Which system is best for my church?

Portable PA
1

Hello all,

I am a worship director at a small church. I am looking at the Bose L1 series to replace our existing traditional system which is in bad repair.

We are a congregation of 200 with a max capacity of 250–in a small auditorium.

The band has no need to mic the drum kit and the bass is stand alone.

We need to run through the system the following: electric and acoustic guitars, 2 electric keyboards, saxophone and three vocalists.

I can see so many variations that may work: three l1 compacts and one T1.

2 l1S with a T1, or

maybe a single l1 II with a T1 and a small mixer?
I am concerned about the ability of all to be able to hear. Incidentally, the drummer hears a click track in ear and I have a track system I play from my laptop if an instrument is missing that service.

The platform is relatively small with a 14 foot ceiling. When the worship band plays–the congregation does sing–but the crowd noise level is very low.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I am limited by budget and will be hard pressed to spend more than $4500. Perhaps I am asking too much for too little?

Thanks in advance,

John

2

Hi steadfast11,

Thank you for joining the Forum.

Can you tell us the dimensions of the church - just approximations will be fine. I’m trying to understand the greatest distance from an L1® to someone who needs to be able to hear it.

Is there a balcony or are there alcoves or other architectural features?

Could you post pictures of the inside of the Church - or do you have a website with pictures?

3

I just checked the website–no inside pics. I will get some Wednesday.

Approximate dimensions are–from back of stage to entry doors–60 feet. (from front of stage about 40 feet)

The sanctuary is roughly shaped like a baseball field with the stage/platform being home plate. The platform is elevated three normal steps.

There are no balconies or alcoves.

The sidewalls may be closer to 65-70 feet as they fan out like the foul lines in baseball.

The actual platform/stage is 35 feet across the front and probably 15-20 feet across in the back.

The ceiling seems to be 14’ high from the audience and about 10-11 feet from the band. Also, the vocalists range from 1 to 3 depending on the service–they are all non-instrument players save one that plays acoustic guitar.

We are playing contemporary Christian music that often have instrumental breaks that should prominently feature guitar or sax solos.

I will get some pics–and upload later after Wednesday’s rehearsal.

I look forward to hearing your recommendations.

Thanks,

John

4

Here are some pics–I can’t seem to load more than one per post:

5

Another:

6

From rear of platform:



/

7

Hi John,

Thanks for posting the pictures. That’s a big help.

I think that you will have the best results (within the budget) with two systems.



One Model 1S with B1 bass and T1

One Model 1S with B2 bass and T1

You may not actually NEED the B2, but if you have percussion instruments or a bass guitar running through the system you’ll appreciate having one.

Having two T1s will allow you to run the systems as intended without having to get another mixer.

This puts you very very close to your budget figure.

Three Compacts might do the job, but once people (the congregation) get singing, I think that the Model 1S system will be much better at reaching the back and sides of your space.

How does that look?

8

Thank you!

That points me where I need to go.

I will begin working towards it!