Forced into the Family Life Center in 2020 by Hurricane Laura, the Bridge City United Pentecostal Church (BCUPC) in Texas continued its services using an available analogue sound system. As part of rebuilding its permanent premises, the church team decided its 15-year-old digital sound system – including IEMs – should be upgraded to a Dante-based digital system, featuring 17 myMix ll personal monitor mixers connected to a myMix Control. This would bring spatial sound and new mix options, as well as a simple user interface to assist IEM mixing.
The church’s original IEM effort used a mono audio configuration, which lacked natural spatial content. ‘Since the brain has the ability to distinguish between mere milliseconds of delay in sound arrivals at left and right ears, and naturally compares or indexes information from all senses, it cannot reconcile a mono audio input against other sensory data regarding the acoustical environment,’ explains,’ says BCUPC FOH engineer, Tom Schneider. ‘It wasn’t until I started planning this current installation, and began researching available IEM solutions that I came across myMix.’
The primary driver behind the successful implementation of an IEM system was the acoustical challenges caused by highly reflective surfaces in the main sanctuary. It was determined that replacing floor wedges with IEM’s, together with acoustical treatment would provide the desired intelligibility.
‘I did an evaluation of the top systems, but what pushed me over the threshold was myMix’s approach to providing selectable effects on each channel according to the user’s requirements,’ says Schneider, who has been working with the church since 1980.
Over years of use, the church musicians grew to resent the old IEM sufficiently that Schneider reverted to floor wedges. ‘When I started reading myMix literature about spatiality it dawned on me that what I had observed in my team was mental fatigue, resulting from the brains’ effort to identify a left/right delay in the signals from the ears that matched the room information provided by the eyes and other senses – a delay that did not exist,’ he says. ‘Since the brain has the ability to distinguish between mere milliseconds of delay in sound arrivals at left and right ears, and naturally compares or indexes information from all senses, it cannot reconcile a mono audio input against other sensory data regarding the acoustical environment.’
The myMix ll personal monitor mixers and myMix Control were installed into the new Dante-system along with sound treatments mounted on the walls to extend the reach of the sound. Soon the praise team was introduced to the user-friendly IEM system, which allows customisations that can be transferred to different myMix mic stations.
‘The singers like that I am able to move their mixes around with them when they get a different mic assignment,’ Schneider explains. ‘A number of the team members have commented how clear it is, they described the sound as perfect. Some said they didn’t want to ever go back to the floor wedges.’
An added benefit to the myMix system is the ease of mixing and customising each mix. ‘The myMix approach to providing intuitive mix options with stereo and spatial effects on each channel according to the user’s selection was precisely what I wanted. Since my goal is to get out of the monitor mixing business, I looked for an IEM system that the user absolutely controls without my involvement, so I can focus exclusively on the FOH and broadcast mixes. With myMix I can do exactly that.’
Lacking the resources for a full-time monitor engineer, BCUPC relies on Schneider’s instincts and resourcefulness for how best to circumvent the shortage of manpower: ‘I knew going in that I would have to personally train each member of my team in one-on-one sessions,’ he says, ‘I began each practice standing on the platform with my headphones in hand, walking around helping each person get their mix perfect, while my assistant manned the console in the sound booth. This has actually been a rewarding experience for me as I plug my headphones into their myMix, since they have the belt packs, and begin to set up their mix while explaining what I am doing.’
With high praise from the singers and musicians, the myMix system provides a reliable, easy-to-use interface that works for the singers, musicians, and FOH engineer. The result has been a natural and energetic interaction between the music team and the congregation.
‘For a music team to be effective, they must be immersed in the music they are creating. Now, the singers sound amazing,’ Schneider reports. ‘I rarely have to help anyone with their mix.’
