The Bethlehem Assembly of God has long been a hub of Long Island’s Valley Stream New York City suburb community. Its charismatic ministry and contemporary, high-energy approach make it a draw for the hip, multi-ethnic congregation from across the community.
Music plays a large part ofinBethlehem Assembly’s services, and the church recently upgraded its 500-capacity sanctuary’s audio and lighting systems to better deliver it music and the message. A big part of the upgrade was the church become one of the first East Coast installations of DAS Audio’s new Sara system.
The system was conceived and designed by veteran audio engineer Burton Ishmael, whose regular ‘day job’ is running FOH for Madonna, and is based around left and right arrays totalling 16 DAS Audio Sara-100 compact powered line array systems with 3kW of class-D amplification. Four Sara-Sub 18-inch compact cardioid powered subwoofers deliver rock steady bass, and four DAS Audio Event-26a ultracompact line array cabinets handle front fill. System processing is covered by a single DAS Audio Matrix-66 unit controlled by DAS Audio’s latest control and management software, Alma. The installation was undertaken by Jamaica, NY-based Advanced Event Services.
‘It’s a pretty traditional A-frame design, about 60ft wide and 70ft deep, with a balcony, and that means big wooden beams, high ceilings, and lots of reflectivity,’ Ishmael explains. ‘It’s just not acoustically friendly. Add to that an older heating system and a foyer with open doors and you’ve also got temperature gradient issues.
‘It’s a classic case of a sanctuary designed for a certain era, and now you want to put live drums in there. It just calls for a different approach. The previous system was pretty long in the tooth, and the Sara system really gave us the ability to give them a huge leap in sound quality.’
Ishmael gives high marks to DAS Audio’s Sara and it’s ability to steer the sound onto the congregation and away from the walls and other reflective surfaces. ‘Years ago when most of the service was preaching and spoken word, performance didn’t matter as much. Once they started doing live music and bringing in drums and amplification, the room’s acoustics became an issue, and it only got worse over time.’
The upgraded system has been a hit with parishioners and technical crew alike. ‘The feedback we’ve had from the worship leader is that people are telling him how they now feel surrounded by the sound, encapsulated by it,’ Ishmael reports. ‘The crew are saying it’s much more of a concert experience, and much easier and faster to get the mix you’re looking for. The worship pastors feel empowered to try new and different things now, and don’t feel limited by the technology.’
Working with the DAS Audio team has been a long and fruitful relationship, Ishmael says. ‘DAS Audio is a company that has been a very dear part of my success. They are serious about what they do, and I’ve watched them grow and create amazing technologies over the years. They care about their product, and they care about the delivery and the service and the needs of their customers. Honestly, I cannot recommend them highly enough.’
More: www.dasaudio.com
