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USA - From June to August, Bandit programmers Greg Shipley and Jeff Wilkin pushed the Compulite Vector Red and Blue consoles to their extremes. After a short time, it was evident both consoles were ready for Live TV and ready for the three weekly redesigns common to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

Greg Shipley, chief programmer, is running the Vector Red. Shipley says: "The console handles things very smoothly," and is "unmatched in processing power". He is driving anywhere from 8 to 16 universes worth of automated and LED fixtures. "There are very few consoles out there that can run a high volume of LED fixtures at 61 channels a piece with ease like the Vectors. I look forward to driving up to 40 universes through the one console on the next Wrestlem

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UK - Despite having to contend with torrential rain and freakishly high winds, the organisers of this year's Minichill Festival are delighted with the success of the event, which attracted more than 1,000 people.

The two-day festival, held on private land near Marlow in Buckinghamshire, aimed to raise money for The Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC) and was supported by voluntary performances from a range of artists, DJs and VJs including Hexstatic, The Bays, Cooper's Rage, Alice Mclaughlin, Groovenik, Decatone, Tom Currie, Nettie (Daft Pink), Michael Heap and Nickin & Puskin.

Harman Pro UK supported Minichill by supplying PA systems for the main stage and DJ barn. The company also supplied a Soundcraft Vi6 console, which was used for FOH and monitor mixes. Among the extensive equipment list needed to make the festival rock were a JBL VRX line array speaker system, top o

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USA - When pop sensation Shakira needed some custom equipment for her Oral Fixation tour, Tomcat and Production Resource Group were all too happy to help with the project.

In all, Tomcat USA fabricated 30 custom light frames with each individual frame designed to hold six Par 64 short fixtures. When assembled, the wall is five frames tall and six frames wide with each column of frames supported independently. Each frame is approximately 87" long x 58" tall and 18" wide and arranged so that the fixtures would be on 29" centre through the entire wall. To make the system load-in and load-out more quickly, the design included locking over-centre latches to hold the frames together as they are assembled vertically. All of this equipment was powder coated flat black.

The Oral Fixation tour began its Stateside visit in El Paso, Texas at the beginning

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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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UK - MTR says that although you might not think that there was much of a demand for stand-alone phantom power supplies these days, its experience with its 4-channel PPS-48 seems to indicate otherwise. Indeed, the company reports that in response to requests, it is now offering a two-channel version - the PPS-248 - also mains powered and with the same rock solid and ultra quiet 48V, housed in a smaller RF-screened heavy gauge steel box. "The PPS-248 is suitable for all those older, well-loved desks out there without phantom power, for one or two condenser mics in computer project studios, schools, houses of worship, etc," say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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Spain - D.A.S. Audio has launched two new products in its line of high-power sound reinforcement systems. The new Sound Touring series products are the ST-1510 mid/high system and the ST-182 high performance subwoofer system which are designed to be used together.

The ST-1510 is a 3-way mid/high loudspeaker system designed for use with external amplification. The ST-1510 is ideal sound reinforcement applications where mid-range presence and pattern control are desired. The trapezoidal cabinet houses a 15" low frequency transducer, a 10" 'Bullet' mid-range device and an ND-10 compression driver. The ST-1510 incorporates Ancra rigging hardware. The frequency range of the ST-1510 goes from 50Hz-18kHz, allowing it to be used in applications that do not require bass reinforcement.

Constructed from Baltic Birch plywood and finished in a durable black paint, the cabinet we

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UK - Summit Steel launched the latest in its SmarTmast range - SmarTmast 4 - which has specifically been designed to fly line array PA systems quickly, easily and at sufficient height. Height in particular is always a crucial factor with line array designs in open spaces - be it a greenfield, urban or 'other' site.

"We've listened carefully to feedback from lots of sound engineers over the last 12 months," says Summit's Jon Bray, "and come up with this solution to address all their needs when flying line arrays on masts."

The SmarTmast 4 had its first outing at the high profile Music On Fire, a son et lumière and firework spectacular staged in the grounds of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Four SmarTmast 4s were used by sound designer Paul Keating for the V-Dosc main stage PA arrays and out-fills that were supplied by Delta Sound.

A key fac

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UK - A new partnership emerged at PLASA '06 between Strand Lighting Inc and Northern Light, after Strand approached Northern Light with a brief to design and build their exhibition stand at the international show. The 11 x 6.5m stand designed by Northern Light resulted in a versatile and welcoming exhibition space, ensuring that traffic throughout the four-day show was drawn in to view products and chat with Strand representatives, say Strand.

Ken Berreen, regional sales manager of Barndoor BV, representing Strand, said: "We were extremely pleased with the stand created by Northern Light for our participation in PLASA 06. The inclusion of a bar and seating area made sure that visitors felt secure enough to stay on stand as long as they wanted. The trussing and rostra enabled us to display our products to their best advantage."

Strand took the opportunity to display t

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UK - Franz Ferdinand, headliners at this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals, produced a model performance with the help of eight synchronised dancing mannequins provided by Specialz. The "dancing girls" were commissioned by the band as a special surprise to festival-goers. Hidden behind several backdrops the girls saved their star performance until later in the show and proved to be a real crowd-pleaser. When revealed they were dressed in stunning red costumes had VL5 Arc lights for heads.

Specialz also provided the dramatic 10ft-high "Franz" sign and the whole show was excellently lit by Cormac Jackson who commented: "A lot of the time you are tying to create a design that doesn't exist, but my client had a very clear idea of what they wanted. Specialz were able to bring those very obscure ideas to life and now that's why we have 10ft high female manneq

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USA - Maryland Sound International (MSI) has recently purchased an additional 36 JBL Vertec VT4888DP-AN midsize powered line array loudspeakers. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, MSI has been an audio production and services company since 1966 and is now celebrating its 40th year in business. MSI provides numerous services, including special event production, concert touring packages, system design and engineering, and system analysis and construction.

MSI has recently been the sound company of choice for diverse and prominent acts like Neil Diamond, Josh Groban and Dream Theater. MSI has provided live sound for high-profile events including the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., the Presidential Inaugurations at the US Capitol in 2001 and 2005 and New York City's Times Square New Year's Eve.

Vertec line arrays have played a significant role in

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UK - RG Jones MD, Stephen Hall and his hardy shipmates won the overall trophy at this year's Audio Industry Regatta (AIR) on 23-24 September. AIR is a sailing weekend held over two days for experienced and inexperienced sailors alike, with the emphasis on having fun, with prizes awarded for winning races whilst raising money for The Elizabeth Foundation for Deaf Children. This year was another great success - the conditions were perfect and a great weekend was had by all. Stephen Hall has been an avid sailor and boat owner for many years and with his skill and the determination of the Leisuretec crew, he sailed them to success.

"Over the decades RG Jones has been fortunate enough to be involved with some extraordinary projects, amplifying some of the most magnificent sounds, and it's easy to take the ability to hear for granted," say the company. The Elizabeth Foundati

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Dubai - Recently voted Most Innovative International Retail & Leisure Concept of the Year and International Retail & Leisure Destination of the Year, the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai has attracted over 10 million visitors in its first six months of operation. Quickly establishing itself as both the number one leisure, entertainment and shopping resort in the Emirates and the second largest shopping centre in the world outside North America, the Mall of the Emirates is well on track to hit the 30 million visitor mark in its first year of operation.

Strategically located in the heart of what is now deemed 'New Dubai', the $820m, 250,000sq.m retail and leisure resort is home to over 400 retailers including Harvey Nichols, Emporio Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, H&M, Carrefour, Debenhams, Banana Republic, Zara and Virgin Megastore. However, it is the Ski Dubai complex within the mall that

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Europe - Out Board has launched a new range of LV-Series chain-hoist controllers, starting with the LV8 8-channel unit. The product's launch was marked by the purchase of 20 LV8 units split between production rental companies PRG Europe and UK Rigging, for the European leg of the Madonna tour.

PRG's LV8s were committed to rigging mothergrid and other trusses for all set elements and lighting, while UK Rigging's LV8s were looking after hanging the tour's large V-Dosc sound system. UK Rigging prepared two individual systems to deal with separate leapfrogging PA rigs planned to cater for the tour's rigorous back-to-back schedule. Both companies also bought an extensive complement of the new compact and ergonomic RC8 remote handsets, with UK Rigging also buying several RC16 16 channel units with handset splitter cables to control two LV8s each.

The LV8 extends Out Board's low-volt

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USA - Reventón, the largest Latin rock and pop music festival in the US, recently packed nearly 50,000 fans into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to watch RBD, Ricky Martin, Alejandra Guzman, Sin Bandera and seven other Spanish-language acts perform a non-stop afternoon and evening of high-energy live music.

Arcadia-based Spanish Contemporary Hits radio station KSSE 'Super Estrella' 107.1 FM, which has hosted the annual event since its inception in 1998, has typically staged Reventón at Anaheim's Arrowhead Pond in the past. However, after selling out last year's show in less than 15 minutes, the decision was made to finally move it to a much larger venue - the Coliseum.

Reventón 2006 also marked the seventh year that the production team at 3G Live has provided staging, lighting, and sound for the event. Considering that the attendance was expected to triple this year, whic

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Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB is enjoying another successful post-PLASA period, after its third consecutive year exhibiting at the popular lighting and sound trade show. The company reported enormous interest in its new range of W-DMX products on display, including W-DMX T-512 Outdoor Transceiver, W-DMX D-512, the world's first wireless 3-way truss splitter, and W-DMX Micro - a mini DMX receiver with built-in battery backup of 6-8 hours use, signal display indication and battery lifetime. In addition, the RDM specification on W-DMX was shown for the first time at PLASA.

2006 has so far been a great year for W-DMX, the company says, with over 5,000 units of W-DMX being shipped worldwide in just nine months. More OEM partners have joined the wave of manufacturers offering wireless DMX in their equipment. Most recently, the Alpha Range from Clay Paky, LSC Lighting consoles f

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UK - Lift-Turn-Move have reported a busy surge in Autumn work following their third PLASA show, which also marked the company's second birthday.

Lee Culff is the latest person to join the Lift-Turn Move team, joining Dave Ward, Alan Wood and Phil Jones in the busy and expanding workshop. Culff's lift servicing background is an ideal qualification for the work he will be doing at LTM which includes preparing and testing Lodestars.

LTM is also looking for its first apprentice. "It's proved consistently difficult recruiting staff locally," explains John Jones, MD. LTM is spending the next month searching for and interviewing young people with the right attributes, work ethic and attitude to get on in the fast-moving environs of the production industry.

LTM has also expanded its hoist testing facilities to deal with the large volume of work it is now experiencing. A te

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UK - Winners of the IVCA Clarion 'Corporate Social Responsibility' awards were announced on Friday 29 September at a packed awards ceremony at BAFTA's headquarters in London. The Clarion awards are now recognised as the leading CSR barometer within the event and communications industry and past winners range from BP, Shell, and McDonald's UK, to the achievements of Hotel Rwanda and Billy Elliot the Musical.

Leading design and communication company Imagination received 2 awards at the ceremony including a Special Recognition Award for the Founder and CEO of Imagination Gary Withers. Imagination was also presented with the 'Best Live Event' award for their work on 'Lifetime Lab' - a children's interactive exhibition which deals with issues of sustainable living and environmental issues built in the heart of Irish city, Cork.

Set on the banks of the River Lee, 'Lifetime Lab' was

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UK - XL Video is supplying three of its newly purchased Christie S20 Roadster projectors as part of the complete video package being provided to the current Will Young Keep On Live UK tour.

The show features both high definition playback and IMAG video directed by Phil Woodhead, and the account is being project managed for XL by Phil Mercer.

Mercer says: "Over and above the standard IMAG requirements for a tour of this scale, XL is providing state-of-the-art hi-def playback, projection and control equipment, giving maximum impact to the specific sections of the show utilising pre-recorded video."

Material is projected onto an 11m wide by 5m electric roller screen that comes in centre stage, and also onto two 16 by 19 ft side screens. The compact, very bright Christie's - part of several new additions to the XL projection fleet - are rigged on a front truss,

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Ireland - Arena Structures provided a selection of structures to the organisers of the 36th Ryder Cup, as the K Club in County Kildare was transformed to a world-class sporting venue. The Ryder Cup's first visit to Ireland has been hailed a success on all levels. For the European team it was a record breaking third victory following three days of incredible golf. For the PGA organising the event, it was also accommodating one of the World's major sporting events, with the sell out crowds, corporate hospitality and huge media representation in the remote K Club.

PGA Staging director Edward Kitson began planning the event from the moment the course was selected. Planning began nearly two years in advance to ensure the unique tournament lived up to the highest of standards, and he selected Arena Structures to supply over 21,200sq.m of structures to form key temporary venues on the

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USA - The historic Hollywood Palladium in Southern California which as been host to almost every type of popular music and artist since 1940. From Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra to Glen Miler, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and U2, the venue has been host to innumerable musical genres.

The venue is a classic ballroom type, originally designed with Big Bands in mind. Very little thought was given to sound reinforcement and the Palladium is not the easiest room to create quality. The fact is that the entire venue is very wide and to make matters worse, it has a balcony: not impossible, but it would normally require a lot of boxes for coverage rather than just SPL concerns.

The physical dimensions make things difficult. The distance between the rigging points is about 65ft (aprox. 20m) with the FOH position over 125ft back (almost 40m) and the main dance floor being greater tha

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UK - The Effects Company has announced a supplement to its unique range of Aromatech essences for the Christmas season. These 'specials' have been specially blended to reflect the aromas that complement the season and "like all Aromatech essences, are renowned for their realism, say the company.

The 'seasonal specials' are Christmas Spice, Frankincense & Myrrh, Mince Pies and Mulled Wine. Pine and Cinnamon are also available from the standard range. The above six essences can also be ordered in a mixed box of 12 (2 x 6 essences), say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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Switzerland - The city of Basel in Switzerland has recently staged its debut Basel Tattoo festival of marching military bands and dancers, supported by a sophisticated "source-oriented" sound reinforcement system based on the TiMax Audio Imaging delay matrix and showcontrol software. The sell-out show played over five nights in an outdoor arena specially created in front of the 19th century Kaserne Hof military barracks.

The system was based on over 20 distributed speaker channels including two HW compact line array systems and 14 Kling & Freitag trapezoidal cabinets on poles or on the ground at the front of each audience seating bay. There were also six sub-bass channels feeding separate 2x18" cabinets spread out under the horseshoe-shaped audience bleachers surrounding the 80m x 25m outdoor performance area. The system was designed by Thomas Strebel with the ass

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