a floor, and a ceiling!)

This image shows the blue and red waves moving back and forth with the resulting black standing wave being produced.

Echo - Reverb

A Echo is a single reflection of a sound source. If so many reflections arrive at a listener that they are unable to distinguish between them, the proper term is reverberation. When dealing with audible frequencies, the human ear cannot distinguish an echo from the original sound if the delay is less than 1/10 of a second.

When your dealing with your congregation, not distinguishing the message could be the difference in changing someones life.

Comb Filtering

Simply stated, comb filtering is two signals arriving at the same location at different times. Because of the differences in the arrival times, the sound waves will have additions when they perfectly overlap and reinforce each other, and also have cancellations or nulls where they cancel each other out (the latter is called destructive interference). This occurs in virtually all Speaker Systems whose musical ranges overlap, where both drivers are reproducing the same sounds, as in stereo or surround sound, and because of multiple drivers with different physical locations used to cover the same frequency range.

How do we fix our room and make the sound better?

You can fix your room with an assortment of sound absorption & deflection panels, padded seats, carpet, and the proper sound system. Try to stay away from too many hard surfaces, square walls if your building.

Grace United Methodist fixed their sound issues by simply adding sound absorption panels.

For more help you can call our office at 239-458-3408 or email info@creativesoundsolution.com

Tony

Keeping an open mind

So I just watch a movie and as reluctant as I am to admit what it was I feel it needs to be disclosed. The movie was " Eat, Pray, Love"....now I didnt agree with most of the movie because of my personal beliefs, but...there we a few cool things said in the movie. One was "make every moment that happens in your life a clue and make every one you run into a teacher".

I thought this was a great concept. Few and far between is it that I work with a new sound techs and not have to be careful not to offend them. Being a sound tech is a very important part of your ministry and its great most people take ownership in their position. I found the way to learn quick is by soaking in everything I could from everyone I knew.

If someone has the skills you want, instead of trying to impress that person by showing them how much you know....ask as many questions as you can.

Dont forget to register for our FREE seminar in March 2011 Click Here

Buyer Beware!!!

For many of us who do our due diligence find the best deals for anything online. But how good of a deal are we really getting? Before we spend our hard earned dollars listen to this story...

I was asked to quote a couple LED stage light fixtures for a local Church. I always check my cost plus freight and then look online for what everyone else is selling the same item for. I'll then beat that lowest price and write up the quote. Today I went online and found stores selling the same item for less then what I can buy them for as a dealer!

Now, If your not a dealer you wouldn't see this as a red flag and just brush it off as a great deal. But as a dealer it strikes up concern. I gave the list of "stores" to my supplier and asked if they knew they were advertising below MAP. (Minimum advertised price) Here was the reply....

"These dealers on ###.com are unauthorized dealers and Manufacturers warranty will not be ordered on any product purchased thru any of them. We are just getting started with our New Warehouse Tracking System, so once it is operational we will crack down on any distributor who is selling to these guys that are violating.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but please stress to your customer that any product purchased thru an unauthorized dealer does not carry any warranty.

Thank you for the heads up."

So when your pricing items online and all the well know companies are selling at the same price be assured that is the MAP price and you will be receiving a warranty. If you see a lower price it may be a refurbished or a unauthorized dealer. This could be a nightmare when your looking for support or Warranty.

If you have any questions or comment please let me know.

Tony 239-458-3408

Building a Church......Don't take it from me

I was taking a class at the 2010 WFX expo called "Master planning for technical systems". They recommended bringing your Pastor but hardly any of them attended. The room was packed with technical directors and volunteers running the Sunday morning production. I've found in my own personal walk that its not always the easiest task to get your Pastor involved in technical training or future development of systems. However, they do tend to trust your judgment so soak up everything you can and make sure your making equipment decisions on what you need and not what the next church has or what you can afford today. There is a difference between a $800 & $15k mixing console. Will the congregation notice a difference? YES THEY WILL. Your not going to reproduce the same result with cheap gear.

I wanted to give you some highlights of the class. There were some key speakers from all over the Country giving testimony to how they did it....and what key points they would give. This is good information that we've all heard but now its coming from facility managers who have 10,000 members.

Jeff Vandergiessen: Technical Director of Mars Hill Church. Over10,000 members

1. Plan where your Church in going to be when selecting your AVL. The cost of changing later down the road cost way more. In the same token, overkill for bragging rights is just a waist of money.

Greg Bacus: Lifechurch, 13 Campus 130 Network churches.

1. Design your systems for the volunteer to run. We started with staff engineers and changed to volunteers. There was a huge learning curve after switching.

Daryl Cripe: Grace Community Church 13 separate auditoriums in one location

1. Technical AVL needs to be a part of the design process from day one. Not after the arch & engineers are done.....day one!

2. Your AVL company should be at every planning meeting

Those are a few key points they wanted to make.

Now, I would agree with all of them. Yes, design your church budget for AVL around who is going to be running the systems. Yes, you get what you pay for. Yes, the design team needs to be in place way in advance and be at every meeting.

If you have any questions about new facility design or how to get started visit www.creativesoundsolution.com or call 239-458-3408

Cutting Setup Time

The fundraising is complete, your building lease is secure, everything is falling into place…and why not? When God is in it who can be against it? Right? All the preparation for the big launch has been carefully planned out. You’ve consoled with everyone under the sun about what to do and what not to do. Its Time….

But when it comes down to it…not one launch is the same as the other. People are different, buildings are different and they bring different challenges. A big proponent is how budgets are different, and with that “making it work” comes into play and when you’re making it work stress can become part of the equation.

In this article I wanted to share some insight on what I’ve seen working with different new plants. I would like to shed some light on some simple organic ideas that may prevent some volunteer burn out. Keeping your volunteers happy and not overworked is the key to healthy media teams.

It pre Launch day! Volunteers pour into the building like sugar ants and begin the setup process. For some reason during pre launch there is this need to see how fast we can get setup. This is great to see but the more important thing to gain from the pre launch setup is the “Sysem”. The system is the written plan of attack.

I visited a Church in New Jersey that was spending about 60+ minutes setting up. This required the volunteer to arrive earlier then most churches and stay later. By breaking down the setup and getting creative you can easily get in and out in 20 Minutes. First we took the acoustic drums and mounted them on a drum riser that was on wheels. As seen in the pictures, The mics were mounted to the drums and wired to the snake head that was permanently mounted to the drum riser base. The drums were mounted to the riser with “U” clamps and strap. The riser could fit through a single door opening and could roll right onto the trailer. This eliminated the setup of the drums (10 min) and Micing the drums (5 Min). Next we recommend a multi-pin snake and all-in-one console rack combo that holds all the wireless, DSP, and drawers for mics and DIs. This will allow keeping all the gear wired so when it’s time to setup you connect one snake cable.

Snaking out your stage cabling will also cut down setup time. This is where you run all your stage mic and monitor sends where you want then zip tie them together making a snake. At tear down these can be rolled up and left plugged into the snake mounted to the drum riser. Color coding your snakes and cables also help.

Carting your speakers or adding casters to your subs will also cut setup time. Imagine rolling your speakers off the trailer and setting them in place, running a power cord and your done. It also keeps your volunteers from lifting heavy equipment.

There are so many creative ways to make setup easy and like I said, no plants are 100% alike. If you would like more ideas or have a situation you want looked at give us a call.

Living Waters

Living waters needed a solution that would leave them with a clean look and conserve space. We tossed some ideas around and came up with this solutions. Cut openings in the rooms on both sides of the stage. Placed the QSC HPR speakers inside the closets and covered the openings with sound scrim. We were able to match the scrim with the seats and backdrop.

If you have a Audio / Video / or Lighting questions give us a call or Email your question to info@creativesoundsolution.com

Family Life Church

Family Life Church needed a hand with getting their current system to sound good along with getting their setup time lowered to about 30min. We recommended mounting the drums on a cart that can act as a riser/cart/snake box.

Coastal Community

Pastor TJ McCormick had a special situation with planting his new Church in Fort Lauderdale. He had a school auditorium that was wider then it was deep, and in the back of the auditorium were stadium seating. This posed a issue with coverage and the amount of speakers that would be needed to cover the room.

The solution was a QSC ILA line array system with an 140 degree throw pattern.

Church At the Crossing

The Church at The Crossing

Sunday Services are held at Northside Cinema # 2 located at the corner of Hwy. 231 N. and Ross Clark Circle. Each week their hospitality team will prepare coffee, juice and a snack for you to enjoy as you fellowship before the service. During the service you will hear anointed music, and a life-changing message in our Sunday morning services. Friendly volunteers will meet you as you enter our doors. These greeters are ready to give directions or answer any questions you may have.

When you visit the Crossing you'll find people hungry for God and ready to engage in worship. Whether you have followed Christ for years or just curious as to what church is all about, you are welcome at The Crossing! Your mode of dress is not important. We are more interested in learning about the you on the inside! At the Crossing, you will find a group of people who strive to find life, live life, and give life through Jesus Christ.

The system was a bit of a challenge due to the fact they have about 30min to setup and 30min to tear down after the service. We went with the QSC HPR series self powered speakers, Sonic Station 40ch input mixing console, Aviom system, and DPA wireless mic. After a few trial runs they were able to beat the time to setup and tear down. We alo had a custom rack/mixing console case made that turns into a table and holds the mixing console, all the rack equipment, projector, and all the cables.

The Crossing West is where the offices are located and where meetings, small groups, and practices are held during the week. 3000 Hartford Hwy. Suite 3 Dothan, Al 36305 Phone: 334-803-0341

Wireless Mics

By: Tony Flammia

"The right to remain silent"

......was on the cover of one of the major Audio Mags for Worship centers. I don't know if its was scare tactic but it needed to be done. This topic is very important to House of Worship buildings and anyone using wireless mics.....surprisingly most everyone I talk to still has not heard of the issue.

Ok, here is the deal.....

Imagine you’re driving around listening to your stereo and your favorite song is on…your jamming out…. Looking around to make sure no one sees you singing into your tightly clenched fist…nothing but good times! Right at the best part you hear some static and then the song gets interrupted like your coming into a stronger signal, but you know for sure you’re not too far from the station…..why is this happening?

This is what is going to begin to happen after June 12^th 2009. If you’re wireless mics are running in the freq range of 698 to 806, you will be open to interruptions from other devices in that range. This wont happen suddenly...but over a period of time.

The Story behind the story....

The FCC is advocating for Digital TV vs analog due to the fact its better, and in short, the digital signal allows the FCC to tightly fit the channels one after another. Analog had to be spaced out.

So,…the frequencies from 698 to 806 has been auctioned off to the highest bidder . Why didn’t the wireless companies bid on it? Well, all the wireless companies together couldn't cover what it sold for. Even Google was out bid! 19 Billion dollars for those coveted white spaces.

So now that these freqs belong to others....mostly telecommunication companies, they will begin to produce devices that will use those freqs to go online. So at first, when we vacate the 698 to 806 spectrum, the whitespaces will be pretty clear. You may even notice your wireless working better! But, as the devices grow in numbers they will eventually take over.

FCC comes to the rescue.....

The Fcc did however make provisions for these telecommunication devices. Before the device uses a freq it has to check a database for the area being used to see if there are registered wireless devices in use. Anyone ever register anything with the FCC? I can only speculate fees and penaltys but I can see that coming.

Final Thought......
Bottom line....if your using a mic in the 698-806 range.....get rid of it. Its not lawful to continue to use these freqs. Its not what we all wanted to hear, but....what can you do? If I paid 19 Billion for clean airways I wouldent want anyone using them.

There is Hope......
Creative Sound Solutions, LLC is offering wireless units at cost to help those who were blindsided with this event.

www.creativesoundsolution.com
239-458-3408