Peavey Sanctuary Series Outfits Houston Church With Total Audio Solution

All-in-one audio solution opens new house of worship in record timeHOUSTON—Solving a major audio problem is rarely as easy as placing a single phone call. But Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Houston was in a unique situation. Pastor Kenneth Rose and his congregation spent months upgrading from its aging sanctuary to a new 600-capacity building, and opening Sunday was approaching fast. Everything was in place except for one thing: their sound system was wholly inadequate for the new sanctuary, and the church's leadership was unwilling to sacrifice in any way the sound that would minister through Rose, the choir and the band.Mount Vernon needed a turnkey sound system that any of its volunteers could operate with little training, and that could blend into the architecture and become part of the visual ambience as well as a functional necessity. And they needed it quickly. Steve Townsend of the Music Factory in Pearland, Texas, knew exactly what they were describing."What Pastor Rose and Lynden [Marshall, sound engineer] wanted was sonic purity with the new system and a rather timely install, as their first service was only a week away," said Townsend. "Peavey made this deadline very easy for us with its Sanctuary Series. It was literally one stop for mixers, loudspeakers, microphones and even cabling."Mount Vernon's worship service involves multiple main microphones, a choir and a full-size praise band with drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and vocals. With that much diversity, Townsend determined the Peavey S24 Sanctuary mixer would be ideal; its built-in automatic technologies—such as the Feedback Ferret, which makes wringing out feedback easy, and four channels of gain-sharing Automix to tame the comb filtering and phasing issues that occur when multiple microphones compete for dominance in the mix—would free up the soundman to spend his attention elsewhere in the mix, not pushing faders or tweaking gain.An Architectural Acoustics Digitool processor helped Townsend monitor and control the fifteen microphone inputs he used, including four Peavey Pro Comm wireless microphones for Pastor Rose and various members of the church and four VCM overhead microphones, which he placed above the choir. The processor, which he calls "the true heart of the system," also allowed him to align all 14 speakers, including delays.Another major priority was blending the sound system with the earth tones that decorate Mount Vernon. SSE Sanctuary enclosures address this need for flexibility in placement and finish with three finish options—black, white and natural wood that can be stained to match a particular finish—to minimize their intrusion into a sanctuary's ambience. Installers can place them in alcoves, under balconies or in other low-profile areas. They perfectly matched Mount Vernon's needs.Townsend and his team flew a cluster of three white SSE S5 loudspeakers directly above the altar, two to cover the main seating area and one angled toward the praise band as a monitor. Two Peavey CS 3000 power amplifiers provide the power for these as well as two QW 118 subwoofers that reside midway between the upper mains and the lower mains, approximately 16 feet from the floor and 40 feet apart, to give a perfect blend of sound. Two CS 2000 amps power five white SSE 26 speakers, two of which nestle against ceiling supports on either side of the church, while the other three provide sound to the under-balcony areas. A set of two CS 1400 amps power four white SSE 12M floor monitors, which are positioned on the altar.In just three days, Townsend, along with James Daniels of Reid Walker Services and their associates, brought Mount Vernon online with a full Sanctuary Series sound system that addressed its sonic and visual needs. Townsend says that, due to the success of the system, he plans to make Peavey Sanctuary Series his standard recommendation for churches, schools, auditoriums and similar installations. "Why deal with 10 different companies on an installation when you can deal with one that has everything you need, and with superior results from top to bottom?" asks Townsend. "The quality is there. The warranty is better than any other company. There's PV Finance for any installation that qualifies. All the equipment is a workhorse, and it's there for the long haul."There is no guessing any longer," he offers. "Because now I know the answer is Peavey.