Introduction
Hey guys, welcome to St. John’s Lutheran Church here in Napa, California. This is a beautiful, traditional-style worship sanctuary, but they wanted to update it with the latest and greatest technology for sound and video. I’m excited to tell you about this integration project we just wrapped up here at Churchfront. We deployed a brand new PA system, installed new LED screens, built a new rack, and set up a super clean workstation at the front of the house. The goal was to massively improve audio and video quality while keeping it simple for their volunteers to operate on a week-to-week basis. Make sure you read this whole chapter because some of the solutions we implemented here could be useful for your church. If you are a Churchfront client already or considering different design options, this is a good one to check out to see what’s available for you as you work with our team to implement these solutions.
PA System Installation
The PA system we installed at this church is by Fulcrum Acoustic, and we deployed a few of their coaxial type speakers. What’s great about these speakers, the ones that you see above me, it kind of gives you an idea of the size. These are the CCX 1226, so they’re 12-inch speakers. Because these are coaxial speakers, the tweeter and the woofer are both centered in that box, making them super compact. In a space like this, where they have beautiful stained glass, you don’t want to disrupt the aesthetic. The smaller the better, but they still have plenty of power and coverage to cover all the seats here in the congregation. We have two 12-inch speakers towards the front of the congregation and some fill speakers at the back. These are the eight-inch models of the same speakers, super compact.
I was blown away by the sound. I was a little concerned that we weren’t going to be putting acoustic treatment in this space. You can tell it’s still pretty live, with over three seconds of reverb, but I was impressed by the quality and control we have over the mix with these speakers because they’re hyper-precise at where they throw the sound. We hear the full spectrum of audio. I compare it to being in a premium studio somewhere, listening to nice premium speakers. That’s what it sounds like here at scale in this space. If it were my personal preference, we would still deploy some acoustic panels in this space. But when they have the organ and choir, they still want the life that’s in the room. Overall, I’m super impressed with the result of this Fulcrum Acoustic PA in this situation.
This is another Fulcrum Acoustic speaker, an 18-inch subwoofer, and I was blown away by how it fills the space. Even just having a single subwoofer here for the entire system, they might add another one to the other side. But for the aesthetics and budget reasons, it was good to start with one here. This subwoofer fills the entire room with some amazingly clear bass. In the lobby, we have additional smaller six-inch Fulcrum speakers to cover the lobby areas as people walk in. We were also able to tie in the PA system to the outdoor speakers and the nursing mother’s room. When upgrading your PA at your church, don’t just think about the main space, but also consider the auxiliary areas. In this situation, we were able to retain some of the existing equipment and just tie it in with our new DSP and amplifiers.
DSP and Amplifier Setup
Speaking of the DSP and amplifier setup here, we are using a Jupiter DSP by Symetrix, and a Unica eight M amplifier for all the new PA speakers. We also used some existing amps for some of those auxiliary speakers I mentioned earlier. The Unica is a super powerful DSP and amplifier with lots of capability. It’s also Dante-enabled, which is another huge reason why the system sounds so great in this space. It was specifically tuned for the space.
Mixing and In-Ear System
Here at St. John’s Lutheran Church, we deployed an SQ7 with a Dante expansion card, 64 in 64 out, and we are also using the 48 by 16 digital snake up at the stage. The reason for this upgrade came from maxing out a previous older generation console and not having the flexibility and work experience to get the best sound from their sources on stage. The SQ is a great workhorse. We’ve got all of the inputs from the stage patched in here as well as Dante from all of our workstation computers, and to most of our workstation computers as well as virtual soundcheck all over the network. This creates a lot of simplicity, keeping the workstations clean so you don’t have a bunch of audio interfaces laying around with analog cables. It makes it easy when troubleshooting down to your network, so you don’t have to worry about what cable is going bad.
Pairing the Allen and Heath SQ7 with a GX 48 16 provides 48 channels of input and 16 outputs. We also paired it with the ME-U hub, which powers their brand new ME 500 in-ear monitor solution. With the ME 500s, you can get 16 channels of audio into a personal monitor mixing solution so that everyone can have their own mix. You also have the ability to save a preset, so you can recall your mix week to week. These units even provide a USB port to back up your settings for easy deployment to another mixing unit or to recall your mix from a previous session.
Instrument Deployment
Let’s talk about some instruments we deployed here. We got the F Note drum kit, an electric drum kit. You’ve seen videos of that on our channel. It’s perfect for this type of space because they need to be able to clear everything out easily, and an electric drum kit makes that simple to do. They also need to be conscious of acoustics. An electric drum kit is a much better fit for this space because it doesn’t produce a bunch of stage volume, making mixing super easy for the person at the front of the house. It looks like a real drum set, and most people in this room probably think it is, but it’s not. The F Note samples sound incredible, it’s easy to dial into the mix, and it’s easy to set up and tear down. We also deployed the Nord Stage 3 keyboard. It’s a premium keyboard, and their pastor is an amazing keyboardist. It sounds incredible with the system.
We upgraded many of their DI boxes to Radial DI boxes and Rupert Neve DI boxes. If you’re undergoing a renovation project, it’s a good idea to upgrade your stage boxes and PA systems. Ensure you have quality DI boxes to capture the source accurately.
Microphone System
In this project, one of the goals in upgrading the microphone capturing experience was to get something simple, clean, and efficient. We went with the Shure ULXD system. The ULXD system has charging bays, which are a huge benefit over swapping out rechargeable batteries or putting in fresh AAs every week. These charging bays allow you to dock the unit, and it will charge right from the dock. The charging docks daisy chain power, so you don’t have to run a bunch of power cables from the back of these docks. This system is scalable as your team grows and your microphone needs increase, integrating right into your system easily.
Rack Room
Welcome to the rack room. This is where the old rack was located. We’ll show you some before footage of the previous smaller rack and how we decided to upgrade it. We wanted to ensure every piece of equipment we deployed is housed well for future decades of ministry. The rack you’re looking at is a Lowell Rack. Lowell is great because it comes with a lot of accessory options to make cable management easy. It has blanks, different kinds of sequencers, and it’s on casters, so it can move in and out easily. This makes it accessible for future servicing or adjustments.
At the top, we have a sequencer, making it easy for volunteers to come in the morning, push one switch, and power everything on in sequence. This prevents loud pops and booms from the speaker system, and everything turns on in the appropriate order. We have PDUs throughout the rack, distributing power and offering surge protection. Moving down, we have our Nova Star processor for the LED wall from Altitude LED. We also have a shelf that houses our ATEM 1 M/E broadcast video switcher for clean cuts between camera angles for the live stream. Next to that is a remote Nook, allowing us to access anything networkable in the rack remotely. We can tap into this Nook to service or support St. John’s from anywhere in the future.
One of our favorite deployments is the Sonnet xMac Mini Server, which allows for an expansion card or a graphics card on the back. We’ve deployed the DeckLink Duo for different stage outputs like confidence monitors, live stream, and lower thirds. The Mac Mini in the front allows for a cleaner workstation, with the computer deployed in the back of the rack. We also have the Sonnet Rack Mac Mini housing two computers: one for front of house tasks like virtual soundcheck, Planning Center, Spotify, and monitoring microphones, and the other for running Wirecast software for encoding their stream.
KVM Setup
Moving down the rack, we have our KVM shelf. KVMs keep our workstations neat by running USB cables from the back of each computer into the KVM units and network cables to the receiver KVMs at the workstation destination. This minimal cabling keeps everything organized and prolongs the life of the fixtures. We also have a NETGEAR M4250 AV switch, which is powerful for different VLAN deployments and ease of use with pre-configured profiles for Dante, Shure devices, and local area networks.
At the bottom of the rack, we have our Shure ULXD microphones and belt packs. These are Dante-enabled, with network cables connecting them to the NETGEAR switch, putting the microphones on the Dante network. This allows us to monitor battery health, adjust gain, and name the wireless microphones from the front of house machine. The ULXD system also sends network control data over the same Dante port, making it a clean and powerful solution. We also have RF and antenna cables for great RF signal distribution from our RF Venue architectural antenna in the room.
Tech Booth
Now we’re back in the tech booth, which is an amazingly well-constructed space that fits the aesthetic of the sanctuary. The company who built the surfaces and wall around the booth did an excellent job. Jacob, the worship tech volunteer who has been interfacing with us through the project, oversaw this as well. The simplicity of the setup is great, with a deep surface providing plenty of space underneath for cable management. The slanted surface prevents clutter, and the setup includes three workstations: audio, ProPresenter, and broadcast video.
Workstation and Broadcast Video Setup
The KVMs, or keyboard, video, mouse extenders, bring all the connections from the computers to the workstations. The AV Access 1080P Dual HDMI KVM extenders use unshielded cables and provide HDMI outputs for monitors and USB connections for peripherals like keyboards and mice. This setup cleans up the front of house, with minimal cables and secure, neat workstations.
The broadcast video setup includes the ATEM Constellation 1 M/E, ATEM control software, and a Stream Deck for switching angles. We use the USB output feature on the ATEM, which turns the video switcher into a video capture device for software like Wirecast. The program feed becomes a video source for encoding and streaming online. We use Dante Virtual Soundcard on the broadcast computer to pull in the broadcast mix from the SQ7, combining audio and video within Wirecast.
Client Testimonial
Jacob Bartelt:
I initially found you guys on YouTube, like a lot of people do. I’m a full-time volunteer here at the church and wanted to raise the excellence of our audio and video quality. We had a lot of outdated equipment, and I saw a need. This project took some convincing to get approved, but once we started, I couldn’t be happier with the result.
From an audio standpoint, we had speakers that were broken or overpowered, and we had to use floor monitors, creating excess volume. Our visual setup included old projection screens with light bleed, and people couldn’t see what was happening on the screens. Our streaming quality was poor due to daisy-chained cables and outdated equipment.
The reaction from the congregation has been overwhelmingly positive. They are amazed at the audio clarity and the visual quality of the screens. The neat and tidy setup is less of a distraction, allowing people to focus on worshiping God. The new system has made our job as volunteers easier, and I can’t thank the Churchfront team enough for their work.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for this tech tour at St. John’s Lutheran Church. A huge thank you to them for entrusting this project to us at Churchfront. Luke did an amazing job as the project lead, and we’re excited to deploy a system that will serve them for many years. If you’d like to connect with our team or learn more about the products and accessories we used, check out the links below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel, and we’ll see you next time.
