Regina, Sask., Canada (April 6, 2012)—Regina Victory Church, founded in 2006, recently replaced its aging analog console with a new Yamaha M7CL-48ES EtherSound-based digital console.
It’s a time of change for the Church, as it is also looking to move to a new, larger building, so the new Yamaha M7CL will move along to the new facility as well. Helping the congregation choose the desk was GV Audio, also located in Regina; there, Derek Gould loaned the Church a Yamaha LS9-32 for a week and then an M7CL-48. “After they tried the M7, there was no going back,” he said. “The entire congregation and worship team noticed the difference immediately when they went from analog to digital.”
“As lead sound engineer for Regina Victory Church, the decision of what console to upgrade to ultimately fell to me,” said Jamie Brost. “In my mind, ‘going digital’ was the only thing that would give us the ability to meet the needs of our church. With a volunteer crew, the ability to start with known good settings is essential. This, combined with the ease of use and familiarity the M7CL shares with their analog predecessors, put the M7CL-48ES at the top of my list.” RVC plans to use various capabilities of the console, including multi-tracking for recording praise band musicians and sound engineer training; and improving the audio for the Church’s TV program, Victory Today, on the Miracle Channel.
Brost has also begun using Yamaha’s StageMix iPad app to control the M7CL. “As with many churches, our console is not situated in the ideal position for mixing, and the iPad gives us the flexibility to make changes right in the seats of the congregation. We can also stand in front of the TVs in the basement and properly mix the signal.”
RVC’s sound department has fairly large demands placed on it. They deliver an audio feed to the building’s flat-panel TVs, audio recording device, video cameras, monitors, and the main speakers. Every end-point has different requirements for the audio, which means that the sound department has to create a suitable mix for each. “Before the Yamaha M7CL-48ES, we had a hodgepodge system of wiring trying to split the audio feeds,” says Brost. “Diagnosing any audio problem was a weekly occurrence and a headache for the entire team. Also, we did not have any equipment normally seen in a system to do what we needed. We had no compressors, gates, or dedicated recorders. We only had one EQ rack used for front of house sound, and even that was giving me grief in the end. [Now] the weekly sound issues are gone, the sound quality gets progressively better, and the volunteer crew almost always finishes a service with a smile…. We just turn on the console, recall the last saved settings, and go!”
Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.
www.yamahaca.com
Regina Victory Church
www.reginavictory.com
