Production manager and FOH engineer Keefe Bieggar has selected Waves Audio’s eMotion LV1 Classic console and eMo IEM immersive in-ear mixing software to manage FOH operations for The Finding Church in Bellevue, Washington.
‘Our ministry conducts weekly Sunday night services, Tuesday Bible studies, Thursday prayer sets and annual conferences,’ Bieggar says. ‘The LV1 Classic is a perfect choice – it’s easy to use my existing Waves plug-ins and studio workflows in service. I’m not limited to one or two EQ options; I have the whole library of Waves plug-ins, unlocking creative possibilities.’
‘The venue is leased, requiring the church to bring in and manage its own equipment. ‘Our system relies heavily on Dante infrastructure, and we are using Hear Technologies Bridge for Dante, serving as a SoundGrid to Dante bridge,’ Bieggar explains. ‘All wireless mic feeds and in-ear feeds are supported via Dante, along with the backline in-ear system. Vocalists using wireless packs control their in-ear mixes via the Waves eMo IEM app. Integrating with other systems such as video, streaming or recording is seamless.’
Bieggar uses custom layouts for transitions between spoken word, music and video playback: ‘I build layouts so important channels are always on the same faders,’ he says. ‘To maintain consistent sound quality across services, I use Scenes, but I avoid presets and templates. I reset EQs and comps, starting from zero, especially on vocals. Placement, key and mic technique all matter. What worked last week may not work the next.
‘The LV1 Classic’s small footprint is a major advantage,’ he continues. ‘I can’t think of another 80-channel desk I could lift on my own. Space is limited, and the Classic fits perfectly in our small venue. Patching is easy and intuitive, and custom layouts are simple to build. Plus, volunteers find it much more intuitive than traditional consoles with outboard plug-ins.’
Bieggar’s essential plug-ins include Waves’ F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ-RTA for EQ, VEQ-4 for tonal sweetening, SSL EV2 Channel and SSL E-Channel for gating and expansion, CLA-76 and CLA-3A for compression, and NLS Non-Linear Summer for analogue sound. ‘I own a vintage Gamble console, and NLS is the closest I can get to emulating its saturation. On other consoles, configuring sends and returns can be tricky. On the LV1 Classic, I simply map an FX aux to a fader input and start mixing with sends.
‘Worship leaders appreciate the Waves eMo IEM app for its control, and the immersive panning is especially popular with vocalists,’ Bieggar says. ‘The frontline vocalists and select instrumentalists use the personal monitoring app [MyMon] to control their in-ear mix. The band members who use it love having granular control over every channel, and they’re big fans of the Immersive 360° mixing option. As an engineer, I also like that I can mask or hide channels the band doesn’t need, so when they open the app, they see only what’s relevant to them.
‘For streaming or broadcast mixes, Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain is great for mid-side EQ and widening, and L3 Multimaximizer is a great multi-band limiter for the master bus. I use Snapshots in SuperRack to automate key changes in Waves Tune, and the same workflow applies in LV1. For events with frequent handoffs and shared mics, Snapshots allow me to save and recall each performer’s EQ and channel strip.
‘Both the FOH team and congregation are impressed,’ he adds. ‘This is the most consistent sound we’ve ever achieved. The same plug-ins and chains I use in the studio are the ones I use live. I never feel like I’m fighting the console; it simply does what I need. The LV1 Classic has transformed our worship experience. Before, we had to rely on whatever desk the venue provided. Now, our own desk includes everything we need, built-in.’
More: www.waves.com