New York City’s Carnegie Hall has become the world’s first concert hall to include a Yamaha PM1D digital mixing system, as part of a recent audio system upgrade, which also included a Myere Sound loudspeaker system. The design was completed by David Andrews of Andrews Audio, John Monitto from Meyer Sound and acoustical consultants Art-Tec, who performed extensive acoustic and RASTI measurements. The decision to purchase a large format digital front of house console came about through recommendations, and the need for future expansion. "We had an analogue board for 11 years, and it worked very well," said head of sound John Cardinale. "However, we were intrigued by the capabilities and the sound of digital consoles when they were first introduced, so we convinced

Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Outline has developed the first high power, pollution free sound system with its' innovative Soundtracker system. The Soundtracker is a ceiling mounted tile that works as part of a matrix. The patented design incorporates a 21 foot horn, and a dual concentric 10" and 2" driver configuration. When a matrix of at least 16 units are installed, the off axis sound rejection is 30dB. Larger matrices of Soundtracker will perform equally. The intention for the composite ceiling tile which weighs in at an astonishing 22Kg, is for venues that either have a noise pollution problem, because of their location or indeed because of the Noise at Work Regulations Act which dictates limited working hours in areas of high SPL. Soundtracker can also be used as an extremely cost effective solution for hotels, exhibition or any public venues where sound pollution is

Mobil Tech UK has recently announced two exclusive distributorship agreements to promote and sell their products. Liverpool-based Adlite will be the main distributor in the north of England, whilst The Warehouse Ltd will be selling exclusively in Scotland from their Edinburgh headquarters and shortly from their brand new showroom in Glasgow. Both companies will be selling the complete range of Mobil Tech stands, trussing and accessories as well as the new range of lighting effects. As Mobil Tech UK sales manager Peter Stressing comments: "These agreements will allow us to concentrate our sales effort fully throughout the whole of the UK market. Adlite and The Warehouse will be able to promote our full range of products as well as providing a local focus point for customers in that both companies will be carrying a full range of products for demonstration."

This move has been

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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

One of Oslo’s biggest theatres, Sentrum Scene West, has upgraded its front-of-house system with a new Sony DMX-R100 8-bus digital mixing console. The 1,000 seat venue needed a flexible desk which could be instantly reconfigured for a variety of roles, yet which offered high sound quality. The theatre stages a wide range of productions, including live concerts, theatrical performances and one-off special events, and previously the engineers would have to reset the FOH console for each new show. However, by using the DMX-R100 on-board snapshot automation, this can now be achieved with the touch of a button.

Kjetil Husoey, the theatre’s sound designer, said: "With so many different projects running in the theatre at the same time, we needed a console that had the flexibility and more importantly a snapshot automation facility. Other contenders were considered, but would h

South African-based Matrix Sound recently supplied four Trantec S4000 IEM transmitters and 18 S4000 IEM receivers for use by the cast of Grease, The Stadium Spectacular, staged at Johannesburg Stadium. The lead characters, Danny and Sandy, had their own in-ear mix, as did the rest of the support cast. Although the vast stage area was covered by side-fills and wedge monitors, due to the sheer size of the production - andthe delayed sound returning from the rear of the stadium - it was decided that an in-ear system would aid the artists’ timing for song and dance numbers. Custom moulds were manufactured for all 18 performers as the S4000 IEMs made their first large-scale South African stage debut. The ability to operate on higher frequencies within the Channel 62/64 range ensured an interference-free performance from the 18 headset radios and 12 radio comms being used simultan

Hosted by Jerry Springer, Channel Five’s ‘Greed’ hit UK television screens this month, as contestants battled to answer a series of eight questions heading for a total one million pounds prize money. Pearson Television, London, bought the worldwide rights for the winning formula of US-based Fox Television Network's 'Greed', first screened in the USA in 1999/2000. Since March 2000 it has been sold to 17 different countries, the most recent production being in the UK. It is already a hit in Portugal, Israel, Germany, Finland and Denmark, amongst others. Production company A1 Set was commissioned to design the UK set which features a bank vault, a safe door and deposit boxes alongside piles of gold bullion. A1’s Andy Walmsley, who also designed the set for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, commissioned Blackout Triple E to supply and rig three truss circles, 12m, 9m, a

UK band Toploader have set themselves up with a travelling demo studio using a Tascam 788 8-track Digital Portastudio. Guitarist Julian Deane was the first to convert to the unit: "We’ve been using a live sampler set-up for the last five years," he explained. "It’s had a fair bit of wear and tear on the road, being thrown into the backs of trucks and what have you. We’ve decided to switch over to an MDM format and the Tascam is renowned for its quality and endurance. It also interfaces with the Spirit digital desk. All of the outputs will be going into my desk and I will be dubbing it up as ususal."

From a situation where an almost unknown client would purchase the occasional lamp, Lighting Technology has found itself supplying equipment for space equipment testing, with lighting units from Arri key to the project. With help from Mike Perry of Arri, Lighting Technology’s Jonathan Price and Andy Dodd demonstrated the Arrisun 60 6kW HMI fixtures to TS Space Systems of Marlow, who have since ordered the units for one of their test programmes. The company designs and builds test equipment for acceptance of materials and sub-assemblies for spacecraft, with space simulation chambers, ion thruster chambers and testing of solar cells and panels.

TS Space Systems’ Bill Williams said: "As part of the tests for UV ageing of materials, most tests have up to now used DC xenon or mercury arc lamps. However, HMI lamps have come on in leaps and bounds, are lower in cost, involve

An XTA Electronics SiDD (Seriously Intelligent Digital Dynamics) processor has become, in the space of one tour, a vital component in conveying Gary Moore’s vocal power on stage. Moore’s front-of-house engineer, Andy May, decided to experiment with the multi-dynamics device after trying "virtually every compressor on the planet, from all the familiar units to the most esoteric American kit." Capital Sound is providing the tour’s audio production, with a Martin Wavefront 8 system, itself controlled by XTA DP226 digital loudspeaker processors. Both the DP226 and SiDD are based on XTA’s proprietary AudioCore DSP engine. The Gary Moore band is a straight-ahead four-piece line-up. The rig includes a Midas Heritage 3000 desk, Martin LE700 wedges, and Crown Macrotech amplification. Graham Lilley is production manager and Danny Stead mixes monitors.

May explai

Glen Beckley has joined Stage Electrics heading up the Audio Design Services department. Beckley recently returned from two months touring the arenas of the USA with southern gospel group the Gaither Vocal Band, following this with designs for pantomimes in Bath, Blackpool, Stoke and Sheffield last Christmas. 2001 will also see him designing systems for national tours of Anything Goes and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, as well as contributing to various installation projects in the UK and Europe. Last year also saw him design a groundbreaking digital audio system for the national tour of ‘Carousel’ starring Darren Day and Sam Kane, the first of its kind seen in the UK, which impressed audiences and critics alike all over the country, as well as a system for the national tour of 42nd Street starring Ruth Madoc.

Stage Electrics has also announced that P

ETC has announced the appointment of Jeremy Roberts to the new role of field project manager. Jeremy will be working from Nottingham, concentrating on promoting ETC's range of products to end users, consultants and dealers in the north of England. A familiar industry figure, Jeremy has been with ETC for the past two years. Throughout this period he has been responsible for a wide variety of installations including the Millenium Dome, Barbican and the Royal Danish Theatre. Prior to joining ETC, Jeremy spent 15 years in professional theatre, working first as a lighting and sound designer and later as head of lighting and sound at the Nottingham Playhouse.

Co-lighting designers Fenton Williams and Heath Marrinan specified 12 of High End Systems' newest luminaire, the xSpot, for their ‘Everyday 2001’ shed/stadium tour, which is currently touring North America. Lighting contractor Theatrical Media Services (TMS) of Omaha is supplying an all High End Systems rig which also features 30 Studio Beam, 34 Studio Spot 575, 12 Studio Color 575 and 10 Cyberlight automated luminaires, along with 47 Dataflash AF1000 xenon strobes for the shed tour. The stadium rig is pumped up with an extra 20 Studio Beams and an extra 20 Studio Spot 575s. Two Wholehog II consoles control all the lights along with more than 400 PARs.

Marrinan comments. "The x.Spots work really well on our set. The zoom feature allows us to really do a nice job covering the set from top to bottom without losing a lot of intensity. The color mixing is very nice and all

Lighting Technology Group announced today that due to a serious family illness Managing Director Alan Hewitt has chosen to take early retirement. Lighting Technology's Founder David Morgan will resume the role of MD, supported by the well-established Executive Team of Garry Nelsson, Bruce Kirk, and Steve Pembury as Sales, Operations and Finance Directors respectively. David Morgan commented: "Alan came on board to bring in new systems and facilities for LTG including Group-Wide Management Information Systems and the new 22,000 square foot National Distribution Centre in Corby. It is regrettable he has had to depart without being able to manage these exciting projects through to completion. Nevertheless, the structure and management he has put in place leaves the company in a very strong position to capitalise on the opportunities our market has to offer in the future."

Following the recent appointment of Tone Ferne, Dobson Sound continues to expand its team of project co-ordinators to keep pace with the company's increasing workload. Richard Mortimer is the newest recruit to take his place. He will be working closely with David Lewis looking after the museum and conference market. A graduate in Music and Technology from Kingston University, Mortimer has spent the last three-and-a-half years working for Dobson Sound on a freelance basis so he is already very familiar with the client base. "As project co-ordinator it is my job to attend meetings with the client, ascertain their needs, specify the system, organise the crew and basically make sure the whole thing runs smoothly from start to finish."

Hayden Laboratories, the exclusive UK distributor for Rane products, has supplied Rane NM84 network mic preamps to London-based specialist classical recording company Floating Earth. The preamps - part of the CobraNET range of audio products - were specified by Mark Harrison, technical engineer for Floating Earth’s new OB truck. It’s Floating Earth’s first mobile, so they consulted broadcast and high end equipment suppliers HHB about the project, asking them to supply the equipment and systems utilised and after-sales support. Floating Earth then undertook the physical install themselves. The four Rane NM84s were supplied by Hayden to HHB, for whom the project was managed by Steve Angel. The mic preamps go into the venue and sit at the front end of the location recording - each offers eight line inputs. They are linked to QSC CobraNET digital decoders in the truck by a

The newly-formed London-based PA rental company Blitz Sound (formerly TP Sound), has given a significant boost to its hire inventory with the purchase of 10 Crest X4 consoles from exclusive UK distributor The Sound Department - through dealers, Marquee Audio. The desks are intended for use as Blitz Sound’s standard consoles for small- to medium-sized shows within the corporate and conference markets and also for small musical and theatrical events. They replace existing stock in an ever-expanding hire facility. To date, the desks have been in operation on such events as the Opel Vivaro car launch in Germany and a Millennium Dance Company Show staged in London. Crest’s X4 consoles occupy a privileged position in the marketplace. As Blitz director Dave Perry illustrates, "The X4’s are really the only desk of that size, with the number of inputs and outputs that we ne

The Board of Standards Review of the American National Standards Institute has approved ESTA's "Entertainment Technology - Recommendations for Inclusions in Fog Equipment Manuals." This standard now becomes ANSI E1.14-2001, and is the third ESTA standard approved by ANSI this year. The ANSI E1.14 project was started by a group of fog equipment dealers who were unhappy with the amount and quality of the information found in the manuals of some of the equipment they handle. The equipment manual is the primary document for telling the end-user how to use the equipment safely and effectively, but some of the fog machine manuals said very little beyond ‘Fill with fluid. Plug in. Make fog.’ The proposed standard lists the information that should be included in fog equipment manuals to ensure that the user has enough information to use the equipment properly. ANSI E1.14-20

It is rare that a state-of-the-art digital lighting desk should find itself on a school's shopping list, but when Design Technology teacher, Kevin Dutton, from Ninestiles School (a leading technology college in Birmingham), attended last year's PLASA Show there was only one thing on his mind.

By the time he left Earls Court he had placed an order for a 48-channel Strand Lighting 300 Series desk through AC Lighting. With a background in theatre, Dutton has been a regular visitor to PLASA over the past five years. He operates as part of a team that includes Jo Falk and Eddie Halliday from the English faculty, that seeks to promote and educate students about lighting and sound. Ninestiles, which offers its 1400+ students a broad spectrum of GCSE, GNVQ and A Level subjects, has already earned a top accolade from Ofsted, as the school with the highest teaching standards in the country. Dutt

Royal Caribbean International has recently introduced the first of its Radiance class of ships - Radiance of the Seas. This stunning vessel is the largest ship ever to have been built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and the first joint venture between a German shipyard and an American cruise line.

RCI has a tradition of delivering high quality onboard entertainment and Radiance is no exception. The Viking Crown is the trademark destination on-board Royal Caribbean ships, a spectacular space surrounded by a sweep of glazing, that wraps itself around the funnel at the highest point, providing panoramic views for the passengers. In the evening, the Viking Crown takes on a completely new persona and turns into a major entertainment complex and, in the case of the Radiance of the Seas, this includes a disco, a black-box theatre and bars of various hues.

The disco is cal

On the 25th April, Golden Princess left the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone and sailed to Southampton, the home of P&O, from where she later set sail on her maiden voyage to Barcelona. She will be based in Europe throughout the summer, before sailing the Eastern Caribbean in the autumn. The main lounge stage on board the Grand class vessel features a four deck high flytower, orchestra pit, large side stage areas and substage area with stage elevators. Many land-based theatres would be lucky to have the facilities provided. A major feature of the new ship is much improved personnel access in the flytower for maintenance of the rigging systems and the large amount of lighting equipment installed in the space. As part of the design process, Stage Technologies developed TanJent (patent pending), an innovative solution to guiding the flybars throughout the full travel of the bar. The flyin

Audace Ltd, the audio control specialists have been experiencing great domestic success with their intelligent Wall Plate system since launching it on the Allen & Heath stand at the PLASA Show last year. Installations include the Red Cube Bar and Grill in Leicester Square, Springbok Bars in Wigan and Cardiff and Bar Censsa in Preston. Managing director Bryan Waters told PLASA Media: "We are absolutely delighted with the response to this system. When we took the decision to commit to this project, we knew that there was a gap in the market between VCA pots and touch screens and it is encouraging to see that we are not the only ones with this conviction!" The Audace intelligent wall plate system provides inexpensive digital control of DSP-based audio processors via Cat 5 cable and configuration is carried out using a free Windows GUI available from the Audace website.

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