BSS Audio’s proprietary digital SoundWeb engine has been installed as a solution to the eight-second reverberation time in the large St. Patrick’s Basilica, Lough Derg, in the county of Donegal, Ireland.
Acoustician Martin Grainger, of Omagh-based Grainger Communication, has been working at Lough Derg for almost 20 years. “The Basilica was built around 1910 and the sound has been like this for years,” Grainger said. “We are looking at providing a complete acoustic treatment via systematic upgrade, but I knew that SoundWeb would immediately provide a level of control.”
Grainger, a member of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA), had introduced both EASE and SoundWeb to the church’s principals the previous year. “I gave them a brief demonstration, showing other places we had treated, to explain what reverberation time was all about and how intelligibility might be improved. I told them we could provide all the tools in a small box, with little in the way of user controls.”
The Soundweb was specified and ordered from BSS Audio’s Irish distributor, Reynolds of Raphoe. “We were able to set up a whole series of scenarios using Soundweb and the [9010] Jellyfish [remote panel], which is mounted on a lectern in the sanctuary area,” Grainger explained. “The officiating clergy can simply recall the ceremony they wish to activate via the presets. There’s nothing further to be done.”
With CD and MiniDisc feeds complementing the live microphones, Grainger Communication intends to turn the single-zone interior design into “at least four zones, with further zones to feed the loop system and another to feed other parts of the complex.” At that time, he expects to add further Jellyfish remote-control points and expand the functionality of SoundWeb into a conventional router.
Grainger concludes, “There are so many tools in SoundWeb that allow you to accurately EQ the system, along with gates to activate the mics, et cetera. This had never been done at Lough Derg before and the principals are delighted. SoundWeb is definitely the way forward, especially where churches are concerned.”
For more information, please go to BSS Audio’s Website at www.bssaudio.co.uk.
