When Faith Chapel Foursquare Church of Billings, MT, went shopping for a console for its 1,100-seat sanctuary, the list of requirements was long and complex. "We ultimately chose a Soundcraft Vi digital console," explains chief audio technician Kelly Olp. "It's an unbelievable sounding board with a great variety of routing options, onboard effects processing, and equalization. We couldn't be happier with the purchase of this outstanding console."
The church also needed to make sure that its new console would be suitable for a new 1,800-seat sanctuary, which is scheduled to open next summer. "Since the Vi6 digital console is used to mix both front-of-house sound and onstage monitoring, we needed to make sure that it would handle not only current requirements but future ones as well," says Jeff Sanderson from Onpoint Designs, the Olympia, WA-based consulting firm that served as consultant on the project. "While conventional wedge monitors are used at the moment, we have specified an Aviom in-ear monitoring system [integration card] for the new venue; the Vi6 will interface perfectly with the digital IEM system."
"As everyone knows, there are many choices for a new front-of-house audio console," Olp continues. "I've mixed audio on analogue boards for over 20 years - but I was encouraged by Jeff Sanderson to consider going digital. After I got my hands on a Soundcraft Vi6 at the AES Convention in San Francisco [Fall 2006] and compared it to other digital consoles in the same price range, I totally fell in love with it. What's even better is that it's tremendously easy to train volunteers how to operate the Vi6."
(Jim Evans)
