Turkey - In November 2005, the highly successful distribution agreement between EVI Audio and Atempo Sound and Lighting Systems in the pro audio sector, which has been in force now for several years and covers the brands Electro-Voice, Midas, Dynacord and Klark Teknik throughout Turkey, was extended to the broadcast and intercom sector with the addition of RTS Telex - the manufacturer of world-beating broadcast and intercom systems such as the Zeus and Adam digital matrices and the BTR-700 wireless intercom - to the Atempo portfolio.

EVI Audio is pleased to have found a suitable distributor for these lines since, as Manuel Brico, product manager Telex/RTS EAME, explains: "The Turkish media market is enjoying a tremendous boom at the moment and it was important to find a well-

The Netherlands - As an addition to its L-series of products, Alcons has introduced the LR14Bass. The LR14B is a high-output bass-system, designed as a low-frequency extension to the LR14 ultra-compact ribbon line-array module. The LR14B offers surprising versatility, say Alcons, as it can be flown, stacked or serve as basis for a stand-mount triple-LR14 array.

The main focus in the development of the LR14B was obtaining the highest efficiency in "full-space" conditions, within the weight/size parameters set by the line-array application. The line-array specific "full-space" flown condition brings a substantial reduction (-3dB) of output, versus a "half-space" stacked bass application. In order to achieve a far higher efficiency than the conventional front-loading arrangement, the long-excursion 12" drivers are double-vented, double-tuned in a

UK - Hawthorn were contracted by Worcestershire-based DRP to supply all technical requirements for a 14-day event for 2000 delegates in Antalya Turkey for Thomas Cook. Thomas Cook is celebrating its 150th year in overseas travel, so this event had to be memorable. With trucking taking over 12 days and the venue being on the third floor with limited lift space, the project provided a real logistical challenge for Hawthorn's technical manager and LD Matt Oscroft.

Hawthorn's brief was to provide four different stage looks for all the events that all had to be held in the same one room, ranging from a theatre show, conference and gala dinner through to their very own tribute to ITV's The X Factor called the TC Factor, which was the brain child of Dale Parmenter, MD of DRP.

To allow Oscroft to re-create similar lighting effects to those used in the TV show, Hawthorn shipped

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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

UK - Following an extremely busy year, freelance lighting designer Tim Routledge is beginning 2006 with the purchase of a GrandMA Light lighting console, which offers the full power of the full-size desk in a smaller, compact size. Routledge explains: "I have used the GrandMA console range pretty much exclusively for the past two years and there is no other desk on the market that has the power and flexibility of this system." He added: "Any purchase of this size for an independent LD is a massive investment and I had to be satisfied that it was the right choice, the last 12 months have proved to me I have made the right decision."

Routledge's work in 2005 included a range of shows from live music at Hammersmith Apollo, to timecoded musicals on board cruise liners. He finished off the year designing and programming Hot Stuff - The Christmas Edition at

USA - PRG faced the challenge of installing a lighting system in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall that could produce sophisticated effects and be easily reconfigured and controlled.

Everything in Zankel Hall is adaptable. The floor is divided into nine sections that can be raised and lowered to create a variety of room configurations. The nearly 650 audience seats can be arranged easily to suit the different room setups (most of them rest on stepped wagons built on air casters). And for lighting, 21 self-climbing truss units cover most of the ceiling. Each can be raised to any height for performances and lowered to stage level for rigging and maintenance.

Working with consultants Auerbach Pollock Friedlander, and rigging contractor Pook Diemont & Ohl, PRG coordinated the lighting installation, including developing a custom solution to manage the system's intricate cabling.

Each t

USA - Bolstering their managerial leadership and manufacturing ingenuity, Biamp Systems today announced that they have appointed Jim Nelson to the position of outsourcing and OEM manager. Effective immediately, Nelson will report to Bob Yeager, manufacturing and facilities manager, and will be responsible for overseeing contracted manufacturers as well as many of Biamp's subcomponents manufactured by OEMs.

"This is an important new position for Biamp and we felt that Jim's technical expertise made him the perfect candidate," said Yeager. "While we have a great deal of confidence in Jim's managerial skills, what impressed us was his technical and manufacturing background that we feel can be applied to our other manufacturing initiatives. Jim's dedication to his profession and thorough understanding of the industry will help us provide our customers and contract man

Thailand - South East Asia's most established exhibition in professional sound, lighting, broadcast, AV, installation and music - PALA Thailand 2006, is set to take place at the newly opened Royal Paragon Hall Exhibition & Convention Centre, in the heart of Bangkok, from 20-22 July 2006.

The Royal Paragon Hall is composed of a main hall which can be divided into two halls with respective sizes of 3,000 and 2,500sq.m, with five good-sized meeting spaces to accommodate seminars and conferences, say the organizers. The multipurpose venue will host events including exhibitions, trade fairs, high end consumer fairs, product launches, live performances, concerts and fashion shows.

"It had been a tough decision on our end to decide on the ultimate venue for PALA Thailand, for the simple reason that Bangkok has a good selection of world-class exhibition centres! Accessibility and

USA - XL Video Atlanta, in support of design company Production Design Group (PDG), a Jack Morton Company, supplied and installed for the Turner Network Television's (TNT) Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA. The weekly show made its debut on Thursday, 27 October, 2005 and features studio analysts Charles Barkey and Kenny Smith with host Ernie Johnson.

XL Video supplied a Barco SLM R9+ Performer, for a suspended 16:9 portrait style video screen. The frameless projection screen was mounted on motors to lift on and off the set for a variety of camera shots. Over 6,000 Barco MiPix were used in the floor, archways and the anchor desk, which were covered with diffused acrylic to soften the LED for camera. 27 LCDs and Plasmas ranging in size from 15" to 61" were used throughout the set and in NBA City to replicate cityscape billboards. This design supports a complete se

Belgium - With five weeks to go before the start of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2006 at the Brussels Expo (1-3 February) the organizers report that the show is now practically sold out, and will be more than twice the size of the 2005 event.

Mike Blackman, managing director of ISE 2006, says that ISE is more than just an exhibition: "AV and Electronic Systems integration is about stimulating the senses to reflect the growing use of digital signage in retail and corporate environments and custom residential systems. At ISE we will be breaking new ground in staging a series of spectacular visual displays and pavilions, which are strategically, placed throughout the exhibition halls."

Highlights of the exhibition will include the Lighting & Staging Pavilion, presented by PLASA and ISE, and the ISE Manufacturer's Forum, which will offer 45-minute sessions on topical

Hungary - A Butterfly line array was recently sold to Arton Ltd by Zaj Discotechnika, Outline's exclusive Hungarian distributor. The system, which recently debuted at the Budapest Opera House, comprises 16 Butterfly CDH 483 hi-packs and eight Victor Live subwoofers, all powered and controlled by T series digital amplifiers and Genius 24 processors.

The owner of Arton, Tamàs Ditzmann, commented: "The first time we used the system - to learn how to install and use it - was a great experience. In just an hour, we achieved a sound that was more than reasonable, and that same day obtained very impressive results from the system. All the experienced sound engineers were satisfied with the new system."

Ditzmann continued: "The Butterfly system's real debut was on November 14th at a Dance Festival staged in the Hungarian State Opera House. The results were excellent an

France - The first Salon de la Musique et du Son will take place at Paris Expo-Porte de Versailles from 9-12 September 2006. The show is a joint effort between Reed Expositions France and CSFI (Chambre Syndicale de la Facture Instrumentale), and aims to gather together in one place everyone who makes music, from instrument manufacturers and importers to music schools, from craftsmen to publishers. The show will focus on musical instrument manufacturing and technology, and will also include a section devoted to pro audio.

(Lee Baldock)

Finland / Estonia - The Finnish distributor of Yamaha, F-Audio/F-Musiikki Oy, has delivered the first Yamaha M7CL-48 Digital Live Mixers to Estonia and Finland. In Estonia the mixer was delivered to Salme Culture Center, a 700-seat multipurpose auditorium in downtown Tallinn, Estonia. Salme Culture Center was going through a full renovation after its 40-year history, and the delivery of Yamaha M7CL-48 completed the technical upgrade including whole new lighting system and Meyer PA.

"We were looking for a console suitable for both theater production and live concerts and after consulting Kari Tiitinen of Finnish National Opera we desided to go with Yamaha digital console. After long discussions with F-Audio's Petri Mäntysalo, we found M7CL-48 to be the right choice for us. We have had a lot of requests for Yamaha console from our visiting engineers, now we can finally provi

The Netherlands - Holland's flagship stadium, the Amsterdam Arena, home of soccer club Ajax Amsterdam, has announced a €1.4 million investment in dramatically improving its acoustics and sound quality for live events. The programme will include acoustic treatment and a new, digitally-distributed sound system, designed both as a stand-alone PA/safety system and to augment PA systems brought in by visiting concert and event productions.

The measures follow months of preparation and research by leading Dutch music promoter MOJO Concerts, TM Audio of Holland and acoustic engineers Peutz, and will result in a substantial improvement for speech and music intelligibility and quality.

To improve the quality of the acoustics, reverberation time in the stadium will be reduced by using thousands of square metres of special sound absorbent materials on the roof and on the walls. The mate

UK - RTS/Telex reports that Adrian Richmond has assumed responsibility as sales engineer throughout the UK for CCS. A member of the Institute of Broadcast Sound, Richmond is one of the most experienced and highly respected sound and broadcast experts in the UK, having worked as a sound supervisor for the both the BBC and ITV. His expertise covers all areas of sound technology including radio, TV, studio production, outside broadcasting, PSC, recording studios and video post production. In addition, he has a thorough command of digital and analogue mixing consoles, digital talkback systems and radio links. Most recently, Richmond worked as executive manager with responsibility for all areas of sound technology at the Anglia studio complex.

Nico Lewis, sales manager for Telex/RTS Intercom EAME, comments: "With his outstanding competence and first class contacts, Adrian Richmo

UK - Re-booking for the 2006 PLASA Show is already strong, say organizers Clarion Events. PLASA 2006 takes place from Sunday 10 September to Wednesday 13 September 2006 at Earls Court, London. The show attracts professionals from all over the globe and is Europe's leading exhibition for new developments in the entertainment, event, corporate, architectural and installation industries.

Over 300 leading companies will exhibit at the show, which has become a forging ground for new ideas in audio, lighting, AV, rigging, system integration, engineering and effects. The show also features a full seminar programme, numerous events and competitions, the prestigious PLASA Awards for Innovation and the best opportunity of the year for networking.Online visitor registration will be available shortly - allowing visitors to benefit from half-price admission to the event.

(Lee Baldock)

Canada - Adamson's M15 multi-purpose, high-performance monitors are now in full production, the manufacturer reports. The first run was pre-ordered by several of Adamson's European Partners while the M15 was still in the design phase. Guy Vignet, President of Adamson Europe - DV2, commented: "The M15 is a no compromise innovative monitor design, in a sleek package. It is aimed at the most demanding artists, sound-engineers and high-profile rental companies. There was a huge buzz surrounding it and we can't believe the response we've had upon releasing it."

In addition to the pre-emptive sales in Europe, more M15 speakers are bound for the United States, China, Singapore and India, say Adamson.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The Wroxham School in Potters Bar is a thriving primary establishment with an enviable performance record - and an ethos that states that "everyone should have a voice".Voted in the top 100 schools for value added performance, they are now putting their ethos literally to the test, having - with the aid of Soundcraft - set up a broadcast facility for the benefit of its 4-11-year-old pupils.

This unusual development was stimulated by a government initiative, promoting communication opportunities in primary schools. "The school is run as a democracy in which we try to give our children exciting learning opportunities," explained head teacher Alison Peacock. "When the government sent out their information packs, our deputy head Simon Putnam suggested we promote speaking and listening via a full broadcast facility."

The only problem was funding.

UK - Dukes Genesis nightclub in Chelmsford has consistently kept in touch with the current developments available in lighting, sound and visual effects. The latest technology to be installed in the venue is in the new compact full-range loudspeakers from the Spanish manufacturer Vieta.

Although refitted five years ago with a Funktion One system, certain operating changes within the Dukes club meant that the time had come to offer a gentle re-tune and re-alignment of the system.

Having worked closely with Ado Osborn and John Nightingale of DSi Services in a number of the operators' other venues, the management contracted them to complete the necessary services, working to a tight timescale as the venue could not afford any closure time.

Osborn acknowledged that the Funktion One main sound system had been professionally installed and that there was no reason to remove it. To e

UK - Liverpool welcomed 2006 with a spectacular 20-minute multimedia son et lumière event organised by The Liverpool Culture Company, designed to appeal to a mass audience. The show, staged on the steps of St Georges Hall with the iconic building's impressive neoclassical architecture as a backdrop, featured dancing water fountains, a water screen, lighting, sound, lasers, giant flame effects and fireworks. It was enjoyed free by over 8,000 people.

The show was devised by Kirstie Blakeman (also the event manager) from Liverpool Culture Company and Steve Boothman from Fantastic Fireworks. They created a soundtrack encompassing an array of music styles - kicking off with Leftfield's 'Phat Planet' and ending on the Can-Can.

They wanted to focus attention on the building rather than the sky, and integrate the City's '2005 Year of the Sea' theme with its 2006 one - 'Year of Perfor

UK - A.C. Lighting's audio division has been appointed as a main dealer for the Soundcraft MH2, MH3 and MH4 range of dual-purpose mixing consoles.

The consoles have been widely adopted by venues and sound contractors, due to their ability to handle the most demanding live sound mixing for FOH, monitors, or a combination of both from a single desk.

The deal follows a number of major sales and installations by A.C. since becoming a stockist last year, including the supply of an MH4 for the restored and re-opened Hackney Empire.

A.C. was appointed for to its ability to meet the standards required by Harman Pro, including product knowledge, training, and the capacity to provide the necessary support for console users in this sector of the market. The company carries stock of MH consoles as part of its extensive inventory of Soundcraft products, enabling it to respond quickly to

UK - While touring in the UK in support of their current release, The Curse of Blondie, original Blondie members Deborah Harry, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri and Chris Stein were joined by bassist Leigh Foxx, keyboardist Kevin Patrick and guitarist Paul Carbonara. The band was performing through a sound system provided by prominent UK touring company Canegreen, consisting of 14 Meyer Sound MILO high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers. A pair of MILO 120 high-power expanded coverage curvilinear array loudspeakers provide frontfill for the array, with six of the company's 700-HP ultrahigh-power subwoofers covering the bottom end. Front-fill and side-fill were handled by a half-dozen UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers.

"The band is spot-on and very powerful," says Canegreen managing director Yan Stile, "and they're playing almost every night during a two-m

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