16.02.10
QSC in church refurb
A Roman Catholic Church built in 1844 has undergone a £3.5-£4 million (€4-€4.6 million) redevelopment that included a new QSC sound system. A pair of white polystyrene QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers were yoke-mounted vertically onto the walls either side of the altar.
Built in 1844, and the third oldest Roman Catholic church in Belfast, St. Malachy’s has been dramatically redeveloped, with restoration of the brickwork and plasterwork, complete with marble altar, mosaic floor and magnificent ‘wedding cake’ fan-vaulted ceiling.
The church was closed for 15 months while the renovation was carried out and a new QSC sound system was fitted. The speakers were selected to blend in with the white surroundings and deliver good intelligibility.
The QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers provide the dispersion for both the gallery and ground floor seating tiers, while a pair of outfacing high-output AD-S82H 2-way loudspeakers (using the IntelliDock intelligent mounting system) extend coverage to the wrap-around side pews.
Installation contractor Gary McElveen, who runs local PA specialists Communication Systems Ltd, was introduced to the project by electrical consultants Williams & Shaw and quickly contacted Jim Hooks at local dealers DJ Kilpatrick.
“The church is extremely wide and narrow, with a gallery that virtually overlooks the altar,” said McElveen. “In the 23 years I have been in the business, I have never fitted out a church shaped like this — it was far from being the usual rectangle.”
A lack of available time prevented the installation team from commissioning an EASE model of the building. They went purely on experience and McElveen said he was delighted he could install the system with a fairly flat EQ and detect no hotspots wherever they positioned themselves among the 1,200 seats.
The low impedance system is backed up by a 100V line recessed ceiling speaker system which also ensures even coverage at the back and out in the entrance foyer.
The QSC equipment was provided by Shure Distribution (UK), which also supplied a Shure SLX wireless system (lapel and handheld for the officiating clergy and soloist in the gallery) as well as boundary mic and gooseneck for the lectern.
All presets are stored in a rack-mount mixer in the vestry so that all the officiating clergy need to do is adjust the levels.