ATI PARAGON II PRODUCTION CONSOLE MOVES TO NEW MARINERS CHURCH

"The Paragon II was the console to buy," states Van Metschke, Mariners Church's chief audio engineer and primary sound mixer. "We investigated a lot of analog and digital consoles, and concluded that the ATI Paragon offered outstanding sound quality and excellent value for money. I am looking forward to using the system in our new Auditorium, where we have a large multi-element line array to cover a dramatically increased seating area."

"Quite simply," adds Mariners Church's technical director, Ken Robertson, "we purchased the Paragon because of its sonic quality. When Van and I wrestled with the choice of analog or digital consoles for our application, we actually looked at the Yamaha PM1D and the DiGiCo D5. However, we felt we would not benefit from the biggest plus of digital consoles - Recall. So, we set our 'Keeping up with the Joneses' hats aside and choose the Paragon II which is, without question, one of the best analog consoles available today. The savings was tens of thousands of dollars better allocated to other equipment."

Music features strongly during gatherings at Mariners Church. Services often include a number of featured vocalists, a medium-sized rhythm section and a large choir, all of which need to be balanced at the front-of-house console. Indeed, Van Metschke considers one of his favorite features on the ATI Paragon II to be its comprehensive dynamics section per channel. "The RMS compressor/limiters and parametric noise gates sound very musical," he explains, "and ensure that we can run a hot mix without worrying about overloading the amps and loudspeaker systems. And it means we did not have to purchase a rack of outboard dynamics units."

To ensure a clean stage layout, the church specified Sennheiser EW300IEM and Shure PSM Series personal monitor systems. For added mobility, wireless microphones include Audio Technica AT-5000 and Shure UC4 models.

Combining Class-A analog processing with digital controlled switching, the ATI Paragon II provides LCR panning, eight stereo sub-groups, eight stereo matrix outputs, two mono and two stereo mix outputs. "Our console is a standard system that is comprised of 48 input strips laid in two banks of 24 on either side of a central control section," Van Metschke confides. Channel strips are available in mono or stereo configurations, routing to eight stereo output groups and controllable via eight stereo VCA channels and eight mute groups. Stereo input channels can be installed in any position within a 48-channel frame, up to a maximum of 24 modules. All signal routing and signal on/off settings are handled by microprocessor-controlled switching. Assignments are held in non-volatile memory and can be stored/reloaded using optional software that provides access to 256 snapshot scenes.

Van Metschke, chief audio engineer at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, with the ATI Paragon II Production console, which was moved into the new house of worship center in October.

"The console's EQ section is particularly comprehensive," Van Metschke enthuses. "As well as high- and low-pass filters, mono channels include a fully parametric four-band equalizer with peak/shelve selection on each band, while the stereo channels feature fixed bandwidth and shelving for low and high bands." A channel-insert function allows the return signal to be applied to either the VCA or the EQ input. The insert send jack is always active, outputting either pre/post-EQ signals.

Output routing is handled via a bank of eight multi-function switches at the top of each assignment module - plus the stereo returns. "One mode assigns post-fader signals to any of the eight stereo groups," continues Van Metschke. "Another accepts level and mute control into the module from any of the eight masters, while the third accepts mute control into the module from any of the eight mute group masters. And routing modes can be selected either locally or globally." Separate mix assignment switches assign post-fader audio to the two mono and two stereo busses. (For stereo modules, the mono mix receives a mono sum of left and right).

"The ATI Paragon II is well-built and reliable," sound mixer Van Metschke concludes. "It features an easy-to-learn front panel layout - essential for our untrained volunteer staff - and is a high-end design. It was the only choice."

Regarding Mariners Church's recent expansion, Ken Robertson explains that seating capacity of its existing worship center was restricting growth. "When you reach 80% capacity in a space, newcomers feel there is no room for them and they find another church to attend. Your growth slows dramatically."

The solution was to purchase land behind their existing property and build two new buildings. The church's "Imagine 1" campaign initiative secured funds to purchase an additional 26 acres of land adjacent to its original campus. The "Imagine 2" secured an additional $30 million for the new 63,000 square-foot Port Mariners Children's Building, plus the new 81,000 square foot multi-function Worship Center. Port Mariners opened officially in late June, and the Worship Center opened in October.

The ATI Group is the parent company of Audio Toys Incorporated, API Audio and the newly formed ATI Group Distribution Division. Audio Toys manufactures the industry leading Paragon II monitor console, the Paragon II production console and associated rack mount gear. API remains the leader in analog recording gear, such as the famed Legacy console, the TEC award-winning 7600 channel strip, and the acclaimed 2500 stereo bus compressor.

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