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Czech Republic - T Servis, one of the largest PA rental companies in the Czech Republic, has invested in 32 DPA IMK4061 instrument kits. The mics were initially purchased for the Prague Symphonic Orchestra which accompanied Czech band Lucie on tour across the Czech Republic throughout June, with T Servis providing full technical support. T Servis' Craig Pyrah was sound technician for the tour, working closely with chief sound designer Pavel Karlík.

Each IMK4061 comprises a DPA 4061-BM miniature microphone, a DAD6001 XLR adapter and a selection of mounting accessories, and is designed as a close mic solution for a wide variety of musical instruments. The 4061-BM microphone offers a clean, detailed and natural sound quality, say DPA, and mic placement can be adapted by the user to

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UK - Global dance conglomerate and superclub, Godskitchen, has made a new addition to its DJ booth with Allen & Heath's Xone:92 MIDI-capable DJ/club mixer. The club, which already uses Allen & Heath's popular Xone:62, wanted to offer the latest functionality to the big-name DJ's that frequently perform. Since its installation several weeks ago, artists including Armin van Burren, Mauro Picotto, Lisa Lashes, Scott Project, James Zabiela and Xone faithfuls Sander Kleinenberg and John Digweed, have been at the controls.

"Godskitchen obviously wants to keep up with the latest technology and the new Xone:92 is simply fantastic; it is evident that a lot of thought has gone into the product. The sound quality is brilliant and at Air - home of Godskitchen - we ensure that we only use top quality equipment," commented Godskitchen's lighting and sound technician, Will Miller.

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Greece - Martin Professional's MAC 2000 Wash will be the main washlight fixture to be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. On 13 August 2004, the eyes of the world will be fixed on the Olympic Stadium, where a total of 650 MAC 2000 Wash lights will be used as an integral element of the opening show. The Martin fixtures will be supplied through Hamburg-based Procon MultiMedia AG, who has teamed up with other large rental companies in order to supply a complete and comprehensive lighting package, as required by American lighting designer Bob Dickinson.

Combined with other lighting effects, the opening and closing ceremonies are certain to be a huge spectacle, with some four billion people expected to watch the event. The event producer is Jack Morton.

(Jane Cockburn)

featured content

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

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Italy - Two self-powered Outline Kanguro systems were used at the Mille Miglia (6-9 May 2004), the legendary period car race founded in 1927, which consists in a round trip from Brescia to Rome and back, for a total of 1,600 kilometres.

The race, known as 'the most beautiful race in the world', has become an international showcase for VIPs, nobility, ex-racing drivers and actors, as well as an opportunity to see cars normally kept in museums or owned by collectors back on the road in all their glory. Participation in the Mille Miglia is itself a feat, as the organizers apply strict quality criteria: this year, 375 contestants were selected from 810 applications from 30 different countries worldwide - and applications are constantly increasing.

Outline's Kanguro PA system was used for one of the numerous side events staged during the race, positioned where the cars passed to re

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Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the release of the SpekTrix Sub, designed as a companion to the SpekTrix compact line array cabinet. This is the first Adamson enclosure to introduce 'Convertible Cardioid Technology', and is a single-sided box that can be arrayed conventionally (all facing the same way) or can be arrayed in back-to-front pairs for true cardioid performance.

The SpekTrix Sub provides high SPL extended bass and is equipped with two powerful AW18 Kevlar low frequency drivers mounted in a tuned, vented enclosure. The cabinet is fully braced to minimize LF resonance and maximize efficiency. Four NL8 connectors (two front, two back) enable easy cable loop-thru regardless of the sub's orientation.

The Adamson Integrated Rigging system makes set-up quick and easy, and is comprised of four sets of captured, precision-machined, spring-loaded rigging ha

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Czech Republic - Blitz, one of the UK's leading providers of audiovisual equipment and services, has supplied projection and video facilities for Rev it up, the title of the 2004 BT annual sales conference held this year in Prague.

Blitz, working with live event specialist production company Aspect Ltd., supplied equipment, which included Sanyo XP55 projectors, Extron SGS 408 Data Video Mixer and one of Blitz's Sony D35 Triax Camera Portable Production Units. There was also a satellite downlink for the event at the Prague Hilton. The sales conference was aimed at the customer facing sales force in BT Global Services and was attended by over 1200 delegates from 35 countries. The event was held over three days with a total of 17 hours of presentations. Over 100 presentations were given by 75 individuals, combining keynote speeches, interactive sessions, guest speakers, cus

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Korea - 70 Robe Show Lighting fixtures were used to light the massive F*Concert at the Chansil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. These were supplied to the show by leading Korean rental company Technolight, for a lighting scheme designed by Mr Doo Chul Shin.

The Robe fixtures were in turn supplied to Technolight by Robe's Korean distributor Art-Tech. The rig featured 40 Robe Spot 575 XTs and 30 Wash 575 XTs, chosen for their brightness and flexibility. The annual F* Concert is a showcase event to highlight the best of 'up-and-coming' and 'hopeful' young Korean pop talent - all with dreams and ambitions of becoming future superstars.

The show is televised, and watched live by over 70,000 enthusiastic pop fans. F* Concert - for Freedom, Fever, Future (previously known as the Dream Concert) has produced many successful live and recording stars.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - Kelsey Acoustics Ltd, having recently been appointed UK distributor for Furman Sound, has begun to actively market the company's new Series II SMP (Series Mode Protection) power conditioners.

The main focus will be on the upgraded Series II products and in particular, the PL-8E where LED lamps have now replaced the old filament bulbs. In addition to Furman's new SMP technology, the product also features Linear Filter Technology (LiFT), providing highly-advanced transient voltage surge suppression. Kelsey's marketing director, Michael Whiteside, commented: "This is a real wedge of sophisticated surge and noise protection. It uses a non-sacrificeable part which stores the energy and dissipates it as heat."

Another high priority for Kelsey is the AR2306 Line Volt Regulator, which can handle up to six amps in just 1U of rack space. Additional versions are the 15-am

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Canada - Queensway Cathedral in Toronto is in the process of upgrading its sanctuary sound system and has replaced its aging desk - installed when the 4,000-seat sanctuary was constructed in 1984 - with a Soundcraft MH4. The Cathedral's technical director, Rich Bodnar, said that while the old console had provided excellent service, parts were starting to wear out; and since it was configured 24/8/2, with only four aux sends, they were limited by channel capacity for their larger events.

"The availability of parts and cost of repairs was proving prohibitive, and so we started to look for a new console," he said. A short-term loan agreement funded the new purchase, which was made through distributor Soundcraft Canada and Mississauga-based Audio Operations - a dealer with whom Queensway has enjoyed a relationship over the past seven years.

The Cathedral was already fami

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Ireland - The 10th anniversary Riverdance show playing throughout the summer at Dublin's renowned Gaiety theatre is one of the very first shows to be taking advantage of the all-new DN370 analogue graphic EQ from Klark Teknik. The device was specified by Mick O'Gorman whose rental company Mikam Sound North Ltd is supplying the entire audio system for the show which also includes a Midas XL4 on FOH, an XL250 on monitors with loudspeaker processing via Klark Teknik DN9848.

"I've always been a fan of the original DN360, and indeed DN3600," explained O'Gorman, "so as soon as I heard that a new one had come out, I didn't wait to be asked, I just got straight on the phone and ordered one! I love the filters on KT graphics and DN370 is no exception. They sound smooth, clean, and they are stunningly accurate. In fact on this device, the filters are a completely new

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UK - It seems that the UK sound equipment industry is finally turning the corner, according to industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing. The latest Plimsoll Portfolio Analysis -Sound Equipment reveals signs of sustainable improvement in the industry. Some of the most interesting findings taken from the analysis include 23 companies which have seen sales increase by over 15%, 29 companies which have doubled profit and 54 companies which have halved their debts.

David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll Publishing, says: "After the last few years of uncertainty, the UK sound equipment industry is experiencing a positive upswing. I am delighted that many companies are getting it right by addressing the issues that have constrained them for years. Profits are improving, sales are up and debt issues are being resolved."

However, Pattison is quick to point out that n

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UK - Busted's production company, Productions North, recently approached LiteStructures with a model box detailing exactly how they wanted the set of their tour and summer festivals to look. "The only instructions we had were to make the real thing look like the box, using mainly rental stock," explained LiteStructures' project manager Lou Hall. Unlike some jobs which we turn around in under a week, we had three months to put this set together using a mixture of our existing stock but also making some custom pieces to set the Busted stage apart from other boy-bands. We also had to take into consideration the number of summer festivals and concerts they were performing at and devise a stage that would be flexible for a variety of venues and easy to downsize if necessary, without ruining the overall effect."

Project manager Chis Bridges and Hall set about creating s

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UK - The ABTT Theatre Show is known for its relaxed and intimate atmosphere, combined with a good visitor profile. This year's show, however, was able to maintain that quality and claim a 15% growth over the previous year - with an impressive 127 companies represented.

Autograph Sales debuted the Swedish LDS 'invisible' true line source theatre loudspeakers. New to Autograph's portfolio is Aviom, whose new A-Net digital multicore system, available with a Yamaha interface, was demonstrated with the DM1000 digital mixer.

Lee Filters added to its 700 series of filters, created by lighting designers. New from Dave Davey: Provence (701), Twickenham Green (736), Dirty White (744), Hampshire Frost (749) and Burnt Yellow (770); from Kate Wilkins - Virgin Blue (723) and Easy White (747) and from Rick Fisher - Cool Lavender (708).

Alcons Audio debuted at ABTT with a complete line of

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L&SI has learned of the death of Hugh Laver, on 4 May in Adelaide, Australia. Laver, a well-known figure in the UK's lighting industry, had suffered with Multiple Sclerosis for 15 years.

Simon Corder writes: "In my life there have been a few people of great importance; mentors and teachers who have inspired and taken the time to share their experience. Hugh was my chief at the Bubble Theatre in 1979; we toured London in a big yellow tent. He was a good man who is fondly remembered."

Jon Cadbury of VLPS adds: "Hugh and I had worked together for the Joint Stock Theatre Company, where he always had the clearest view on the right way to service and support theatre and entertainment technology. He was a teacher and an inspiration to everyone who came into contact with him. He will be missed by many people.

"Paul Turner had started Zenith Lighting to service the conce

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Denmark / Taiwan - DPA Microphones is delighted to announce it has appointed Linfair Engineering & Trading as its sole distributor for Taiwan. Linfair is one of a group of international companies started by Linfair Chang in 1958 to provide professional audio equipment, design, installation and maintenance expertise to the Taiwan market. The company, which employs a staff of 160 at its Taipei Headquarters, has always been committed to the pursuit of technical excellence, and has built up an impressive portfolio of professional audio products including BSS, Clear-Com, Crown, dbx, JBL, Lexicon, Soundcraft and Studer.

Over the years, the company's operations have expanded beyond its original scope of business and now incorporates the performing arts, broadcasting, entertainment and electronic media industries. The company is currently run by president Duncan Chang, and also has bran

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UK - Big Gay Out - the official Pride Party - staged in Finsbury Park on 3 July was presented by Faceparty, in association with Virgin Mobile. Over 20,000 festival-goers attended the event, where over 160 artists performed live across 11 stages between 1pm and 10.30pm, including Fun Lovin' Criminals, Jamelia, Sugarbabes and Mark Almond on the main Big Mutha stage.

Celebrated as best party organizers in 2002 and 2003 by Mixmag and FHM, Faceparty is famed for its high production levels and decadent parties. In true style, Faceparty's Dave Bamforth inspired the design and concept for Big Gay Out, transforming London's Finsbury Park into a feature-packed wonderland. In addition to 11 stages, beach bars, splash pools, a funfair, jacuzzis, and a teepee village ensured a good time for the party revelers.

Faceparty's executive producer, Martin Heap, coordinated the event, appointing L

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USA - Friday 11 June saw 'opening night' of ETC's new corporate headquarters near Madison, Wisconsin. The theatrical terminology was apt, as the lighting company's new $21m building is all about theatre and lighting magic, in a space that rethinks the rules on corporate architecture.

Town Square is the heart of the 250,000sq.ft facility. A theatrical replica of a 1940s city street scene, it's based on Edward Hopper's New York paintings. The centrepiece is the Nighthawks café itself (the company's reception area), while an old-time cinema flashes its neon 'Century' sign, and serves as entrance into ETC's product demonstration and staging area. Across the way, the 'Kelly Insurance Agency' is the company's Human Resources department. Other façades - a bank, an office supply store, a travel agency - crowd around the space of Town Square, overshadowed by an Empire State Building-like skys

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USA - PRG and VLPS Lighting Services International have jointly announced the completion of the merger announced last month, which has created the leading equipment and technology company in the entertainment industry. The merger has been approved by VLPS stockholders, and the regulatory review period has expired. As of now, a newly-formed subsidiary of PRG will be merged with and into VLPS, with VLPS becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of PRG. The combined company will operate as PRG Lighting, PRG Audio, PRG Scenic Technologies and Showpay, and will maintain its headquarters in New Windsor, NY.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, VLPS stockholders are to receive $8.32 per share in cash immediately, with up to an additional $.50 per share payable from an escrow account established to pay for any indemnification claims. VLPS shares, heretofore listed on the OTC pink sheets, w

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UK - Peter Gabriel enters the final straight of the marathon tour which started in 2002 (as the Growing Up tour), and has just completed its latest European arena section - Still Growing Up.

Production values are always at the top of the agenda for Gabriel's performances. The precise, highly original Growing Up show (see L&SI July 2003) was originally conceived by Canadian film maker Robert Lepage and Peter Gabriel. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe was asked this year to produce a new design and feel for the original show, one more suited to arenas, sheds and larger performance spaces.

Woodroffe worked alongside long-term Gabriel Growing Up lighting director Dennis Garner, who was with the tour from the start. He added many new dimensions to the show, boosting the large bright looks department for the traditional crowd pleasers, but also keeping many of the original ideas and sub

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Denmark - Martin Architectural's Exterior Inground 200 Series is a durable range of IP 65/67-rated inground luminaires that represents a breakthrough for its ability to integrate colour-changing technology into a standard uplight luminaire. Designed for all terrains and weather, the Inground 200 offers high-performance tools for dynamic uplight illumination of facades, columns, structures, trees and landscapes.

The series offers three different colour systems for applications of varying complexity: firstly, Single Colour - designed as a simple means to creating colourful lighting schemes, the single colour system lets you choose any colour from a collection of 40 dichroic filters. Custom colours are also available. The single-colour system also provides manual intensity control for fine-tuned illumination. Secondly, Six Colours - offers a programmable colour-changing system, wit

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UK / Germany - Stravens Professional Ltd has been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for BMS products. BMS is the Hanover, Germany-based manufacturer of HF compression drivers, cone drivers and horns, employed in a number of top-end loudspeaker products. "We are excited about the prospect of selling BMS products in the UK," says managing director Terence Stravens. "We believe in quality products and know the market will do well with BMS."

Stravens Professional also offers installation and consultancy services, and provides a number of high quality products including those from Pioneer (plasma screens) and Allen & Heath. The company also produces its own T-Series range of installation power amplifiers and loudspeaker systems for the touring and installation markets.

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