Being in the heart of the city, the HOGC converted a whole floor of a prime commercial building into a beautiful new training and facilities centre for the church, allowing its members to worship and fellowship in the city. Because of its vibrant culture and lifestyle married to a charismatic and spiritual environment, HOGC's sound and technical team required a very well-planned sound reinforcement system for its premises such that it could accommodate a variety of uses.
Electro-Systems Industries (ES) was chosen to design and supply a sound reinforcement system to complement HOGC's existing equipment, to raise the standard for modern training centres to a new level. Already experienced in the complexities of sound systems for a variety of uses including worship venues and teaching institutions, the ES team has been involved in a host of commended sound reinforcement projects within the country and around the region. With a strong reputation for personalized service to meet customer needs, working closely with the HOGC sound team, the ES Team created a final system layout that addressed all of HOGC's specific needs and more.
With a hall capacity for approximately 300 persons, HOGC's space constrained hall (approx. 30m x 10m) is enclosed with a low ceiling and the centre stage is outfitted with a full accompaniment of musical instruments for a full contemporary band. As the genre of worship music leans towards the contemporary, the overall sound level reached is usually of a high SPL. ES had to create a sound reinforcement system that was able to deliver the loudness required but also achieve a balance so that unwanted acoustics would not spill into the other parts of the premises and the building. To resolve these issues, ES innovatively chose to horizontally mount four Nexo PS15 MkII along the front of the hall and have them angled (at 40°) downwards so as to maintain a constant and perfect acoustic treatment of the main sections. A custom ceiling mounting system was also created to allow for further fine-tuning and positioning to suit different needs as HOGC would require. A custom-built amplifier rack put together by the ES Team (comprising dual Camco power amplifiers and Nexo controllers) is positioned off-stage in a hidden technical store. The main AV control booth is located at the back of the hall comprising of HOGC's in-house lights, computers and video consoles working seamlessly together with LA Audio graphic equalizers and a fully specified Allen & Heath GL3300 40 channel dual-purpose live sound console prepared by the ES Team.
(Lee Baldock)
