As published in Worship Facilities, Sep/Oct 2008
The Perdues of Amarillo, Texas, have always been in the business of sound. But it was by divine “accident” that the family-owned recording company found its niche delivering acoustical products and installation services to clients such as Universal Studios, NASA, and churches all across the country.
Worship Facilities Magazine caught up with CEO Joab Perdue to learn more about the busy family business.
WFM: Tell me how your business morphed from a recording studio into Perdue Acoustics.
Perdue: Perdue Acoustics began in 1989 when my father, Jay Perdue, received a call from a friend who was a Christian High School band director, and who had a pressing need for sound control in his music room. Up until this point, dad had built and operated Perdue Recording Studios since 1985. When he was building the recording studio facility, he experimented with a new, patentable, sound-absorbing product idea. It was this idea that he used to help his friend, the band director. And, as they say, the rest is history. The first High School band hall was a success.
My father then started calling more musical friends and found there was a great need for this type of acoustical work not only in schools, but in churches. We now serve churches, schools, and other facilities across the United States with our acoustical products.
WFM: Tell me how your products help churches, in particular.
Perdue: Echo and reverberation made the spoken word unintelligible in many churches. The praise and worship were often overpowered by the instruments played. Social interaction in Fellowship Halls was difficult with competing conversations, the rattle of dishes, and the clash of pots and pans in the kitchen areas. Using patented panels, baffles, and other specialty products, Perdue Acoustics has provided wall panels and other sound abatement products that help restore intelligibility to the sermon, as well as enjoyment to meetings and social activities in Sunday school rooms and Fellowship Halls. Approximately 55% of our business is church-related.
WFM: Can churches of all sizes benefit from Perdue Acoustics?
Perdue: We help the acoustic environment in anything from multi-thousand-seat auditoriums to small sanctuaries, TV editing suits to fellowship halls, and ‘gymna-sanctu-torioums.’
WFM: What's the biggest misconception churches have about acoustics, in general?
Perdue: We find that the No. 1 misconception churches have is that they simply do not understand the importance of the impact that room acoustics have on EVERYTHING that happens in a room. Many times churches spend thousands on new sound systems and speakers only to find out that the same problem is still there. Why? No one ever explained to them the importance of room acoustics. The room acoustics are the missing link between the presenter/sound system and the listener. Without solving the acoustical problems of a room, they will show up over and over, no matter what sound system changes are made. It is quite unfortunate that a great deal of decision makers at houses of worship didn’t have acoustics on their minds when constructing their facilities.
WFM: What about when a church is designed well, acoustically? What services do you offer then?
Perdue: Even in the best-designed rooms there may still be a need for acoustical treatments. It is best to address the acoustics on the front side of any project, but the acoustical cures can still happen after the room has been built. It may be a little trickier than if it had been dealt with on the front side, but it can still be solved. With the right products and approach, in most cases you can still achieve an amazing acoustical environment.
WFM: Tell us about your wool core products and others. What benefits do they offer when it comes to acoustics?
Perdue: Perdue Acoustics began innovatively creating our absorbers out of a mineral wool core. Mineral wool insulation has been around for a while, but Perdue Acoustics started working closely with the manufactures to make a better quality product when it comes to absorbing sound. With a few trade secrets, we were able to engineer and patent the highest rated sound absorbing products on the market to date. We continued this innovation quest by developing a full line of products around our mineral wool core process. Wool core products have many benefits, including durability, a 100% fireproof core, high Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) values (which means you buy less product to get the job done), and an attractive appearance.
Several patents later, products offered by Perdue Acoustics include fabric-wrapped wall panels, hanging sound baffles, diffusers, and reflectors in many shapes and sizes, the versatile Wedge system with many possible applications, a unique 180-degree system of products, and the newest innovation, a patent-pending Isolating Drum Booth with a sliding access door.
Perdue Acoustics will soon have another new product available that will absorb low and mid frequencies and diffuse the mid high-to-high frequencies back into the room. This treatment is excellent to counter-balance the high frequency absorptive characteristics of the carpet and curtains that most sanctuaries already have in place.
WFM: Why is the church market important to you, personally?
Perdue: The church market is very important to me for several reasons. Although I am CEO of Perdue Acoustics, I also serve as my home church’s worship pastor, so I understand the impact the church has on people’s lives and I know it is vital that people understand (clearly hear) what is being said. Without proper acoustics, this can not be achieved.
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