Blog Post: Rock Harbor Church Production Upgrade – A Week of Transformation

We have a favorite motto here at Churchfront: “We do this not because it was easy, but because we thought it was easy.” That really speaks to what last week was like as we completed a massive production upgrade at Rock Harbor Church in just five intense days.

The Challenge

This project was equal parts installation, design, and experiment. We made some changes along the way, but I’m thrilled with where we ended up. Let me walk you through what we accomplished.

Going Live: The Drum Upgrade

First up was transitioning from our F-Note electronic kit to a live acoustic setup. We installed a Goplin 2.5 enclosure – one of their more compact models featuring plexiglass panels and acoustic absorbing curtains. The install took about 30-45 minutes, and it’s surprisingly lightweight compared to traditional drum booths.

Inside, we have a Vertical Drums kit (kick, toms, floor tom) paired with an impressive mic package:

• Lauten Audio mics on snare, rack tom, and floor tom
• Shure Beta 91 inside the kick
• Audix on kick out and hi-hat
• SM57 under snare
• Neumann KM184s for overheads

Yes, when I asked the team what mics they wanted, Chris gave me a list that added up to $5,000. But the results speak for themselves – zero complaints about drums being too loud on our first Sunday with a live kit.

The Meyer Sound Difference

This is my favorite upgrade. We started our transition to Meyer Sound speakers with:

• X40 point source speakers (mains)
• 900LFC subs
• X20s (currently side fills, will become front fills)

I just got back from audio design training at Meyer’s headquarters in Berkeley with Bob McCarthy – the guy who designed audio for Metallica and literally invented much of the PA technology we use today.

My only critique of Meyer Sound? Once you hear them, everything else sounds like garbage. We went from a 5-6 out of 10 with our old JBL system to a 9 out of 10 overnight. When we eventually add the LINA line arrays (five boxes per side), we’ll hit that perfect 10.

Some people commented that we don’t need line arrays in this space. But look at our ceiling height – 30 to 35 feet. Point source boxes at that trim height spray too much audio onto ceilings and back walls. Line arrays will give us the directional control we need for cleaner coverage.

The Mixing Setup: Allen & Heath Avantis

We finally replaced our Waves LV1 setup with the Allen & Heath Avantis Solo. Don’t get me wrong – Waves makes incredible processing and mixing tools. But they’re not designed for permanent install environments the way Allen & Heath gear is.

The Avantis gives us:

• Compact form factor (critical for our tiny tech table)
• Two option cards (S-Link and Dante 64×64)
• Waves card for Super Rack integration
• Perfect expandability with Allen & Heath ecosystem

We paired it with the AHM-32 audio matrix processor, which serves as our speaker processor and gives us incredible routing flexibility. I’m adding custom control panels – one at FOH and one in the lobby – so staff can operate simple presets without touching the Avantis.

We kept Waves in the workflow through Super Rack, giving our mix engineer Asa the best of both worlds.

Network Infrastructure Revolution

This is where things get really interesting. We deployed a full Dante audio network and NDI video infrastructure, drastically cutting our cable runs.

Audio: Everything runs over Dante now – from the Avantis to our stage boxes (GX4816), to recording laptops, to virtual sound check. We also have the Loop Community TrackRig setup with an iPad for playback, though we’re considering a Mac upgrade to integrate with Dante in the future.

Video: We went hybrid – ATEM Constellation 2ME switcher combined with Kiloview NDI encoders/decoders. This lets us:

• Run all three back wall cameras over Cat6
• Send video to displays over the network
• Maintain the reliability of the ATEM workflow
• Avoid expensive TriCaster setups

We use 20 Gig trunks between switches and 10 Gig to our display locations. Our peak bandwidth on Sunday? Still under 1 gigabyte. Plenty of room to expand.

KVMs: Upgraded from AV Access to Adder XD IP KVMs ($600/node). These are game-changers – just hit Command+Option+number to switch between computers instantly. No more glitches or headaches.

The Results

First Sunday with the new system was incredible. As someone who led worship that morning, I could feel the difference in the room. The congregation gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the sound quality, and our technical team had a flawless service.

We still have finishing touches to complete in the rack room (about 90% there), but the foundation is solid. This setup will serve us well for the Churchfront Conference next week when Lo Worship joins us.

Key Takeaways

1. Phased upgrades work: We got massive improvements now while planning for line arrays later
2. Network infrastructure is king: Proper switches and VLANs enable Dante, NDI, and KVMs to coexist
3. Choose the right ecosystem: Allen & Heath is purpose-built for permanent installs
4. Don’t compromise on critical gear: Those Adder KVMs and Meyer speakers cost more, but they’re worth every penny
5. Live drums can work: With proper isolation, good mics, and skilled engineers

Want to see this system in action? Join us at the Churchfront Conference November 4-5 in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Visit churchfront.com/conference for tickets – in-person and livestream options available.