PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Clyne Media, Inc.
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF PASADENA, TEXAS, SELECTS
GUITAR CENTER PROFESSIONAL FOR POST-HURRICANE
REBUILD AND RENOVATION
— Church with long history sustained major structural damage
in Hurricane Ike, losing much of its roof as well as having its A/V
systems destroyed, but GC Pro had everything needed to get this church
back on its feet in a matter of weeks —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, February 2, 2009 —
The First United Methodist Church has been serving Pasadena, Texas,
since 1896, with services and programs to meet the needs of the area’s
children, youth and adults. But when Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast
in September 2008, even this sturdy house of worship felt the punch.
The third most destructive hurricane ever to make landfall in the U.S.,
and a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, the
storm left First United Methodist Church with a heavily damaged roof,
water damage to the church interior and a decimated audio/video system.
Fortunately, by working closely with Guitar Center Professional (GC
Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the
needs of professional users, and a dedicated specialized systems integrator,
the church was able to get back on its feet within weeks.
“There was a lot to do, but one of the main challenges
was having to schedule our activity in between the work being done by
contractors repairing the roof, remediating the water damage and mold,
and everything else that had to be done,” explained Les Williams,
Owner of Worship Media Productions, Inc., the Houston-based systems
design and integration company that took on the project and an approved
vendor installation partner with GC Pro. Working together, Worship Media
Productions and GC Pro completely refurbished the church’s A/V
systems, with the first service held in mid-December, a dozen or so
weeks after Ike left its mark.
The church’s architectural design called for a short-stack
line array consisting of four stacks of two JBL VRX932 enclosures each.
QSC PLX3602 amplifiers power the enclosures as well as JBL VRX928 backfill
monitors. A newly installed Aviom system provides monitoring. The console
is an Allen & Heath GL3800, and system processing is accomplished
via dbx DriveRacks. Worship Media Productions also installed new acoustical
treatments that had not been part of the previous sound system design.
“This combination of equipment lets the church have any configuration
of praise band, choir, piano and other singers and instruments,”
Williams said.
The video system is equally robust. The stage is flanked
by two 9 x 12 projection screens, illuminated by Sanyo 100 Series 6,500-lumens
XGA projectors and fed by either prerecorded program material or live
signal from two Sony BRC300 PTZ cameras operated remotely by a Vaddio
“Production-View” switching system. A Toshiba 57-inch LCD
screen is hung on the stage’s rear wall. Extron and Kramer systems
are used for video interfaces, conversions, switching and other operations.
The vast majority of this diverse equipment complement
was sourced and supplied by the local GC Pro store, and Williams says
he would be hard pressed to accomplish as much on this or any other
project without the support he gets from GC Pro. “As long as we’ve
been in business here, GC Pro has been our main supplier,” Williams
explains. “People like GC Pro Account Manager Troy Hanchett always
get things done right and on time, under any circumstances. Design changes
happen all the time in the field and if we need a certain piece of gear
delivered overnight GC Pro makes it happen. I pick up the phone and
what we need is there.”
For systems integrators like Williams, GC Pro is more
than a technology resource – it’s also a partner in designing
and specifying systems. He recalls a sound project in one of the music
education and performance spaces at the University of Miami for which
Hanchett made some key recommendations. “As it turns out, we had
been under-sizing the amplification of the system and Troy noticed it
when he reviewed the specs,” Williams remembers. “Sure enough,
he was right. I regularly bounce ideas off of the people I work with
at GC Pro. I like to think of them as part of our design team. I don’t
know where we’d be without them.”
Photo File 1: GCPro_FirstUnitedMethodist_PasadenaTX1.JPG
Photo Caption 1: Guitar Center Professional recently provided A/V solutions
for the refurbished First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, TX, which
quickly recovered from damaged sustained from Hurricane Ike. Pictured
is the church’s short-stack line array consisting of four stacks
of two JBL VRX932 enclosures each, and two Sanyo 100 Series 6,500-lumens
XGA projectors.
Photo File 2: GCPro_FirstUnitedMethodist_PasadenaTX2.JPG
Photo Caption 2: Guitar Center Professional recently provided A/V solutions
for the refurbished First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, TX, which
quickly recovered from damaged sustained from Hurricane Ike. Pictured
is the church’s Toshiba 57-inch LCD screen.
Photo File 3: GCPro_FirstUnitedMethodist_PasadenaTX3.JPG
Photo Caption 3: Guitar Center Professional recently provided A/V solutions
for the refurbished First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, TX, which
quickly recovered from damaged sustained from Hurricane Ike. Pictured
is one of four stacks of two JBL VRX932 enclosures, along with a Sanyo
100 Series 6,500-lumens XGA projector.
# # #
About Guitar Center Professional / Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center
that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes
recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring
musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing
extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC
Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the
world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More
information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.
Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of
guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio
and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates
more than 200 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. In addition, our
Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing
in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors,
college professors and students. We are also the largest direct response
retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly
owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site,
www.musiciansfriend.com.
More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's
Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.
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trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be
trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Clyne, Clyne Media, Inc. at (615) 662-1616