CenterPoint Church, located in Eatonville Washington, recently installed a Mackie DL32R Digital Mixer in their newly constructed meeting space.
Launched in 2008, CenterPoint Church is a nondenominational church that hosts contemporary-style services, including an amplified praise band, along with a wide variety of events, Recently, CenterPoint constructed a small pod-type building that seats 50 or 60 people. Called the Mini Hub, it’s a versatile space with a small stage, great for midweek events and activities, often including music. For this cozy space, the church’s tech team sought an easy-to-use sound system that was versatile, had a small footprint, and offered the and convenience of digital technology. CCI Solutions of Olympia, Washington, which designed and installed CenterPoint’s audio and video systems, provided the answer: the Mackie DL32R rack-mount digital mixer.
“The Mackie DL32R works great for us,” begins Pastor Jonathan Cross. “Everyone likes it. It has been easy to train people to use it, much easier than with our previous mixer. Four people primarily use the mixer, and all learned and adapted to it quickly.”
The fact that the DL32R fits in just three rackspaces is very important. “We don’t even need outboard processors,” Pastor Cross points out. “For instance, the mixer’s EQ is our only room EQ.” CenterPoint’s DL32R is mounted in a small, custom-built media cabinet with wheels so it can be rolled out for events. Should the console in the main sanctuary fail, the DL32R could be rolled in to replace it. “We mostly use the mixer in our small space but I wouldn’t be afraid to use it in a much larger venue,” insists Cross. The cabinet holds the DL32R, the wireless equipment, and a couple of pullout trays with a laptop. The iPad that runs Mackie’s Master Fader control app recharges in the cabinet when not in use.
“We’ve also used the DL32R for outside events,” Cross explains. “We set up a stage outside the building and ran the mics to the mixer inside. The Wi-Fi has enough range that we were able to remotely control the DL32R from the outdoor stage, without having to bring the rack outside.”
CenterPoint’s ministries use the sound system for an assortment of events and activities, which often include music. “The various ministries use similar instrumentation but their setups are not exactly the same,” observes Cross. “With the DL32R, we were able to set up multiple mixer scenes, so now each ministry calls up the scene they need, and they’re ready to go. They don’t have to change the settings someone else was using or be concerned that someone will mess up their settings. It works very well.”
The DL32R is by no means the first Mackie product used at CenterPoint. “We have a lot of Mackie gear and have always had good experiences with it,” Pastor Cross states. “So we were confident that the DL32R would be the right solution for us-and it certainly has been. I would not hesitate to recommend the Mackie DL32R to a friend.”
