Set in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston, New Life Church houses a 2000-seat sanctuary as well as several seminar rooms and children’s facilities. As part of its ongoing mission, New Life recently added a live streaming facility and upgraded an 15-year-old Yamaha M7CL console to a Yamaha Rivage PM3 supplied and installed by Stage Audio Works.

Established in 1985 and now an important part of the Bryanston community, the church has a long-standing relationbship Stage Audio Works that dates from2012 when the company installed the first d&b audiotechnik V-Series line array system in South Africa into the New Life auditorium. ‘It was certainly the first V-Series system in SA, and it was actually one of the first anywhere – the serial numbers are sub-100,’ notes SAW CTO, Nathan Ihlenfeldt. ‘We basically specified it off the data sheet, and it’s still doing a fantastic job.’

Stage Audio Works returned in 2017 to upgrade all the house and stage lighting, and then during the Covid-19 pandemic to develop a live streaming solution. ‘Lots of churches started live streaming during lockdown as way of remaining connected to their congregation,’ Ihlenfeldt recalls. ‘After discussion with the church leadership, we opted for a solution built around a DAW, which offers an in-the-box rather than a console-based workflow. A stable, server grade PC was supplied with a PCIe Dante card, with Neumann monitoring and Focusrite Rednet interfacing. Enabled by the Dante network, it fits nicely into the existing infrastructure and is easy to manage, extremely flexible and keeps costs contained. It’s now an integral part of the set-up.’

The most recent development has been the console upgrade to a Yamaha Rivage PM3. New Life’s previous console was an M7CL, which had been working non-stop since 2007. ‘The decision to replace it was a pre-emptive measure rather than a reactionary one,’ Ihlenfeldt explains. ‘It was still going strong after 15 years of solid service – a real testament to the reliability and robustness of Yamaha’s engineering. However, as the musical capacity of the church has evolved, it was time for an update that would allow for growth.’

The stability of the Yamaha platform meant that it was an easy decision to stay with Yamaha, and the PM3 offers everything the church needs to support an extremely high standard of audio. Further, Stage Audio Works was able to reuse certain elements of the previous infrastructure, such as the stageboxes that had been upgraded to digital some time ago, resulting in a cost-efficient and streamlined integration process.

‘It has all worked out very well,’ Ihlenfeldt reports. ‘We’ve significantly upgraded New Life’s A/V and broadcast capabilities over the years as the church has developed, and we’re proud to have been a part of its journey. Regarding the console, the PM3 offers the same functionality and mixing channels as Yamaha’s flagship, the PM10, but its compact form factor and intuitive control surface makes it a perfect fit for house of worship applications. New Life Church can look forward to another 15 years of reliable sound mixing in a future-proof format.’

More: www.stageaudioworks.com