Dudley Baptist Church

Sanctuary sound from the ground up

CLIENT

INDUSTRY

Religious

LOCATION

Dudley, GA

DATE

April 2017

TECH

Audio · Video · Lighting · Control

Our Solution Story

Dudley Baptist Church was a full design/build from the ground up with new construction by PAR Church Builders. All systems and infrastructure were designed by dB INTEGRATIONS.

“I just don’t want the sanctuary to sound like the Grand Canyon,” stated Senior Pastor Billy Daws, referring to the previous sanctuary’s ambient reflections.

Total System

AUDIO + VIDEO + LIGHTING + CONTROL

dB partnered with the church early on to make suggestions and modifications in design of the stage and front-of-house booth for optimum space and performance. We designed and specified conduit runs inside the foundation to connect the stage to the booth, as well as conduits from the AV booth to video screen locations, lighting runs, etc. We built a 3D computer model to provide concept drawings, audio, and lighting analysis to determine the best acoustical treatment coverage and loudspeaker performance, as well as ensure consistent lighting coverage on the stage.

Audio

We installed three loudspeakers and two subwoofers, flown up in the ceiling, to cover the congregational listening. An additional loudspeaker was installed above the stage for the choir loft. The AV booth contains a digital console and multiple wireless microphone systems, with antenna management. In the choir suite is a tall equipment rack that houses all of the power amplifiers and the main digital snakes that are wired directly to the floor pockets on stage. Members of the large praise band have their own personal monitor mixers and ear buds (in ear) to control their own individual mixes. Doing so has eliminated stage monitors and greatly reduced noise. A series of floor pockets on-stage custom designed by our team gives each musician two inputs, one output (if needed), and one network port for their personal monitor mixers. There are two more floor pockets that have up to eight XLR Inputs, two returns, and two network ports.

We also installed roughly eighty acoustical panels, custom built for Dudley Baptist’s space.

Worship Director Myles Johnston says, “The ability to multi-track record our rehearsals and the ability to later tweak the settings on the console through the sound system is an incredibly useful tool. Not just for Sunday morning, but for training our team to mix in the sanctuary when not in use.”

Video

There were three projectors and screens installed, flown from the ceiling at the front and attached to the rear wall in the back. A switcher in the AV booth controls everything, along with an iMac running Pro Presenter. The projectors can be turned on and off with a touch-panel system.

Lighting

dB installed a total of 20 LED ellipsoidals for key lighting on the stage, and a total of 12 RGBA high performance multicolor LED fixtures wash the front and back of the stage. In the AV booth is an Apple iMac with a lighting control system. A dimming panel in the choir suite controls the house lighting.

Control

The AV booth has a rack-mounted sequencer control switch that allows a single-button power-up/down for everything. Installed by the electrician but designed by dB, this makes sure everything turns on properly and powers down in proper order. This also protects against brown-outs.