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UK - London's glamorous Thai-theme restaurant and club, the Sugar Hut, has opened a large sister venue in Brentwood, Essex. Housed in a lavishly renovated Grade I listed building, the Sugar Hut Village features a high-quality but completely invisible dancefloor and clubroom sound system from ElectroVoice.

Following the success of the original Sugar Hut in Fulham, London, owners Chris George, Gary Smith and Frazer Donaldson have taken on a 15th century coaching inn in the heart of Brentwood village. With its unique galleried courtyard playing an important role at the heart of the venue, the old hotel is now home to six different themed clubrooms, bars and restaurants. As a whole, the Sugar Hut Village holds nearly 900 people, dispersed through the Karma Bar, the Krug Suite, the Gal

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UK - When Celebrity Big Brother director Tony Gregory states that, "nowadays it's not about if we use an LED screen, but how we use it," he is emphasizing just how quickly this technology has become integrated into leading television spectaculars, reality shows and outside broadcasts. "It's now an essential part - not only of a show's fabric, but also of people's expectations," he says.

A veteran of staging Big Brother series Gregory worked closely with designer Patrick Watson, lighting director Al Gurdon and video technology suppliers Creative Technology (also BB veterans), to create a set in which the massive 4m x 2m Big Brother 'eye' icon was backlit, using 55 of Creative Technology's Element Labs Versa Tubes.

Both Gregory and Watson were united in emphasizing the level of technical support offered by CT, which enabled them to be mor

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Italy - Willy Gubellini, the owner of Nuovo Service of Bologna, one of Italy's most successful full-service rental firms, which for a long time has handled the technical set-up for the events by top Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, chose a pair of Outline Micra II SP for the artist's monitoring during the press conference held after the showcase to present his latest CD, 'Andrea', staged in November 2004 in the Tuscan tenor's home in Versilia, Tuscany.

According to Nuovo Service, the results achieved with the tiny Micra II SP was once again really convincing, to the great satisfaction of Gubellini, who once again received the acknowledgement of the artist's record company's representatives. Outline's Micra II SP is a compact enclosure which has gained a strong reputation in television studios and tours by some of Italy's top artists, say Outline.

(Lee Baldock)

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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

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Macedonia - The annual Skopje Jazz Festival takes place in the capital city of Macedonia, and regularly attracts jazz luminaries from around the world to play for the loyal audience the festival has built over its 23-year history. The 2004 edition of the festival featured headliners from the USA (McCoy Tyner), Brazil (Rosalia de Sousa), and Nigeria (Femi Kuti & Positive Force), and also marked the event's first use of a Meyer Sound MILO high-power curvilinear array system.

Supplied by the city's own KLS Light and Sound, the new Meyer Sound MILO system demonstrates a heightened commitment on the part of the company - a long-time supplier to the Skopje festival - to offer the same sound quality as heard at Europe's better-known jazz meccas, such as Montreux. "We selected MILO because Meyer Sound systems are famous around the world for their sonic excellence," said Bosko

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UK - Peavey has redesigned its CS power amplifiers which now incorporate 14 power transistors per channel on models CS 300, CS 400 and CS 4080, almost twice the amount found in more expensive alternatives.

Models CS 1400 and CS 2000 are now built with oversized heat sinks, the four-channel CS 800 x 4 now offers twice as much power and utilizes wire bonded hybrid technology. All CS power amps incorporate torroidal power transformers for lighter weight and increased power. As with all Peavey amplifiers, CS power amps carry a five-year warranty.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - London-based rental company FX Music has remained at the forefront of public address technology since brothers Dave and Alan Beck set up the business 20 years ago. Back then, they adopted the legendary Dave Martin-designed Philishaves - and have continued to run the classic Martin Audio LE series floor monitors throughout the two decades.

Three years ago the company returned to Martin Audio as its preferred FOH speaker, buying 20 of the Wavefront 8 Compacts and 24 WSX subs. And delighted with the signature sound of the Wavefront, has now celebrated its 20th year by making a substantial investment in Martin Audio's Line Array technology, with 18 x W8LC Compacts and 12 x W8LM Minis.

Much of this new inventory was immediately pressed into service for David Brown's DB Audio, at a major corporate team-building event at Telford International Centre this month. Discretely trimme

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UK - Eat to the Beat was welcomed on stage to accept its third consecutive Favourite Caterer Award at the Total Production Awards on Monday 31 January. Straight after winning the award, managing director Tony Laurenson was back on stage to present the award for Favourite Venue to the Royal Albert Hall, a venue in which Eat to the Beat worked at over 90 days last year.

The celebrations continue for Eat to the Beat (part of the Global Infusion Group) as on 7 February the company will celebrate 21 years 'Going Global'. Laurenson commented: "It was a fantastic night and we are so proud to be voted favourite caterer by the industry. 2004 was a great year for the group with many memorable events. I'd like to thank all our wonderful clients, crew and suppliers! We now look forward to a challenging and exciting 2005!"

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Electrosonic and Scharff Weisberg Systems Integration Inc have signed a joint venture agreement creating Electrosonic New York, an audio video systems integration organization that will operate out of Long Island City. By combining Scharff Weisberg's existing systems installation business with the Northeast division of Electrosonic, the new company will be able to provide New York-area architects, designers, consultants and builders with unsurpassed AV design and installation support from a local source, say the company.

Scharff Weisberg president Josh Weisberg described the collaboration: "We've been friendly competitors for years and have occasionally worked together on projects. So, when Electrosonic decided they would benefit from a higher profile in the New York area, we realized that our clients could benefit as well from Electrosonic's global reach and well-de

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USA - Autograph A2D, the US distributor of the D5T, the theatre version of DiGiCo's D5, has supplied further consoles to this market. Two systems have now been delivered for Broadway's latest premieres, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Spamalot, both designed by Acme Sound Partners and both opening in March.

The D5T consoles have been purchased by separate New York-based rental companies, who are also supplying full sound and communication systems to the individual shows. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is being supplied by Sound Associates, while Spamalot has chosen ProMix as the rental provider. Each of these systems includes a D5T together with D5TC operator's console and a D5T-RE redundant engine, giving fully switchable backup should the need arise.

Nevin Steinberg explains how Acme Sound Partners came to specify the DiGiCo D5T's for both these shows: &qu

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UK - New Helix Board's from Phonic boast digital connectivity with USB-enabled mixers. Users can stream digital 16-bit/44.1 kHz live stereo audio from the mixer directly into a USB-enabled Mac or PC for plug-and-play recording and editing and simultaneously bring a stereo mix back from the computer to the mixer for monitoring.

The Helix Board series currently consists of two models; the Helix Board 12 is a 12 input compact mixer with four mic/line input channels, two paired stereo input channels and two stereo AUX returns. While the Helix Board 17 is a 17 input compact mixer with five mic/line input channels, three paired stereo input channels and three stereo AUX returns. A S/PDIF output is incorporated into the mixer for connection to a variety of digital audio devices.

Phonic USB-enabled mixers give users all the functionality of a dedicated Audio/Digital converter for a fr

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UK - Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's eagerly anticipated theatre production of Mary Poppins, now playing at the Prince Edward Theatre, has been nominated for nine Olivier Awards, including one for best lighting design. Wowing London critics and West End crowds, the show's lighting artistry is achieved in part with the help of 35 of ETC's Source Four Revolution automated luminaires.

Chosen for their flexibility, the Source Four Revolutions, each with a shutter module, were specified by lighting designer Howard Harrison and supplied by Stage Electrics. Because the production's elaborate scenery limited its lighting positions, Harrison opted to use an automated rig, including the Revolutions, to ensure that each position could be worked to its full potential. The S4 Revolutions also appealed to the stringent acoustic demands of Richard Eyre, reportedly the most noise-sensit

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UK - The PLASA Show has today launched phase one of the newly designed website www.plasashow.com) for this year's show, which takes place at Earls Court between 11-14 September 2005. Phase one is aimed at visitors and already has the facility for visitors to pre-book their tickets at the discounted rate of £7.50, saving 50% of the on-the-door price (£15).

The website will constantly be updated as the show develops and phase two, the exhibitor section, will be launched in the next couple of weeks, providing exhibitors with all they need to know about the show, including an up-to-date exhibitor list and floorplan.

If you would like further information about the show please log onto the website or call +44 207 370 8208.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - On 3 February 2005 Nelson Mandela spoke to a mass rally of an estimated 20,000 people in London's Trafalgar Square. The primary aim of the Make Poverty History Campaign is to get the debts of developing countries cancelled. Also featuring at the event was Sir Bob Geldof and Channel 4 presenter June Sarpong while Jamelia provided entertainment with a live set.

Stage Electrics supplied staging for the rally including a custom-designed platform to fit on the square's main staircase and two dedicated press platforms to support a press presence of 350. PA equipment was also supplied by Stage Electrics, taking advantage of EAW's KF730 and SB730 wide angle dispersion to provide wide coverage throughout the square combined with a JF260 acting as centre fill for the press pit at the front of the stage.

Sound was operated by Chris Coxhead from a Soundcraft Series Five console with

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UK - The legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool's Mathew Street has purchased two Soundcraft mixing consoles as part of a major equipment upgrade. When Cavern directors Bill Heckle and Dave Jones realized it was time to retire the venue's old FOH mixer they initially harboured ideas of deploying a large-frame 48-channel MH3 to mix monitors from the FOH position.

Heckle explained: "With the improvement of the club's infrastructure we needed to give the place a boost with the standard of equipment we could offer visiting production crews and our own LIPA engineers. We initially spoke to two companies but were more comfortable with Soundcraft as its desks convert theory into practice and I know I will get the after-sales service."

But with limited available space, he was advised by Soundcraft's live sound sales manager, James Baker and Adlib Audio's Andy Dockerty - who has

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USA - At the NAMM exhibition in Anaheim, California, the Harman Pro Group has unveiled HiQnet, which it describes as "the most significant new technology introduction in its history". This, say the company, is the world's first connectivity and control protocol to integrate all product categories in the signal chain for professional sound systems of all types, sizes and applications. According to Mark Terry, president of the Harman Pro Group, HiQnet represents the culmination of years of strategic acquisitions, management and product organization, and joint technology development efforts involving all nine Harman Pro Group companies.

"The advanced performance, connectivity and control that is enabled by the HiQnet protocol has been a goal of this organization since I first set the agenda for the group in 2000," Terry said today. "Every acquisition has b

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UK - CGA Integration Ltd has upgraded the facilities of the Intashape Fitness & Weight Loss Centre in Swansea, with the installation of additional audiovisual equipment. Following an online enquiry, CGA met with Catherine Hughes, owner of Intashape Swansea. She was looking to upgrade the existing system and was searching for a reliable company to install and support some additional equipment to her venue.

She explains: "I have previously had sound and video equipment installed and not been happy with the level of support of the quality of the end product. CGA came to site and showed me their portfolio, listened to me and then explained the systems to me." She adds: "I have received a very personal service from CGA, with the same point of contact from initial contact to completion of works - I would recommend them to other gym owners."

CGA installed a full

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UK - Total Solutions announced the appointment of Mervyn Thomas as the group's business development director. Thomas, formally general manager at James Thomas Engineering, sees this new role as a natural progression in his career.

"I see Total Solutions leading the way forward with its well known suite of industry standard truss brand names," says Thomas, "and I welcome this new and exciting challenge". Amongst the general activities associated with his appointment, Thomas will be responsible for developing and managing the ongoing manufacturing license agreement program which began last year when African Trussing were the first to start producing the Total Fabrications product range in South Africa.

Group MD Chris Cronin says: "I have known Mervyn for many years and have always considered him a good friend. It is a huge privilege to finally be working

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USA - Tulsa's First United Methodist Church is a beautiful example of Tudor Gothic style architecture. The cross-shaped building features impressive 75ft vaulted ceilings with massive oak trusses, solid stone walls, and stained glass windows all around. But it was these very elements that were responsible for some serious sound reinforcement challenges that, until recently, had plagued the church since its dedication in 1928.

With all the hard surfaces and the cavernous ceilings, sound ricocheted all over the building, garbling speech throughout the 1,100-seat space. Over the years, church leaders consulted many audio engineers, but most dismissed these challenges as impossible to solve without acoustical treatments - which would have negatively impacted the church's aesthetics.

But in early 2004, church leaders heard a more optimistic answer from consultant David Rauch of B

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UK - Hisapano-Brit rockers, and newly signed Audio-Technica endorsees, Breed 77, are touring across two continents, with a complete inventory of Audio-Technica microphones. The five piece, which hails originally from Gibraltar, attract comparisons with the likes of Alice In Chains and early Metallica. They are currently in the throes of a short burst of UK gigs and support slots, prior to heading out on an extensive Australian tour throughout the rest of February; not such an unusual career move, given that they have a five album recording deal with the UK arm of Albert Productions, worldwide publisher of AC/DC.

The band has been on the road consistently over the last three years, across Europe and in the UK promoting two album releases, and supporting the likes of Il Nino, Raging Speedhorn and Prong.

The switch to A-T microphones was a collaborative decision between the band

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USA - Wybron's Nexera CDM dichroic colour changing fixtures are now shipping with a five-year warranty on the accompanying Aromat ballasts. As of 2 February 2005, Aromat Corporation has authorized the Nexera CDM units to ship with a five-year warranty on all ballasts. To attain the warranty approval, the fixtures underwent temperature testing in Aromat's Poway, California laboratory. Both the Profile and Wash versions of the CDM Nexera passed operation well within warranty specifications.

This warranty marks the next step of Wybron's journey toward the development of being the leading product line in lighting, featuring fixtures built to the highest standards, say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - DMX-To-Go can be the ideal solution for wireless lighting control when a project calls for Wireless DMX, but doesn't have the need or budget for "Rock-and-Roll Tour" wireless lighting packages.

DMX-To-Go is designed to be small, light and self-powered via two "AA" batteries (or AC Adaptor), which makes it suitable for lots of stage applications like props, costumes, moving scenery and more. Other applications include providing data to remote lighting fixtures, easy mobile DJ setups, link for portable consoles during programming, quick data cable backups for technicians, and much more.

Using the latest in advanced long-range Bluetooth wireless technology, DMX-To-Go transmits up to 330ft (100m), providing quick response times and reliable operation.

Other features include: Cost effective design, point-to-point Transmitter/Receiver pairs, choose to tra

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