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Europe - Belgian rental firm EML is touring Europe with Simple Minds, using an assortment of Adamson's Y-Axis and SpekTrix line arrays to accommodate the needs of each individual venue. The Scots band, with over 20 top 20 hits to their name and over 30 million records sold, is performing in over 40 venues across Europe to promote their new, critically acclaimed studio album Black & White 050505.

The UK leg of the tour saw Adamson partner Concert Sound based in Luton, providing all sound reinforcement products. When the tour makes the rounds to Belgium and Holland, EML will use a mixture of Y-18s and Y-10s provided by EML Belgium and EML Holland respectively. In Scandinavia and Germany, Nordic Rentals, Adamson support for Denmark, Sweden and Norway, will pitch in some Y-18s

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UK - Adrian Turpin, who has worked at BBC Scotland for the past 18 years, has moved on to become a freelance lighting designer and programmer. Turpin came from a theatre lighting background prior to joining the BBC in 1987 and for many years has specialised in moving light design as well as Catalyst image design and programming. He will be based in Manchester. He can be contacted on +44 (0) 7801 040747.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Orthopaedic implant manufacturer Biomet UK Ltd has ordered a large quantity of audio and video cable from UK cable specialist VDC Trading. The cable has been incorporated into the company's growing stock of audio-visual equipment, which plays an important part in servicing Biomet's sales, marketing and medical education programme.

"Throughout the year, we run a large number of sales, marketing and training seminars, including courses for clinical education with live surgical links from operating theatres to seminar rooms that enable surgeons to learn more about surgical techniques and our products," says Irwin Crowe, Biomet's International Marketing Services Manager. "Each of these events has a requirement for audio visual equipment and we have now invested in our own systems because it is more cost effective to buy the equipment than to keep hiring it in.&qu

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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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USA - Systems integrator Pro Sound partnered with consultants Pelton Marsh Kinsella and the Hunt Construction Group to design and install an audio system for Glendale, Arizona's new Cardinals Stadium. Pro Sound innovative enough to match the rest of the stadium's construction, which has already been featured on the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering program.

But the team achieved more than outstanding sound quality for the 63,000-seat stadium with the design; they are also saving the owners upwards of $100 million over comparable projects of this size and scope, according to Pro Sound's president, Rod Sintow: "The simple fact that Meyer Sound equipment is self-powered enables us to accelerate our installation schedule by 12 weeks," says Sintow. "The UPA-1Ps were installed in eight days. If we'd done that with unpowered speakers, that alone would have t

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UK - Autograph Sound Recording has recently been awarded the sound contracts three major musicals, thus considerably strengthening its position in the theatre rental market. The company will supply three musical Broadway imports - Avenue Q, Wicked and Spamalot, all of which have West End openings over the next few months.

These productions add to their already impressive musical portfolio, which includes Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Guys and Dolls, We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia!, Billy Elliot, The Lion King and the recently opened Sinatra at The London Palladium. Autograph is equally well represented in the play market too; supplying Embers, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Blackbird, The Crucible, Smaller, The RSC Season at The Novello and Resurrection Blues.

Both Avenue Q and Spamalot are designed by the prolific

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UK - Lisburn, Northern Ireland-based Zest Audio is an audio-visual company that has produced its own unique Award winning hard-disc music control system - called 'Atmosphere' - that allows the user to output controlled music in up to four independent zones. Zest Audio Ltd has recently installed Atmosphere into Northern Ireland's newest bar and grill venue - The Cardan in Lisburn.

The Cardan brings a new level of sophistication to Lisburn, with its upstairs club Distil keeping things going into the darker hours. Atmosphere was the natural choice for owner Jon Poots to keep the ambience appropriate to the design and feel of the bar. Poots says: "I used Atmosphere in my last venue and was delighted with the control offered and the service provided by Zest Audio, it was the natural choice for The Cardan. Again I am delighted with what is achieved and with the back-up service.&q

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Belgium - One of the most famous and revered venues in Europe, the Ancienne Belgique otherwise known as AB has always carefully protected its reputation as a groundbreaking venue. From its early beginnings, through acts like Blondie, The Ramones and Lena Lovich, to the present day with Starsailor, Rufus Wainwright or Heather Nova, AB has come to be known as the place to play for up coming bands.

No surprise then when the technical director Marc Vrebos chose to invite all serious pro-audio manufacturers to demonstrate their latest sound systems when the time came for renewal of the house PA. "The previous system had been installed in '96, we knew from our own experiences, and from listening to what touring sound engineers told us, that the time had come for a line array," he said.

AB's head of sound Tom Janssen, assisted by Sven Van den Broek, AB's longest serving in-

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UK - Projected Image Digital (PID) has supplied Element Labs VersaTUBEs and VersaTILEs LED products for two new Gala Casino installations - one in Tottenham Court Road, London and one in Leicester. In both cases, the Tubes and Tiles were specified by designer Paula Reason from Cadmium Design. Reason, who likes to integrate lighting and kinetic energies into her interior designs, and the two Gala installations followed on from her pioneering work using VersaTILES in the bar at London's recently refurbished Hard Rock Café - where she first met PID.

The Tottenham Court Road Gala installation utilises 45 VersaTUBES, integrated vertically into a central feature of the main bar on the first floor. This is part of an extensive aesthetic revamp for the venue. The physical installation was completed by Viking Electrics and PID commissioned the TUBEs to Reason's specification. The

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UK - Sennheiser is sponsoring a new campaign from the House Ear Institute (www.hei.org), a research and educational outreach body which aims to ensure healthy hearing for all. HEI's new 'It's How You Listen That Counts' campaign is helping to get the word out on safer listening to teens everywhere.

"This is a critical time. Teens are at a greater risk than ever in terms of hearing loss," says Marilee Potthoff, director of marketing for the House Ear Institute. "Sennheiser's support of HEI programs is valuable in helping us reach the young consumer audio market, and is bringing greater exposure to what is proving to be a very successful public education campaign."

HEI, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing hearing science through research and education to improve quality of life, was established in 1946. Its Sound Partners hearing conservation pro

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UK - Autograph Sales has recently strengthened its service and support team by acquiring the knowledge and expertise of George McKechnie of dBA-UK. McKechnie is no stranger to the world of professional audio, having almost 30 years' experience of being actively involved with many aspects of audio reproduction and sound reinforcement, working closely with many well-known audio providers.

He has spent several years working with Martin Audio along with a very long stint with BSS Audio Ltd providing the audio community with technical support and servicing. He is still - although not working for BSS actively - supporting the entire breadth of the BSS product lines.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Prism restaurant, in the City of London, has recently undergone an upgrade of both its lighting and sound systems, provided by full service AV company Mushroom Event Services.

Restaurant manager Belinda Jarman, administration manager Hannah Ross and marketing and communications manager Hannah Westway were instrumental in instigating the change. "We wanted to have a very definite change of atmosphere in the evenings," explains Ross. "Each day, we change from being a more formal lunch venue to a very relaxed evening venue and we wanted a look to reflect that. With the lighting that Mushroom has installed we've definitely achieved that, to the point where we have had a series of reviews that name Prism as the place to be with our red lighting theme and 'The Brain' wall projection."

To achieve this, Mushroom supplied red cold cathode low voltage lighting a

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Denmark - Martin's popular Maxxyz lighting controller is now available in a PC-based version. This new computer-based version of the Maxxyz console is an off-line and online editing tool that gives full Maxxyz functionality from the ease and convenience of a PC or laptop, say Martin.

Maxxyz PC can be used for off-line programming and can be linked to Martin's Universal DMX interface device or Ether2DMX Router for direct control of fixtures. Featuring dongle-protected software without the need for expensive hardware, it is the ideal programming platform for a large variety of shows.

Maxxyz PC is the most scalable PC-based lighting software in the industry. The software is free of charge. However, to output DMX, a USB license dongle and a DMX interface device are needed. The USB interface device outputs 2 universes or uses ArtNet via the PC's Ethernet port.

Maxxyz PC is an att

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USA - Lectrosonics is unveiling three new additions to the SM Super Mini transmitter line - which it says are the world's smallest professional audio wireless transmitters. The SM transmitter filled a niche for users who wanted a high-powered, cost-effective, advanced wireless transmitter in a small and splash-proof package, say the company.

The first of the three new additions to the SM family is the SMD (SM-Dual) transmitter using two AA batteries and therefore doubling the battery life of the original unit. Next is the SMQ (SM Quarter Watt) transmitter which has been designed to deliver 250mW power for longer range and greater resistance to interference than the standard SM (100mW transmitter) - also using two AA batteries. Finally the RM (Remote unit) was created for programming and operation of the SM transmitter family, including the new SMD and SMQ units. The RM communica

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USA - Color Kinetics Inc has announced that company co-founder Ihor Lys is to take on the role of chief scientist, while Fritz Morgan is promoted to chief technology officer, with effect from 1 April. The company says "these executive management changes support the company's aggressive plans for technology advancement and underscore its commitment to continued innovation".

Previously served as chief technology officer for over eight years, Lys will as chief scientist be responsible for the company's strategic technology advancement and implementation, including applied research and advanced engineering in the development of new lighting, power and control products. He will collaborate with the extended executive team to help formulate corporate strategy and product vision, addressing both near-term and forward-looking market opportunities.

As chief technology officer

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UK - St Edmundsbury Theatre Services (SETS), the Bury St Edmunds based production and hire company, has taken delivery of a D.A.S. Audio self-powered Aero28A line array system. This is the first such system to see service in the UK. D.A.S. Audio has long been recognised as a serious player in the European and global markets, and Sennheiser UK, the UK's exclusive distributor, sees this as "a major breakthrough in an area crowded by several longstanding manufacturers", the company says.

SETS owner Marcus Eustace says: "Our team handles the logistics of several hundred productions a year, many of which utilise quality PA systems. We believe the D.A.S. Aero gives the quality of audio reproduction required for both theatre and outdoor events. In choosing the new system we worked with James O'Leary of CoNi who has a strong reputation in supplying this type of equipment.

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Australia - Jands has announced that the latest addition to the Vista family, the Vista S3, is a finalist in the prestigious Australian Design Awards. Nominated by designer 4design, and entered in the consumer section, the Vista S3 is a product of five years development and a dedicated Jands R&D team of nine people.

The product is described in the ADA finalist pages as "an innovative lighting console for the programming and control of lighting for live performance. Through innovative software and compact design the Vista S3 allows the user to build lighting designs visually on screen. The Vista software provides an intuitive and creative process for creating lighting effects and uses a window-based system similar to modern computers. All aspects are seen in timeline format which gives an entirely new approach to design and performance to speed the programming process. The V

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Germany - At ProLight&Sound, G-LEC has launched what it calls the first walk-through LED system. The G-LEC Tube follows the same principles as the company's highly acclaimed transparent LED frame systems - but without the frame. Each individual transparent tube hangs free, so walking through the G-LEC Tube is like walking through a slash or beaded curtain.

The ability to create a 'forest' of LEDs, with different lengths of individual tubes, brings enormous potential to lighting and set designers, say G-LEC, from having performers literally walk through the set, to dramatic 3D designs. Like the G-LEC Classic and the PhantomFrame systems, the G-LEC Tube is transparent to light, audio and wind and can be used to hide or reveal speaker stacks or an orchestra without affecting acoustics.

The G-LEC Tube can be constructed in different lengths, from 10cm up to 6m, in 10cm increments

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UK - TMB UK has moved to a new location, and now has new phone and fax numbers. The company can now be contacted at: TMB UK, 21 Armstrong Way, Southall, UB2 4SD, UK.

(Lee Baldock)

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Germany - At ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt, German manufacturer K.M.E. has launched two active professional stage monitors, the CLP 320 and CLP 350, to add to its Cluster Series. The CLP 320 is equipped with 12" + 1" neodymium loudspeaker, the CLP 350 with a 15" + 1" speaker combination. Both models are equipped with a 350W class D amplifier for high quality audio and maximum operation safety through comprehensive protective circuitry.

The input module is equipped with two independent audio inputs with two-band EQ and switchable 48 volts phantom power. Input 1 has an additional Cinch connector for signal sources as CD/MP3-players, and input 2 is equipped with an line-out connector for daisy-chaining. Master volume pot and master limiter are rounding out the professional features of both units.

Both monitors feature an optimized dispersion, due to the 80° x 6

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USA / Belgium - US-based DJ equipment manufacturer Numark has announced a strategic alliance with ArKaos, the Belgium-based software provider, to provide audio and video integration into live DJ performance. The announcement was revealed at the ProLight&Sound trade show in Frankfurt, Germany.

Numark and Arkaos have created a powerful video controller, NuVJ, which it says will invite any DJ to instantly transform into a multimedia VJ (Video Jockey). The software is compatible with a Mac or a PC.

Representatives of Numark and ArKaos point out that the NuVJ is an entirely new product offering that capitalizes on the strengths of both companies and is designed as a video counterpart to a DJ's existing audio setup. Numark CEO John E. 'Jack' O'Donnell commented: "Numark has a proven track record of innovation in the DJ market and is always looking for opportunities to further e

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USA - High End Systems (HES) is now shipping the fourth version of its Catalyst software and Media Server. Catalyst software, which was first introduced in 2001, fuses lighting with digital media, allowing the user to create virtual scenery and unlimited visual effects for markets ranging from tours and corporate events to cruise ships and houses of worship.

The new Catalyst v4 is enhanced with support for additional input/output devices as well as complementary products. This support includes cue lists and pixelMAD functionality, expanding the possibilities for users, say HES. Version 4 also enables Catalyst to be controlled by video- and music-industry standard controllers such as Mackie and MIDI controllers. This is the first version of Catalyst to not require a DMX controller. The Pro version of Catalyst features four independent on-screen output mixes and 10 independent ass

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