At over 130 years old and counting, First United Methodist Church of Midland, Texas is the oldest church in Midland, an oil industry hub and home to over 100,000 people. The church enjoys local fame because its spacious and beautiful sanctuary was the site of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush’s wedding, and the First Lady’s mother, who is local to the area, is still a member. Unfortunately, a recent sound reinforcement system “upgrade” to line arrays disappointed congregants, staff, and musicians alike because of its murky, indistinct sound. FUMC called in local AV integration firm Romeo Music, who worked with Danley representative Anderson Sales and Marketing to design and install a straightforward replacement system at a fraction of the cost using Danley’s patented point-source technologies. The new Danley system is a hit, so much so that FUMC is considering a new Danley system for its contemporary worship space as well.
“This was a sensitive situation,” said Rebecca Lowrey, account manager at Romeo Music. “First United Methodist holds a traditional service in the sanctuary, with reinforced voice, piano, choir, and string quartet. They also have a pipe organ. Many of the solo musicians are paid, which gives you a sense of how much the church respects music. Their new line array system was less than three years old. It was expensive, respectable technology but the wrong application. There were many spots in the sanctuary where no one could make out what the pastor was saying, and everywhere else it was muddy and reverberant. No one could even hear the choir, and the choir couldn’t hear themselves or the piano that is just ten feet away. There was a lot of frustration as the line array system was very far from meeting their needs.”