Having begun as a gathering of 18 people in a Long Island living room, V1 Church has grown into eight campuses across the US, with approximately 2,500 attending in person each week and more than 8,000 joining online. Its campus in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serves as its main broadcast hub and doubles as a music venue during the week.
‘This means we set up and tear down our entire set-up every week,’ says V1 Church Lead Audio Engineer, Christopher Wrigley. ‘Despite these challenges, our eMotion LV1 Classic handles the complexity and rigors of our Sundays seamlessly.’
The LV1 Classic FOH mixing set-up is new to the church, with Wrigley describing it as being ‘like a breath of fresh air’.
‘A typical Sunday service features a full worship team performing three songs, followed by our Pastor, Mike Signorelli,’ he says. ‘During the third song, we simulcast to all our campuses, transmitting the click, tracks and lead vocals across locations. This ensures synchronisation, with the lead vocalist from our broadcast campus guiding the performance on LED screens nationwide. The sermon is then broadcast live in real time to all campuses.
‘I’ve mixed on a lot of consoles, but there’s something about the combination of the amazing preamps in the LV1and the use of Waves plug-ins that ensures a pristine source and a clean, musical mix every time. It’s the ease of a digital console that feels and sounds like the best analogue desk you could ever hope to work on.’
‘I feel that one of the best advantages of the eMotion LV1 Classic is its simplicity. It never feels overwhelming. Its well-designed interface keeps things straightforward, making operation effortless even for new users, and the compact design allows it to fit into a relatively small and easily transportable case. For FOH, all that’s needed is a small table and a network cable connection. Additionally, I’ve used many other consoles and I have to say that the LV1 Classic’s routing options are the most straightforward and user-friendly that I’ve seen on any console out there. It all just makes sense.
‘The combination of an intuitive user interface, familiar to those with either a console or a DAW background, together with Waves plug-ins integrated directly into the system, eliminates the need for setting up external connections or additional software. It’s a solution that’s efficient, low-stress, and fast. The ease of set-up and quick deployment means significantly less time spent preparing and more time focused on sound check – whether on a Sunday morning or at a HOW event. The eMotion LV1 Classic excels in this aspect, offering powerful group processing capabilities that deliver impressive results, particularly for drums and background vocals. I come from a studio background, and with years of experience using Waves plug-ins, adapting to the LV1 Classic was a breeze for me. Training volunteers to use this console is also incredibly straightforward, which is a crucial factor in the Church setting.’
‘Also,’ he adds, ‘The eMotion LV1 Classic runs smoothly on its internal DSP at approximately 65 per cent capacity, effortlessly handling the audio requirements of V1 Church’s services. While we have access to a Waves Extreme-C SoundGrid server for connection if needed, the system’s internal processing power has proven more than sufficient, eliminating the need for external support so far.’
Commenting on his choice of essential Waves plug-ins, he says: ‘My must-haves are the SSL G-Channel, which I tend to use on most tracks, it’s extremely versatile, reliable, and delivers great results. Having grown up working on SSL consoles in studio environments, I appreciate their excellent sound quality and musical EQ curves, which make it the ultimate Swiss Army Knife of plug-ins. Using it in a live setting has truly been transformative. The F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ (RTA) is a true workhorse with countless applications. Its real-time analyser is especially valuable when training new engineers, helping them visually grasp the reasoning behind my processing decisions. The ability to make just one or two bands dynamic, also allows me to use it as a more precise alternative to the C4 – ideal for taming resonant toms or snares or addressing a specific problem spot in a vocal.
‘For vocals, pairing a fast-attack/release CLA-76 Compressor/Limiter with a slower CLA-2A creates a classic compressor chain that consistently gives you a smooth result every single time. Then, follow up with a C4 [multiband compressor] for a final touch. I love a C4 as a final tone shaper, and to control a bit of boxy or harsh frequencies on a vocal. The H-Reverb offers an impressive range of usable algorithms, but my go-to is the warm plate for a rich, spacious vocal reverb. Lately, I’ve also been loving the 80 Good Ole Plate preset in the hardware section – it works beautifully for vocals and is equally amazing on snare. Finally, applying a light SSL Comp on the LR adds just the right amount of glue, setting you up for a flawless mix – I could confidently run any show, from a small 25-person church service to a 15,000-seat stadium, on these seven plug-ins alone and be more than happy with the results.’
Wrigley’s set-up features an LV1 Classic at the FOH and broadcast location, with several Macs running software, such as MainStage, Ableton, Reaper, ProPresenter, Resi and Pro Tools.
‘Since adopting the Waves eMotion LV1 Classic, our production team has been receiving weekly compliments on the sound quality,’ Wrigley concludes. ‘The integration of Waves plug-ins allows us to fine-tune and shape the audio with remarkable ease, using a system that is reliable, intuitive and familiar. Week in and week out, we consistently deliver a powerful mix that is punchy and engaging, while maintaining levels around 90-93 dBA. And, we currently have two more eMotion LV1 Classics on order...’
More: www.waves.com