OctoPre's Go To Church

October 2004

St Charles Catholic Church required a two fold solution to their audio issues. The first problem was that the two analogue consoles in use had become intermittent and no longer reliable. The second point was that the church does not have a regular sound person and so the diverse requirements of the music ministry were not been met.

Jonathan Toole, facilities manager for St. Charles, contacted Atlantic Pro Audio to resolve these problems. Two Focusrite OctoPre's and a Yamaha DM 1000 were installed to accomplish this. The OctoPre's features 8 mic pre's with dynamics and it is these dynamics that provide an important part of the audio control. The excellent limiters ensure that no digital distortion occurs when the same mic is used by different cantors during the same service. This combined with the programmability of the DM 1000 and its on board DSP have delivered excellent results.

Craig Beyrooti of Atlantic Pro Audio, programmed the digital console and included scenes that cover all of the church's services. The presiding priest or music minister recalls the relevant scene on the Yamaha and gets consistent and predictable performance from the church's audio system.

Jonathan has declared that the parish priests and the music ministry are delighted with this new arrangement. "It is especially comforting to know that we have the capability to provide exactly what is needed by pushing a button and knowing that if someone fiddles with the board, we can always get back to where we need to be." The congregation have also voiced their appreciation for the improved audio.