Steel Creek’s temporary home, outfitted with QSC amps
The Steele Creek Church is planning to relocate to a new, 3,000 seat sanctuary; in the meantime, they’re worshiping in a 900-seat temporary “sprung” structure amplified by QSC’s RMX product group.
“[Budget] is something that’s keenly felt on a project like Steele Creek’s temporary sanctuary, where the church is trying to hold on to its dollars to complete its new permanent home,” says acoustical designer Armando Fullwood of Charlotte, N.C.-based Design 2020 Inc. “Being on a budget doesn’t mean compromising on audio, however. You just have to be more creative.”
Fullwood used well-placed absorptive panels, and, in some cases, played the harsh reflective surfaces and domed ceiling against each other to positive effect. He also chose 12 amplifiers from QSC’s RMX product group, including RMX850, RMX1450, and RMX2450 models. Also added was a single eight-channel CX168 amp from QSC’s CX Series, which Fullwood used to build dedicated zones of enhanced reverb.
“Using the eight-channel CX168 and a Mackie DX8 digital mixer, I routed the choir mics’ reverb returns through different loudspeaker zones established in the sanctuary,” he says, explaining the basics of his poor man’s surround sound system. “Within my design, voices still are heard right down the middle of the room, but stereo reverb is piped into the zones. If you slide up the matrix sends on the board when the choir sings, you get a nice, warm ‘surround’ feeling. For the money involved, it’s a great effect that offers the client something extra, and the CX168 made it all possible right from two rackspaces.”
When the Steele Creek congregation moves into its new permanent home, the aurally enhanced sprung structure will be handed over to the church’s youth group.
For more information, visit www.qscaudio.com.
