All Saints, Clifton

All Saints Church in the Clifton area of Bristol is of 1960s modernist design with large areas of glass and concrete, making it probably the most reverberant church we have ever worked with.

With almost no internal sound absorbing materials the spoken word was barely intelligible, but the congregation wished to keep the ambience for the musicianship that this church is well known for.

APi Sound & Visual designed a system to direct the reproduced speech and recorded music directly into the seating areas and keep it away from reflective surfaces. We achieved this using TOA line array speakers. Careful application of equalisation ensured that natural room resonances were minimised.

To ensure that the system is simple to use and flexible for visiting performers, we selected an Allen and Heath rack mount mixer incorporating a simple touch screen control surface, which is conveniently mirrored on an iPad for complete wireless operation. When used for small performances contributors can connect to a digital stagebox on the dais and a separate app on the iPad gives all of the functions expected from a professional mixing desk.

The result is an easy to use system designed for both speech intelligibility and live music that manages the reverberance of the church and is aesthetically unobtrusive.

To discuss how APi Sound and Visual could assist your church with a sound system, please call us on 0845 5578350 or contact us online.