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Favor Church in Manila, Philippines, Streams Live Services with eMotion LV1

Jul 11, 2021

“When COVID hit, we had to take our church online; choosing the LV1 was a simple decision,” says Senior Pastor James Aiton. We spoke to Favor’s FOH engineer Dan Blaza about using the eMotion LV1 for live mixes and broadcasts.

Favor Church’s FOH/Broadcast Engineer Dan Blaza

Favor Church’s FOH/Broadcast Engineer Dan Blaza.

Senior Pastor James Aiton and FOH/Broadcast Engineer Dan Blaza from Favor Church in Manila, Philippines, have found the eMotion LV1 live mixer an invaluable unit for delivering the church’s message to its congregation. Especially in the wake of COVID, the church has needed a solution for mixing live services, front of house and monitors, and streaming its live online broadcasts.

Talking about the console’s unique sonic characteristics, Blaza says, “eMotion LV1 and the integrated Waves plugins help us achieve top sound quality and major control over our live sound. This mixer gives us pristine, world-class sound, both for our live audience in the room and for our online viewers. The LV1 enables us to create the right sonic pressure and energy in the finest and most crisp way possible, and it produces a clean sound with higher reproduction accuracy.”

Discussing its simple design and portability, Blaza explains, “the LV1 is exceptionally quick and easy to set up. We are able to do multiple splits without using an analog splitter, with easy networking using common LAN connections. Another key feature is the LV1’s amazing portability. Imagine having a great-sounding 64-channel mixing console – that you can bring as hand luggage when traveling by air to church conferences and events! We may be moving between venues in the near future, so the LV1’s small footprint and portability give us a future-proof setup.”

“Another benefit is that our musicians can easily mix their own IEMs wirelessly through Waves’ MyMon Personal Mixing App, which gives them independent on-stage direct control of their monitor mix.”

MyMon Personal Mixing App

MyMon Personal Mixing App

Senior Pastor Aiton has also been super-impressed with the choice of LV1. He tells us: “We pivoted quite quickly when COVID-19 hit. We had to take our church online, and we are also planning to try and get into a larger venue once the pandemic is over. Choosing the eMotion LV1 was a simple decision. In contrast to other big-brand mixers, the LV1 is fully integrated with Waves plugins. We saw that other people were bringing the power of Waves plugins into their live mixes, but with large and expensive desks as controllers. We thought, why not just go for a sound mixer that is actually built around these plugins and is seamlessly integrated with them. LV1’s networking ability and flexible setup were key factors as well.”

Senior Pastor Aiton has also been super-impressed with the choice of LV1. He tells us: “We pivoted quite quickly when COVID-19 hit. We had to take our church online, and we are also planning to try and get into a larger venue once the pandemic is over. Choosing the eMotion LV1 was a simple decision. In contrast to other big-brand mixers, the LV1 is fully integrated with Waves plugins. We saw that other people were bringing the power of Waves plugins into their live mixes, but with large and expensive desks as controllers. We thought, why not just go for a sound mixer that is actually built around these plugins and is seamlessly integrated with them. LV1’s networking ability and flexible setup were key factors as well.”

Aiton adds, “We needed a cost-effective system that we could copy and transport to new campuses in the future, both in the Philippines and in other locations around the world. Choosing eMotion LV1 has been a great asset in helping our church, both in our physical service and our online service. The price point is exceptional, and the scalability is something we can expand as we grow as a church.”

Since the specific installation at Favor Church includes three LV1 consoles in a shared network setup, Waves’ Application Specialists helped the church’s technical staff plan the system’s design, ensuring fully qualified design and operation.

Blaza comments on their unique setup, “We’re using three sets of 64-channel eMotion LV1’s for FOH, broadcast and monitor mix. Two DSPRO StageGrid 4000 I/Os are situated in the monitor position beside the stage, shared via the SoundGrid® network connected with Cat6 80-meter LAN cables to our FOH and broadcast mix, with 40 inputs and 24 outputs. We're also using a Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server-C for redundancy, with a DSPRO StageGrid 1000 for added I/O and headphone monitoring, as well as for our separate broadcast mix. We are sharing I/Os from two DSPRO StageGrid 4000s, which are located at the monitor position near the stage. The DSPRO StageGrid 1000 is also being used for additional inputs and outputs for nearfield speaker monitoring and final mix output for our broadcast.”

Waves plugins, controlled directly from the LV1, are crucial to Blaza's sound: "We use the CLA Classic Compressors to add more character and control on all our instruments. These compressor plugins also help vocals float on top of the mix. The SSL E-Channel and SSL G-Channel are used on most of our input channels to give an analog feel to the mix; the F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ enables more control on the vocal mix bus as well as on the PA output. We use the NS1 Noise Suppressor on our vocal mics in order to minimize or eliminate stage bleed providing additional clarity to the mix, and we place the L2 Ultramaximizer on the final mix for added security for our output levels."

F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ

F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ

“The Renaissance Vox is also on all our vocal mics,” Blaza adds, “to ensure that the vocals always sit well on top of the mix. We also use the Greg Wells VoiceCentric to enhance all worship vocal mics and to handle effects for our singers. Last but not least, we use the WLM Plus Loudness Meter, which is especially valuable in keeping our signal level on track on all our streaming platforms when broadcasting.”

Concluding his praise for the LV1, Blaza says, “At Favor Church, we live-stream four services every Sunday. Thanks to eMotion LV1 and the integrated Waves plugins, we can achieve live mixes that sound as great as a fully mastered session!”

Want more on live sound? Hear about Biden’s inauguration parade mixed with the eMotion LV1!

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