In February, multi-platinum recording artists Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith teamed up for a multi-city U.S. tour that reunited the two iconic singer/songwriters for the first time on the road together since the early 90’s.  CTS Audio was chosen to provide audio production for this landmark tour.  To ensure that fans in every seat were able to thoroughly enjoy this reunion of talent, CTS Audio flew a JBL Vertec 4888/4880/4886 Line Array powered by I-Tech HD 12000 amplifiers.  A Digidesign Profile Console was deployed for FOH, along with a Yamaha PM5D for Monitors.  Representing one of the first audio companies to do so, the CTS team beta-tested the Performance Manager by System Architecture.  In addition the audio crew applied the brand new Version 5 Tunings software (provided by Harman) to monitor and adjust the individual zones within the array.

The Spring portion of the tour visited 20 cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis and Columbus (Ohio), among others and was such a raving success that a fall route was put together to extend the tour.  There are still a few remaining fall dates and tickets are available.  For more information or for tickets, visit: http://amygrant.com/tour/

Important, is the method of communicating the timeless truth of Jesus within an ever-changing culture, no? In some Christian circles, the “show” not only contains the message, but attracts those who may not otherwise hear it. I attend a church whose leadership has a healthy respect for programming’s value in relationship building. And that’s really what we’re talking about here, isn’t it?  It’s a valuable tool – not the objective. It’s a style, not the focus. With its goal being to enhance the message of relationship and redemption – not dilute it. That message is the basis from which three vital relationships are launched: community with insiders, influence with outsiders and intimacy with God. Might it be said, then, that this message deserves our very best effort in presentation and communication?  Be it with all the bells and whistles or with just a platform on which to speak. If life change is the goal, and relationships are the means by which life change occurs, let’s allow ourselves the creativity to explore the mediums available – show or no show. The relationships are worth it.

We recently have had the pleasure of being part of a few large scale shows simultaneously.  While selling those shows can be difficult, with shrinking budgets, I can always count on the quality of work that we deliver.   Most of my sales require me to be at home after meeting with our clients.  Having a trusted team of well trained audio engineers helps me to feel well rested and confident that we are providing the best possible customer service possible.  The thing that helps differentiate our team from other companies is that we use mostly in house engineers.  That means that our crew is well trained in all of the equipment that we send on the road.

When our crew leaves the shop and heads out for the road, they can rest knowing that they, or their group of peers, have personally tested their systems before they are out in front of the client.  That gives them a huge advantage when it comes time for the last minute adjustments that come with doing a live show.  Our team proudly and seamlessly helps deliver the message to our audiences, every time.

I am very proud to have a team of men who are the very best at their craft.  They make what I do possible.  They deliver what I sell and that is immeasurable.

The People’s Church in Spring Hill. TN., along with the CTS Audio Installation team, recently completed the renovation of a vacant Kroger and repurposed all of its humpteen million square footage into a modern worship environment. And making the transition from their Sunday set up/tear down location to the renovated grocery store was their tried and true Yamaha M7CL. And throughout that expansive roof surface, can you guess where the one, single leak surfaced? [Enter Mr. Murphy] The FOH position sat directly below the leak. More precisely, the water stream fell directly into the console. “Like a good neighbor, state farm is there!” you declare. Take up a special console collection, maybe? Certainly it’s not going to work….right? Well, according to Dustin Lemler, People’s Visual Arts Director, “It was no problem. We just drained a quart of water from it, and it fired up without any problems.” The decision to purchase a Yamaha? A good decision, indeed. The other phrase you’ve all heard before may also apply, “Don’t try this at home.”

Asked if he had any ill feelings toward the HVAC units, Dustin aptly replied, “Nah, it’s all water under the (meter) bridge.” Kidding…pretty good line though.

CTS Audio recently added a few new items to its ever changing inventory. 

The family of Avid consoles is now available for rental with CTS Audio.  CTS purchased its first Avid console, and SC-48, in mid September for longtime friend and engineer Russ Long as he was heading out on the Steven Curtis Chapman fall tour.  This console made sense for size and ease of use as this tour was being packed into 2 trailers at the beginning of the tour.  Working with volunteer crews and having weight and space to contend with made this console an obvious choice for CTS.    

At the same time CTS decided to purchase the big brother of that console in a Profile / D-Show package.  Complete with a full Pro Tools HD recording software capability this console is an engineer pleaser.  We were consistently receiving calls about providing a recording solution that worked seamlessly with Pro Tools and this console made the most sense for us.  As the need for keeping tours and bands on budget continues to get more challenging, we enjoy being able to offer an additional service to our customers.

Both consoles offer a wide assortment of plug in packages that can be bundled with them.  This helps as each engineer desires his own unique sound and functionality out of the console. 

So how can CTS Audio help you on your next event?

Choosing to renovate a vacated Kroger grocery store in Spring Hill, TN, The People’s Church (a prominent Southern Baptist Congregation and Willow Creek Association Member led by Senior Pastor Rick White) asked CTS Audio to create a state-of-the-art worship facility in their new worship center.  The new Spring Hill campus is the first plant for The People’s Church, Franklin, TN and is led by campus pastor, Brandon Porter. The Sunday message is delivered via video recorded at the 9:00 am service at the Franklin Campus and then played back at 11:00am for the Spring Hill congregation. Since the video playback is such a critical part of the service for the new campus, CTS installed a Christie WU12K-M 10000 lumen 1920×1200 DLP projector on a 20.5’ x 11.5’ screen for Sermon Playback which is transported using Fast Forward Video (FFV) Micron HD Hard Drive Recorder/Player.  To ensure crystal clear recording of the sermon, a Panasonic AG HPX370 Camera was integrated into the video system set-up at the Franklin campus.

With a capacity of over 1000 seats, CTS Audio outfitted the worship center with NEXO GEO S12 line arrays and NEXO RS15 subwoofers.  Utilizing the church’s existing Aviom system, the CTS install team set up a monitoring package integrating Shure wireless mics (6 channels of ULXP with Antenna Splitters) and Sennheiser IEM’s (2 channels with Antenna Combiners). A Crestron Control system was set up to control the projector system and screen using an iPad station.

When asked about the installation, Brandon Porter commented, “We are extremely pleased and blessed to have worked with CTS Audio. They bent over backwards to work with us through every step of our process. We feel confident that we have absolutely the best audio-video system and installation for the absolute best price that we could have possibly gotten. On top of all of that, we really like these guys! We would definitely work with them again.”

]]> http://www.ctsaudio.com/installation-news/peoples-church-launches-spring-hill-campus/feed 0 http://www.ctsaudio.com/installation-news/cts-audio-completes-phase-1-at-fellowship-church http://www.ctsaudio.com/installation-news/cts-audio-completes-phase-1-at-fellowship-church#comments Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:05:34 +0000 Ben Christy http://www.ctsaudio.com/?p=1157 CTS Audio and the leadership team at Fellowship Church, Knoxville, TN., recently developed a multi-phased approach to equip their existing worship center with the latest in worship technology. Phase 1 concentrated on the audio environment of the room: focusing on the FOH by selecting the right mix of monitor consoles and the addition of a digital snake system. The team at CTS Audio successfully completed Phase 1 of the install earlier this summer.

Phase 1 of the installation showcases two DiGiCo SD8s and the Pro Co Momentum digital snake system.  The church was drawn to the ease of use and flexibility of the SD8 as well as to its “buttery” sound. Other consoles were considered for the role but the choice to go with the SD8s was unanimous. Worship Leader Jacob Winn commented after the installation, “We’re so glad we went with the DiGiCos. We’re very happy with them.”  For their IEM solution, Fellowship chose Shure’s new PSM900 product to receive the mix from the recently introduced iPad/ProCo application. This was phase 1 of a 2-phase audio installation with the second phase on the calendar for early 2011.

Phase 2 will focus on the loudspeaker, amplification, and digital signal processing/control systems. Planned for installation are JBLs 3-way biamplified 4887A line-array loudspeaker boxes powered by the amplifiers from Crown’s extensive CTS series. Processing for the system will be handled by BSS Audio’s BLU-160 master digital signal processer. Once phase 2 is complete, the conversation will turn to lighting and projection systems.

“One of the benefits of working with the local church is that you’re not only involved in the systems’ design and integration, but in the ministry itself”, commented Billy McCarthy, Director of A/V Installations for CTS.  “It’s not about a “show” that we can help them create with all the latest bells and whistles, but about how these designs help to create an environment where God is glorified. It’s a way to engage the world – starting with every seat in the house.”

The main stage was handled by a four man crew including Jon Schwarz at FOH, Weston Smith on MON, Brooks Abbott, and Jeremy Bayne on Stage patch.  There were a lot of great engineers and bands that played throughout the festival including Switchfoot, Newsboys, Casting Crowns, Family Force Five, Brandon Heath and Third Day, just to name a few.  The enviroment was wonderful as it  felt like a big family reunion as friends and colleagues kept showing up. It was an awesome experience with smooth load ins, and fast efficient soundchecks that resulted in flawless shows for the all involved. Both the client and the audience got to enjoy the work that went into making a show run so effortlessly.  “To have a crew work together for the 5 days it takes to make a festival happen is not always an easy thing, but this crew showed excellence and did it with a smile on their face”, exclaimed Peter Khosla the lead director of Big Ticket.

The rock stage was also handled by CTS Audio.  CTS deployed one of their Mobile Sound Stages and the crew made up of Peter Streiff at FOH, Tony Galyon at MON, Ben Batdorff at Stage Patch and Charlie Bowker on lights worked flawlessly thru the day.  With bands like Decyfer Down, Superchic[k], Fireflight, Disciple and Attaboy throughout the day, expectations can be high, but CTS was able to run thru a tight timeline and keep on schedule without rushing any of the bands.  The CTS crew looks forward to going back to Michigan next year to reconnect with friends and colleagues.

This Fall, CTS Audio had the priviledge of providing audio for Amy Grant’s Pieces of Our Lives Tour.  Created and produced by Synergy Production Group, the “Pieces of Our Lives” Tour was unlike anything Amy had ever done before.  The Tour visited 10 very intimate and unique venues across the US to benefit Compassion International and their Leadership Development Program.  This program is geared toward taking young people out of poverty, equipping them with a college education and empowering them to make a difference within their home community.  The tour average 4 LDP students sponsored per event.

Before each show, the Synergy team set up an elegant art gallery with exclusive photography, lyrics  andpaintings capturing themes from Amy’s signature songs. The paintings, which were provided by artists from all over the US, were made available to guests and Amy Grant fans via an online auction with net proceeds from the auctioned items going to Compassion and the Leadership Development Program.

Each evening event was limited to only 300 guests which gave Amy a chance to really connect with the audience.  Amy shared stories and insights into her songs and life throughout the evenings. ”Magical, magnificient, beautiful and surreal”, were just a few of the words we heard audience members use to describe the evening events.

DiGiCo has introduced the SD9, a complete, integrated system, which includes the mixing surface, a D-Rack digital stage interface and CAT 5E digital multicore, with the additional ability to simultaneously record 56 channels direct to multitrack software or DAW.

The SD9’s work surface features a large full-color digital TFT LCD touch sensitive screen, 24 full-length motorized faders with touch-sensitive fader caps, high resolution bar graph meters, quick access encoders and buttons plus user defined RGB backlit LCD scribble strips to ensure that all functions of the system are available to users in a split second, with no hunting through multiple menus.

New DiGiCo SD9 Console

It incorporates DiGiCo’s third-generation Stealth Digital Processing software as well as Super FPGA technology that incorporates floating point processing for exceptional headroom, dynamic range and audio quality.

The SD9 also features many other DiGiCo innovations, including snapshots, global scope, channel specific recall scope per snapshot, and a global crossfade for each console section, plus eight user Macros for fast access to presets.

The new D-Rack, which is an integral part of the SD9 system and connected to the work surface by a digital CAT 5E cable (included), provides 32 microphone inputs, eight line outputs and eight modular outputs that can be selected as either analog or AES, providing a capacity of 32 ins and 16 outs.

The system is expandable, allowing a second D Rack to be connected via an additional CAT 5E, doubling the number of inputs and outputs.

The D-Rack can either be floor or rack mounted with the option of a standard single power supply or dual redundant supplies.

A further option provides a fiber optic connection, allowing full compatibility with any DiGiCo SD Series console fitted with Optics, making the D Rack suitable as a stage or orchestral compact remote rack, giving access to a maximum of 64 inputs and 32 outputs on stage.

The console also provides a standard MADI connection, which allows 56 channels of studio-quality multitrack recording output to a computer running Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Samplitude, Reaper, Pro Tools or any other leading multitrack recording software as well as to any other DiGiCo console or rack.

CTS audio has just  taken delivery of the first SD9 console in the Nashville and surrounding area. Contact CTS Audio today to schedule a one-on-one demo. Call Danny Rosenbalm at 615.377.8808 ext.15 or email: mtaylor@ctsaudio.com. We will be offering special pricing during the month of September so don’t miss out on the opportunity to own this fantastic console at a killer price!