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UK - Over the past year, RCF has not only introduced a large number of ground breaking new products, but has now, launched the company on the Italian stock exchange with an annual turner over of €50 million.

At PLASA 07, RCF will be presenting a whole roster of new products. The TT 31-A is a 'mini' size two-way system, delivering very high output and dynamics plus extreme accuracy and high frequency extension. With its compact size the TTL31-A is suitable for indoor applications, live performances and multi- media events. The TTL12-AS active sub is a complement to the TTL31-A array module. The band-pass design promises the maximum output per size, the 4" voice coil vented design woofer offering the minimum of power compression.

RCF's Acustica P Series, coaxial weatherproof

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UK - The Sage in Gateshead, will host this year's Institute of Acoustics' Reproduced Sound Conference and exhibition from 29 to 30 November 2007. Entitled Hall of Sound: Audio for Live Events, the conference provides an opportunity for exploring audio reproduction and perception within a real, modern, mid-sized venue.

Reproduced Sound 23 will retain the core format that regular participants have come to expect. But, new on the menu this year will be a focus on live music, with many interactive sessions using a real time voting system. Demonstrations will explore a range of subjects, including sub-woofer behaviour, clarity and masking effects in music and speech, and new technologies, including a live jazz band playing through a new concept in sound system design for smaller venues.

The Reproduced Sound Conference is organised by the Institute's Electroacoustics Group, i

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UK - Artist and impresario Tony Moore is launching his new concept, The Airwaves Tour, on 17 August, flying to 15 UK airfields and performing a gig at each - all in the space of nine days, and in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

To help him hit the heights of his performance at each stop, Moore will be using a lightweight gig set up comprising a Soundcraft MFX8 (one of the new Lexicon-equipped, Soundcraft FX mixer family) and JBL Eon 10 powered speakers.

Moore comments: "I contacted my friends at Soundcraft as we use their mixers and other Harman equipment in The Bedford and the Regal Room for all our events. The new MFX8 mixer fitted the bill perfectly; not only does it deliver the high quality audio I require, but being equipped with onboard Lexicon effects, it saves me taking additional rack gear and reduces weight, especially important for this gig."

A n

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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

Details
UK - A customised Kinesys motor control system has been installed into the Royal Albert Hall. The project was instigated by the Hall's rigging manager, Simon Frost, and was delivered in two phases. With over 360 shows a year staged at the Royal Albert Hall, Frost wanted to introduce additional layers of health & safety and extra flexibility to the rig, which used to work on a conventional up/down motor control system. "I have always liked the design and functionality of Kinesys equipment," he says.

With the hoists hanging over 130ft up in the grid, their movement is barely audible even during complete silence, rare when a show is being rigged. The view is obscured from most positions in the Hall, including the main control area, by an aluminium skin cladding the grid. Frost therefore sought "a tried-and-tested, foolproof system with all the safety features that wo

Details
UK - Duran Audio will once again be exhibiting its AXYS brand of products at PLASA07 Show. A wide variety of products from the AXYS Intellivox and Target ranges will be on show. In addition to this the company will be previewing its second generation of self powered AXYS sound reinforcement products that boast on board Digital Signal Processing and advanced driver technologies.

During the Show, Dr Evert Start, from Duran Audio's R&D team, will be hosting a seminar entitled Modern Loudspeaker Array Theories and Technologies. The seminar will take place on Tuesday 11 September in lecture theatre 3, from 10.30am - 12.00pm.

The seminar will cover the basic physics of loudspeaker arrays and show how the directivity of loudspeaker arrays can be altered using 'beam steering' or Digital Directivity Technologies. "We will also investigate how these technologies can help ach

Details
UK - In the ten years since leaving his native Bordeaux for the UK, Matthieu Destandau has done much to keep London's Fitzrovia on the culinary map. He made his name a block or so south of his present incumbency on London's Gt. Titchfield Street at CVO Firevault, which became an ultra-chic cocktail bar and party venue.

Then he was headhunted by David Alberto, chief executive of Avanta, the company which operates the nearby Media Village Business Centre, and the two men set about converting the somewhat drab, integral basement 'canteen', known as the Winchester Club, into the resplendent all-white Vanilla.

Common to both Destandau's' enterprises has been the Sound Division Group. Yet the two venues could scarcely have required a more different approach, as Matthieu Destandau explained. "At Firevault, the loudspeakers were in evidence and the sound more in your face - but h

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USA - Nexxus Lighting has announced financial results for the second quarter and first six months of 2007. During the period the company completed its Orlando facility relocation, relocated its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina and announced the signing of non-binding letters of intent to acquire two advanced technology lighting companies. The company (formerly Super Vision International) changed its name to Nexxus Lighting Inc in April as part of its new strategic plan to connect advanced technology with lighting products and control systems.

Total revenues for the six months ended 30 June, 2007 were approximately $4,975,000 as compared to approximately $5,814,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2006. Over $690,000 of the approximately $839,000 decrease was attributable to a decrease in sales to the pool and spa market, which are down over 26% year over year

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UK - With the final commissioning of a purpose-designed dance system for its premier room, the Ministry of Sound in London is now equipped exclusively with Martin Audio components - from the ground up.

It had long been the dream of Dave Bradshaw (formerly head of production but now a consultant to the MoS) to make the world-famous club an exclusively Martin Audio house. After last year's PLASA Show the bar underwent a sound system conversion, and this month added the four additional S218 subs to create uniformity, while the club embarked on redesigning the venue's Holy Grail, the main dance space known as The Box. This month that process was completed.

It is around eight years since the venue specified an all Martin Audio Blackline 5.1 monitor domain for DJs working in The Box, although the six-stack system, which enveloped the audience, had been in nearly twice as long.

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UK - APB Dynasonics will be exhibiting at PLASA this year on the stand of its newly appointed UK and Eire distributor - Resolution Distribution (part of KV2Audio in the UK).

APB DynaSonics is an audio manufacturing company based in Totowa, New Jersey with the mission to design and build high performance analogue live performance mixing consoles offering superior sound quality in fixed and touring applications.

Chuck Augustowski, John Petrucelli and Taz Bhogal, leading audio designers with over 65 years of combined experience, founded APB in 2004 to bring analogue consoles to the next generation of development. Their expertise has produced innovative products such as the Spectra-C and Spectra-T consoles, and MixSwitch, all designed and manufactured in the United States.

On the stand will be the Spectra-Ti, a high performance analogue VCA console available with 24, 32, 40, 48

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UK - The VIP entrance leading from the Queen Elizabeth II Pier to the O2 is a stunning saunter over the river Thames, with views anyone who experiences it will not easily forget.

Architen Landrell have helped shape this striking part of the venue with their design, manufacture and installation of a weatherproof tunnel leading visitors to the Arena from the waterfront.

After being awarded several projects as part of the old Millennium Dome's redevelopment, they presented clients O2 and venue owners AEG with a range of options for the proposed lighting scheme at Riverwalk, with Tryka being the winning option.

35 Tryka Module 36 IP67 with oval optics are installed inside the custom-built 150m long tunnel, with Tryka's IDS-4 rack Intelligent Drive System controlled by a Pharos LPC DMX system. The luminaires offer a wide beam angle for illuminating the vast area.

Architen Landr

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Australia - Clifton Productions, a major player in the lighting production industry, has announced the creation of a newly formed company within their ranks - Moving Light Rentals (MLR).

MLR has had a flying start with a sizeable investment in 300 Robe moving lights, bringing their total Robe inventory to over 450 units. The luminaires - a 50/50 split of Spot and Wash fixtures from Robe's 700, 1200 and 2500 E AT ranges - have been delivered via Robe Lighting's Australian distributor ULA Group P/L.

MLR is designed to offer industry rate prices to its clients enabling them to re-rent the units. The new lights are now available for hire to other production companies throughout the Asia-Pacific region. MLR will also be used to service Clifton's many upcoming productions.

(Jim Evans)

Details
Belarus - Recently the subject of a major refurbishment and updating, which saw the installation of an overall roof and completely new technical specification, the 6250-capacity Summer Amphitheatre in the city of Vitebsk, Belarus, was the main venue for the Slavianski Bazaar In Vitebsk, a major cultural festival that ran from 5-14 July.

Slavianski Bazaar In Vitebsk is a major event of huge regional importance, having won International Federation of Festival Organisations (FIDOF) awards.

A major part of the new technical infrastructure installed by Art Ramos Studio (ARS), the audio contractor for the venue, is a pair of DiGiCo D5 consoles, one at front-of-house, the other at the monitor position and both were immediately put to work for up to 17 hours a day at the festival.

The Slavianski Bazaar attracts artists from around the world and focuses attention on Belarus' importan

Details
UK - Bristol-based fabrication specialists Fineline designed and built several specially customised items for Muse's summer stadium shows for production manager Chris Vaughan of The Production Office.

Fineline's brief included fitting a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano into the shell of a classic instrument. The classic piano was shipped directly to Finelineís warehouse in Bristol from the factory in Japan with no keys or strings. Liaising closely with Muse backline technician Des Broadbery, Fineline's Dave Harris then took delivery of a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano, which had to be fitted inside the original.

The grand piano was carefully inserted into Fineline's 5-axis router, where the key bay was machined into the correct shape to receive the MP8 keyboard. The MP8 was then stripped right down to its component parts and mounted correctly into the grand piano.

The pia

Details
France - Le Pont du Gard is a very old and famous roman aqueduct which spans the Gardon River in Southern France. Every year a summer festival is staged in the huge national park which incorporates Le Pont du Gard - to celebrate the aqueduct and the region of Nimes.

Lighting designer Jean Marc Bouaniche specified an entire PixelRange rig for the occasion including 110 PixelLine 110s, 20 PixelLine 1044s, 36 PixelPars and 12 PixelBricks. Bouaniche enthused: "I didn't want to mix generic lights with LEDs. I wanted the aqueduct reflecting in its own colour - not lightening it with HMI or MSR lamps."

The PixelLine 110s were positioned in each of the arches on the second and third levels whilst PixelPars were on the ground facing and lighting the first level. The PixelLine 1044s and the PixelBricks were on the river banks - simulating volcano craters in red beating like he

Details
USA - InfoComm International and NSCA have announced a cooperative effort to consolidate their industry events. As part of this consolidation, the 2008 NSCA Systems Integration Expo will now become part of InfoComm's annual trade show in Las Vegas, 18-20 June 2008. NSCA will also transfer its ownership interest in Integrated Systems Europe to the remaining partners, as per a separate operating agreement.

According to Chuck Wilson, executive director of NSCA: "This is simply a huge deal for our industry and one we have been discussing for at least ten years. It's exciting to finally be able to say yes to the hundreds of shared exhibitors and attendees of both trade shows who have been asking for us to do this."

As part of further event consolidation, InfoComm will discontinue its Executive Business Conference and become a primary sponsor of the 2008 NSCA Business Conf

Details
UK - Adlib Audio continued its working relationship with the Scissor Sisters by supplying their recent UK O2 and Manchester Arena shows with a JBL VerTec PA system. This was designed by Adlib's Dave Kay, who has been onboard with the Scissor Sisters as their FOH engineer since they supported Duran Duran at Wembley in 2005. Monitor engineer Ben Booker, also from Adlib, has looked after all their stage requirements for the same period.

Adlib sent one of their A-Team crews to do these high profile shows, consisting of Tony Szabo (systems engineer), James Neale, Richie Nicholson (monitor babysitter) and Kenny Perrin.

The system was similar to the one that the band has toured with for the last 16 months. JBL's VerTec line array was chosen for its power and directionality. And plenty of it was needed, especially at the new O2 arena.

Adlib supplied a total of 72 VT4889 elements, si

Details
UK - Sitting on an exposed outcrop of rock in what is now the heart of the modern day Scottish capital, Edinburgh Castle attracts tourists from across the world. And, as well as the castle itself, every summer thousands flock to the Castle as a focal point of the annual Military Tattoo.

Extensive temporary seating galleries are erected around the castle's Esplanade for the tattoo's spectators and, since 1991, advantage has also been taken to use the facilities for live concerts. 2007 saw two Castle Concerts taking place, Blondie with Echo and the Bunnymen on 13 July, followed by Pink two days later.

Star Events provided a 50ft SAM Stage with two fully enclosed, wheeled PA wings for the shows and, in a venue which combines very tight clearances with an ever-present horde of tourists, the Star Events crew were provided with a unique set of challenges.

"The Esplanade is su

Details
UK - Leisuretec Distribution is to distribute JBL's new Control 2.4g wireless speaker system. With a range of 50-70m, the speakers provide an additional zone of sound in any location whilst avoiding unsightly wires.

"The speakers provide a much sought after solution to venues requiring additional sound output," says Leisuretec MD Nick Spalding. "Placed in reception areas, dressing rooms, bars or restrooms, they provide instant high quality audio with no hassle. The speakers are also ideal for those requiring a portable backstage sound system on tour.

"This is an extremely innovative product, JBL has thought of a solution to the age old problem of running wires all over a building. We distribute the full JBL range and are delighted to add this unique product to the list."

A profile of Leisuretec appears in the September 2007 edition of

Details
UK - Harlequin will be exhibiting its Flying Ballet Wagon at PLASA 2007, developed in conjunction with the German company, Hoac. Designed originally for Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam who needed to remove and set out their dance floor easily and quickly but were faced with an old ballet wagon, which required extensive manpower and time to assemble.

Harlequin Liberty sprung panels already in use at the theatre had proved popular with dancers, so the solution was to build them into a new mobile wagon, retained by a special system allowing them to be stored vertically in the fly tower, but also ensuring that they perform exactly as intended when horizontal on the stage floor.

See Harlequin at PLASA on stand D73.

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - Following its launch in Canada, the stage version of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has arrived in London. As in the original production, all 50 cast members are miked with DPA miniatures, using 4061s and 4066 omnis across the board, while some instruments are miked with a further selection of DPAs.

The new onstage spectacle is scored throughout by legendary Indian composer AR Rahman and Finnish contemporary folk group, Värttinä, and played live by 17 musicians. Sound designer Simon Baker from Autograph, together with associate Alan Lugger and FOH mix engineer Laurie Kirkby, set out to create a crisp, clean and intelligible mix that was achieved almost exclusively with microphones from DPA.

In an unusual move to enhance the overall sound experience, Baker decided to move both the brass and percussion sections out of the orchestra pit and into a purpose-built

Details
UK - Portsmouth-based dance school, KateEllen Movement & Dance's production of Dance Through Time was held at St Johns College in Southsea in July of this year and the ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing was there too.

The house rig of conventional lighting, with Zero 88 Betapack dimming supplemented by additional dimming and DMX switch packs, PAR cans, UV Tubes, Jem ZR24/7 Hazer, CCT followspot and the 6ft tall hand-built Tardis - was controlled using a single laptop with external monitor and a ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing - an affordable and portable method for lighting designer and operator Matt Lemon of Eastleigh-based ML Lighting who also works in development for ChamSys.

"The new multiwindows feature in the software is great," says Lemon. "It allowed me to spread the screens I was using across the laptop and external monitor without having to open up another programme

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