Mount Harmony Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina recently upgraded its fellowship hall audio system with an Allen & Heath SQ-6 digital mixer, a DX168 expander and an AR2412 expander. The SQ-6 mixes both FOH and in-ear monitors for the church’s modern worship service each Sunday.
Alan Conner of Audio Video Concepts in Indian Trail, North Carolina, provided Mount Harmony’s new SQ-6. Conner says the church had been using an older analog console and “The SQ-6 gives them more channels, a whole bank of effects and we added two expanders for their future growth.”
Taylor Helms is Pastor of Music and Worship at Mount Harmony and he manages the tech staff. Helms notes that the church uses another digital mixer in its sanctuary, and says, “I have struggled to train people on that board. But, with the Allen & Heath, my volunteers just seem to click with it. I had one volunteer who had only used the older analog board so going digital kind of spooked him. But he has been like a fish in water with the Allen & Heath.”
Helms saves an SQ-6 scene so the services always start from the same mix, EQ and effects. “You just hit a button and there it is,” he says. And he uses SQ-6 hot keys for things like recording. “Having that flexibility was a huge benefit.”
Mount Harmony’s modern service features a full band with vocalists and backing tracks and Helms wants to add additional vocalists soon. Conner says the two expanders at the stage and the SQ-6’s own inputs for wireless mic receivers allow the church to fully utilize the SQ-6’s 48 mix channels giving them plenty of room for this expansion. Helms adds that the booth is much cleaner now with CAT6 connections from the stage replacing the older analog snake.
Helms commented, “Now, we have a full stereo setup. That is a night and day difference. And, the Allen & Heath has been a huge quality leap for us. People hear more distinctions in the music than they could before and the clarity is much better.”
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