Technomad Brings Professional Sound to Cowboy Fellowship Arena

	Cowboy Fellowship Arena

The Cowboy Fellowship Church in southern Texas is a unique worship facility that preaches evangelism, discipleship, and service -- with an adjoining 2,800-seat live event venue on campus. The church hosts a variety of events in the venue, from all-day rodeos and bull-riding clinics to musical performances.

The venue opened in 2012 without a professional sound system, using standard stage equipment to produce and amplify audio. The church soon hired Buster Burch as facilities administrator, who specified and installed an advanced audio system to cover the entire arena in a more consistent manner. Burch researched various options and purchased a Technomad Turnkey PA system to ensure exceptional audio quality and long-term durability in the local environment. The complete system included four loudspeakers and four subwoofers along with a complete audio headend -- an unusual combination.

"I wanted to put together a system that looked good, sounded good, and would last," said Burch. "Our philosophy is that it's worth putting extra money into something that we know will last a long time. This system isn't just for us; it's for future generations."

The system is unusual in that each Technomad Berlin loudspeaker, mounted 20' off the ground, is accompanied by a Technomad Oslo subwoofer mounted 10' directly below. The Berlin and the Oslo are the most powerful loudspeaker and subwoofer models in the company's portfolio.

"I had a real desire for bass in this venue, as bass is what suffers the most when you work outside," said Burch. "If I am showing a video of a fireworks display, I want everyone in the stands to hear and feel that boom. The Oslo gives me exactly what we needed out of the bass at the low end. I'm very pleased."

Burch adds that the Berlins produce plenty of power, with intelligible voice and full-range musical reproduction. He notes that the wide dispersion ensures that he can walk the entire length and width of the arena without hitting a dull spot.

"We've had several events, and the audience feedback is that the audio is crisp and clear and not overly loud," said Burch. "I've had people tell me that they don't hear the normal delay and bounceback common in other arenas. The system works together as one giant loudspeaker to deliver audio across the entire bleachers. I have true high-end and plenty of low-end and mid response. And the sound envelope per speaker is incredibly large."

Typical venue events include team ropings, steer ropings, bull riding clinics, and ranch rodeos featuring men and women. Birch adds that the church plans to hold more live concerts moving forward, as well as special events such as Christmas services.

This means that the church also needed a durable sound system to ensure longevity. Burch evaluated the entire facility upon joining the staff, and quickly realized that weatherproof equipment was required. A roof provided coverage overhead, but open air surrounding the venue raised concerns. The requisite combination of durability and high quality audio ultimately led him to Technomad, the company says.

"We're about 30 miles south of San Antonio in the town of Jourdanton, and we get a lot of dust and wind as well as some cold and condensation," said Burch. "I like how the drain holes at the bottom of the cabinets expel condensation to keep them dry. I also used Technomad's new stainless steel mounts, which are very strong and sturdy in addition to being weatherproof. They lock in really well and give us flexibility to accurately adjust the angle and direction of each loudspeaker."

Burch purchased the Turnkey PA System from ProAudio.com of Grand Prairie, Texas. The complete system included a pre-wired, protective equipment rack with an audio amplifier, six-channel mixer and three microphones; as well as all required cables and connectors to expedite installation. Burch added a Mackie wireless control board for remote audio adjustments, as well as Sennheiser wireless equipment.