Howick Intermediate School Sound System

Howick Intermediate School was built in 1937 and opened as Howick District High School.  In 1966 the school was re-established as Howick Intermediate School as it is known today.

The sound system they had been using was about 15-20 years old with column speakers and an old 100V mixer amplifier. This resulted in the school having to hire equipment for every production they held. Alex MacCreadie, Deputy Principal said “Over the last few years it became more and more obvious that the school needed a new sound system in the hall. This came to head at the end of 2006 when the amplifier blew apart and we had to cobble together bits and pieces to use in school assemblies”.

The school was fortunate enough to receive a $11,000 grant through KBB’s “Wishlist” funding Assistance. The only real challenge was fitting everything they needed into this budget!

Our design brief was for the best possible quality products and the ability to move the rack equipment around the hall, so they could conduct school assemblies from the stage and shows from the back of the hall.  With much discussion and thought the School went with: 2x JBL JRX115 speakers, a dbx DriverackPA, Inter-M L-1400 Amp, a Soundcraft EFX12 effects mixer, 4x Shure SLX14 systems, all housed in road-ready cases.  They decided to get the best quality wireless systems they could afford, which meant excluding subwoofers.  They have however future-proofed the system with a DriverackPA so they can add the subwoofers in at a later stage.

The school was extremely pleased with the job done and Alex commented: “This has been a real coup for the school, no longer will students have to suffer through scratchy sounding music for their performances, strain their hearing at assemblies or search in vain for a beat to dance to at discos. It has also put silence to the ‘great show, pity about the sound’ comments, matching their excellent performance with excellent sound”.

About KBB Music Established in 1888 as Kirk-Burnnand and Brown Music, KBB have been around for more than 120 years! They provide a wide range of services, be it for schools and churches, retail, rental and music education.

Tri State Electrical Ltd can be reached at dushan@tristate.co.nz