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Germany - Merging Technologies has announced that from 1 June 2012, Digital Audio Service GmbH will assume distribution responsibilities for the German market. DAS has offices in Hamburg and Berlin as well as a retail shop in both locations and a significant online presence.

DAS is particularly well known in the post production and recording world but has strategic plans to diversify into live and installed sound. This profile fits the Merging product range very well and mirrors the changing product mix coming from the Swiss brand, says the company.

This change brings to an end a long and successful partnership with Audio Export Georg Neumann & Co GmbH based in Heilbronn. Other brands handled by the company are mainly broadcast which is an important sector for Merging but recent

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UK - Stage Sound Services in Cardiff, South Wales, is now one of the UK's busiest rental and production services hire companies to the theatre market. With an enormous number of prestigious projects already to their name, both in the UK and abroad, including the likes of Journey's End (two tours and two West End runs), sound and lighting for the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium, plus video for both Warhorse and the Wizard of Oz to name but a very few, SSS is constantly having to increase inventory levels in order to be able to satisfy demand. The latest round of investment comprised another thirty EMS-61 small format, full range passive loudspeakers from UK loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics.

This latest purchase brings SSS's EM Acoustics inventory up to an impressive 359 cabinets in all, 139 of which are now EMS-61s. According to Stage Sound Services owner and

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UK - In the seven years since the split of post-hardcore band Million Dead, the band's lead vocalist Frank Turner has built a large following for his brand of folk/punk. April saw him reach a career high with a sold-out show at London's Wembley Arena, where Sennheiser equipment was much in evidence.

With 12,500 fans barely seeming to notice that Turner and his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, weren't in one of their more usual theatre-sized venues, the one-off show required a large Sennheiser presence.

Regular sound and lighting supplier Nitelites provided most of the audio system at the show, just asking Adlib Audio to supply an L-Acoustics V-DOSC system. Nitelites supplied a large amount of Sennheiser equipment, including e 840 vocal microphones and e 901, 902, 904s, 905 and MK4s on the drum kit.

"I like the robustness of the 840s," says FOH engineer and tour ma

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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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Egypt - At its grand opening in February, Club 35 Alexandria wowed its clientele with the sonic clarity and power provided by a Meyer Sound UltraSeries loudspeaker system. The night was a packed, memorable experience featuring a set from DJ Jean, who was flown in from Beirut for the occasion.

"I give a lot of attention to detail, and I wanted to create the trendiest nightspot in Alexandria," says Club 35 Manager David Boulouys. "That meant that all the elements had to be top-notch, and that is why I chose Meyer Sound."

Located at the five-star Maritim Jolie Ville Hotel in Alexandria, Egypt, Club 35 is the first franchise to branch out from Cairo's 35 Restaurant & Lounge Bar (aka Club 35 Cairo).

Cairo-based events company Modern Touch Entertainment - one of Egypt's top entertainment companies and the country's exclusive distributor of Meyer Sound since 199

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Puerto Rico - For a spectacular three-day performance, lighting designer Eduardo 'Wady' Rodriguez chose 80-plus Chauvet Professional fixtures as part of the concert rig for Puerto Rican pop-rock singer Ednita Nazario. Musique Xpress lighting company of Puerto Rico provided the lights.

"I addressed each element of the show separately, but also looked at the overall picture, looking for harmony," Rodriguez said. "The combination of music and lights reflected Ednita's personality - her fragility, passion and great talent."

Rodriguez lit a textured wall at the back of the stage with six COLORado Ridge IP high-powered luminaires, placed equidistantly while projecting intense red, blue, purple or green hues. The wall was a static element in the design, drenched in colour for most of the looks and serving as a base for a complex rig, featuring large video walls, n

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Mexico - Wireless Solution Sweden AB Mexican OEM partner Hermes Music, S.A. de C.V. recently brightened the skyline in Villahermosa, Mexico at the Liverpool Flagship store using PR Lighting with W-DMX. Hermes supplied 22 W-DMX transmitters and 64 of PR Lighting's PR-8800 architectural fixtures to light the façade.

Mexico City-based architectural firm Inaki Echeverria constructed the façade from 20m long segments of precast concrete slabs joined together that rotate at 180° angles. To create a dynamic colour wash and highlight the architectural features, lighting designer Joseph Charles Vargas Rubenak used PR-8800 fixtures with built in W-DMX.

The PR-8800, which has been newly launched by PR lighting, features the design of the W-DMX signal transmission, a true outdoor IP67 waterproof rating, RGB colour mixing system and the environment brightness automatic adjustment

T

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USA - Over his 20 years of mixing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Rat of Rat Sound has had to deal with a wide range of audio issues. During the current multi-year tour in support of the album I'm with You, the band encountered severe interference issues with its IEM system, which Rat addressed with a switch to the Shure PSM 1000 system and its diversity reception design.

"The troubles we were having with our existing in-ear systems were primarily due to the LED stage we have on this tour," explains Rat. "We experienced a whole new level of interference issues. When you have the artists actually standing on an LED surface, it means the beltpack is only three feet away from the RF noise, while the transmitting antenna is maybe 30 feet away. The result was a lot of dropouts from a system that had previously been very stable. We couldn't even do frequency scan

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UK - An Audient ASP8024 has been the mixing console of choice in the recording studio at Nottinghamshire County Council The Old Library Arts' Centre for over six years, which last year alone saw over 2000 young people pass through its doors.

"There are also the commercial bookings on top of that," explains technical manager Jonathon Spittlehouse, who originally specified the 36-channel desk back in 2006 when the studio moved to its present location and was brought fully under local authority control. As part of the broader Arts' Centre, Spittlehouse and his colleagues are tasked with engaging 13 - 19 year olds in projects of a variety of disciplines, which can mean the studio - and therefore the desk - is really put through its paces.

"The desk is bullet proof. We've been running it full on for six years and never had a problem. We've worn the decal on the talkb

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USA - On the last day of his April visit to California, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama spoke about 'Peace of Mind in Troubled Times' to an audience of more than 10,000 at the Long Beach Arena. To maintain precise intelligibility in the challenging arena acoustics, PRG Audio of Sun Valley, Calif. deployed a Meyer Sound system comprised largely of MICA and M2D line array loudspeakers.

Providing intelligibility in the arena environment was a key requirement for Bill Daly of PRG Audio's design and engineering team. Working in consultation with Meyer Sound Tech Support, Daly plotted a mono system with front-hangs of 11 M2D line array loudspeakers each and 10 M2D loudspeakers at center. Filling the vast rear portion of the oval arena were three delay hangs of eight MICA line array loudspeakers each, augmented by two CQ-2 loudspeakers for spot coverage.

Seven MINAline array loudspe

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UK - Greg Barker, the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, was given an illuminating illustration of the power of LED lighting when he visited Dartford last week.

During a visit to Suscon, the sustainable construction training and research centre at The Bridge, the Minister viewed the range of products offered by 8point3 LED, which has recently moved into offices at the centre.

"The Minister's visit was a great opportunity to demonstrate the quality of light produced by LED lighting and outline the dramatic energy savings it brings when compared to traditional systems," said Ashley Bateup, managing director of 8point3, which designs and manufactures bespoke fittings for its public and private sector clients at a plant in Belvedere.

"The Minister showed genuine interest in our products and seemed impressed by their environmental credentials, stating

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USA - Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), the multimedia art cabaret founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler, recently carried out its latest upgrade - boosting the technical infrastructure with GLP's impression Spot One LED and G-LEC Solaris video curtain.

Located on the site of the historic Village Gate in New York's Greenwich Village, when the new owners took over the interior was completely redrawn, and John Storyk (of Walters-Storyk Design Group), the designer behind Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland Studios, helped design the room sonically.

The venue has since undergone various technical upgrades, including remotely controlled HD cameras, culminating in this latest investment, with the acquisition of 12 automated Spot One LED fixtures from 4Wall Entertainment Lighting, who have been providing LPR with high-level service for the past three years.

Said the club's director

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UK - Orbital Sound has embarked on an apprenticeship scheme, reflecting its passion for training and encouraging new talent into the industry. Orbital has taken on two apprentices, working with the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural, which comprises a membership network of over 230 theatre and live music employers, as well as 20 colleges across England. Becky Felton is the first to start - joining Orbital in May - with Jay Dodds already scheduled to start work when he finishes his exams in June.

The Skills Academy is all about nurturing talent and building a skilled technical workforce for the future. Orbital's initiative is being managed by Adam Thorneycroft, head of engineering, who explains why the scheme has strong appeal:

"Given the current climate, we wanted to take some positive steps to keep people interested in working in the entertainment industry.

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UK - Independent Studio Services will be exhibiting for the second year running at ABTT where it will be showcasing its range of services and products (Stand 3). Specialising in the design, supply and installation of stage engineering systems and offering inspection and preventative maintenance services, the Independent Studio Services' team will be on hand to discuss customers' upcoming projects and how they can be best serviced - be it an install or inspection, or a full design and implementation package.

As newly appointed distributors for Tüchler, Independent Studio Services will be exhibiting the Tüchler Stage Platform Zoom 1200 and a selection of curtain tracks, alongside Tüchler's Tom Kat category 'A' chain hoist.

Independent Studio Services is also the UK distributor for HOAC, suppliers of staging and ASM Steuerungstecknik, manufacturers of drive and control technol

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Australia - Elite Sound and Lighting, one of Canberra and the ACT's premier audiovisual production and installation suppliers, has a wide variety of clients from dry-hire to rock'n'roll to corporate and conferencing. Consequently whenever they purchase new equipment the key element is versatility.

"We always spend a lot of time researching products which is exactly what we did when we recently decided to invest in some compact digital audio consoles," commented Darren Russell, Elite's managing director. "We looked at what all the manufacturers in the market had to offer but in terms of versatility and features, we felt that Soundcraft consoles had the edge over the competition."

For Russell, one of the main selling points with the Soundcraft consoles is their ability to either take analogue inputs and outputs on the back of the console or use Cat 5 digital

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UK - The Philips Selecon team is celebrating this month following an influx of positive feedback from dealers and end users in response to the newly launched PLCyc1 LED luminaire.

Recently on show at April's industry trade event PLASA Focus Leeds, the Philips Selecon PLCyc1 LED delivers a smooth even beam, seamlessly blending intense washes of colour on cycloramas up to 5m high. Using LED source technology combined with a properly shaped asymmetrical reflector, the PLCyc1 LED delivers consistent light distribution without the compromising performance of vertical or horizontal spreader lenses, says the company.

"This luminaire is generating extremely encouraging responses from our dealers and end users," says Grant Bales Smith, sales manager United Kingdom, Scandinavia & Benelux. "We're hugely excited about the launch of the PLCyc1 LED, and it's technology-rich a

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UK - After its success at both Prolight & Sound and PLASA Focus shows, ETC is getting ready to show the new Source Four LED at this year's ABTT Show. The fixture joins a host of other new and updated ETC products on the stand, as the show moves to London's Old Truman Brewery.

The ETC Source Four LED is available in three versions: Lustr+, Daylight and Tungsten. Just like the Selador Desire Lustr+, the Source Four LED Lustr+ offers a complete palette of colours, thanks to the Selador x7 Color System. Meanwhile, Source Four LED Tungsten and Daylight produce maximum brightness at the respective warm (3000K) and cool white (5600K) colour temperatures. Each offers the same projection-quality beam.

Mark White, ETC's regional manager for UK & Ireland, says, "In addition to the demonstrations we've held at trade shows, we also took part in Black Light's open day in Edinburgh last

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UK - SES were chosen to supply 11th Hour Events distribution package for their main fleet within a very short timescale. Being successful in gaining several high profile projects, 11th hour realised they were in need of heavy duty mains and having previously purchased the Power-Pro range of Power Distribution manufactured by the UK's leading manufacturer SES, placed a large order for a wide range of product.

Gordon Cooper from SES commented, "When we took the call from Andy, we knew due to the time scale this order would be a challenge due to our current commitments on other high profile projects, but we are used to working under pressure and did not want to let an important client down, we were very pleased to be able to gain the order and more importantly delivered 2 days early.

" It is always a great feeling when you get the call from the customer saying how pleas

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UK - "When one of the UK's biggest TV shows sets up in your back yard and say they need to equip the largest lighting rig that's ever been seen on prime time TV....it would be rude not to help them out." Says ELP project manager Barry Denison with a wry smile on his face.

He continues. "It's been brilliant having The Voice based here at Elstree as we've been able to instantly provide LD Mark Kenyon and his head rigger Dave Morrell with all the gear they need right from our Elstree office. We worked closely with them on-site throughout the whole process, from creating technical drawings during the planning process right through to supplying extra components on actual show days."

ELP were involved even before The Voice UK came to Elstree. The show was broadcast in three stages. The first stage involved blind auditions from BBC TV centre where co

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South Africa - A new d&b Audiotechnik system was installed into the Sun City Superbowl in 2010, and this year it was given legs during the 18th South African Music Awards to the praise and admiration of various important figures in South Africa's ever-burgeoning music scene. Various South African Music celebrities present at the recent ceremony were blown away by the d&b Audiotechnik J-Series and Q-Series installed in the venue.

SAMA CEO and Idols judge Randall Abrahams enthused that the "sound quality was outstanding" and was quick to note that the "sound management of the various performances was handled extremely professionally which led to a final product that was of a very high standard."

It was a large scale event that was watched live and broadcast to millions of South African's around the country. Randall reminded us that the "sound qual

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Japan - Okinawa, the most southerly isle of the Japanese archipelago, is home to the Ryukyu Golden Kings (RGK) one of the leading basketball teams on the island and a member of the of Basketball Japan. While they might not yet be the LA Lakers, their aspirations are high. In a Western Conference effort to increase income that has already born fruit, the team sought to expand its audience by upping the excitement level at matches with the application of some 21st century sporting show business.

"What is different about the RGK is that they don't have a home arena, all 26 matches in their season are played on tour," explained Osamu Koki from Staging Okinawa. "They came to see us for ideas on how to liven up the excitement at each game; they wanted lighting and sound but with one critical proviso: everything had to fit in a two ton truck."

The fact is Okinawa

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UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light is enjoying a busy spring-to-summer season supplying new theatrical productions, as the West End defies the predictions that it would suffer in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

Recent openings include Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Apollo Theatre, starring David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf with lighting by Mark Henderson; two acclaimed transfers from the Chichester Festival Theatre, Sweeney Todd also lit by Mark Henderson and the double bill of South Downs and The Browning Version lit by Neil Austin; the Neil Simon comedy The Sunshine Boys starring Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths at the Savoy Theatre, also lit by Neil Austin, and The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic, lit by James Farncombe.

The Old Vic's production of Noises Off has transferred to the Novello, lit by Paul

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