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USA - Beatport's top 10 sound systems in the US features five venues installed with Funktion-One. Beatport - one of the largest online music and tools resources for DJs in the world -searched across the USA to reach a shortlist of 10 standout venues. "The criterion here was very straightforward; which venues in the US have the best sound?" says Beatport.

The enviable top spot went to New York's Cielo Club, which boasts a Funktion-One system. And this was no one-off for the British loudspeaker manufacturer, which also took position number three (Beta, Denver), six (Q, Seattle), eight (Mansion 360, Miami) and number 10 (Smart Bar, Chicago) - quite an achievement when you consider the thousands of nightclubs, theatres and bars dotted around the country.

Recognition from B

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UK - Ian Hall has been promoted to sales director at Total Solutions Group. Joining the company nine years ago as sales manager, Hall has watched Total Solutions Group (TSG) evolve to engage with the ever growing demands of special projects. "From Slick to Solutions is a heady mix. TSG's involvement in providing specialist engineering skills to the ceremonies section of the London Olympics last summer was the high point in what has been for me, a tumultuous nine years since Slick Trussing first became part of TSG in 2004," says Hall.

In recognition of Hall's experience and success, company founder and group CEO Chris Cronin has asked Hall to step up to the role of sales director. Cronin comments: "Since he first arrived Ian Hall has demonstrated a balanced approach to the TSG business. While driving the roller-coaster of special projects with their unforeseen eng

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UK - City of London's Barbican Theatre recently hosted a Complicite production of The Master and Margarita, described by critics as a fantastic technical achievement. Live film and 3D animations by Finn Ross and Luke Halls combined to help director Simon McBurney bring Mikhail Bulgakov's challenging novel to the stage. The sound design by West End veteran Gareth Fry, which employed TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker automated vocal localisation, also attracted high praise from reviewers.

The TiMax SoundHub processor received radio-mic channel direct outs from the Yamaha PM5D console and delay-matrixed them to the multichannel source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) vocal system which comprised three flown pairs of L-Acoustics Arcs, Meyer MM4 front-fills and UPM balcony delays. Upstage UPA's were flown above the heads of the actors to act as first-wavefront reference anchors for

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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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Spain / Greece - Genelec has appointed new distributors in Spain and Greece - two key Southern European territories for the company's range of professional monitoring and AV trade products. Growing business in Spain has seen the appointment of Lexon S.A., a professional audio distributor; and in Greece, Bon Studio S.A. joins the Genelec family as the first distribution partner in the country.

Jarmo Masko, European area sales manager, Genelec, is delighted to have secured the services of both companies and reassured that in times of recession, premium brands like Genelec retain their strong appeal: "Despite tough trading conditions, we see Spain and Greece as areas that have great potential for us. Our Pro Monitoring and AV Install product segments are particularly important, and in Lexon and Bon Studio we have formed partnerships with experienced companies that can help us

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UK - PLASA London launches its first show at ExCeL London today with free entry for the first 5000 people to register via its new website. Taking place on 6-9 October 2013, the new name, new venue, and new autumn dateline aren't the only changes afoot for the industry-owned event.

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths explains, "This year marks the first stage of the show's long-term strategic development. ExCeL is located just five minutes from London City Airport, which handles 350 flights a day from 40 international destinations, and ExCeL's seven onsite hotels provide thousands of rooms within walking distance. With increased connectivity to Europe and beyond, as well as new, world-class facilities, we hope to send a clear message about the show's plans for future international growth."

In addition to the new campus-style experience for international visitors, PLASA Events

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UK - The opening day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 will finish with a keynote address from Harald Haas, Professor of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh and Fellow of the World Technology Network.

Professor Harold Haas is widely regarded as one of most eminent innovators in communications technology today. His current research is focused on three main areas: optical wireless communications, spatial modulation and interference coordination in wireless networks. A finalist for the world Technology Award in 2011, his work on Li-Fi was featured by TIME magazine as one of the "50 Best Inventions in 2011".

Addressing an audience at an entertainment and installation technology event for the very first time, Li-Fi - Broadband Through Light is a speech that considers the application of using light, specifically light from LEDs, rather than radio wa

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Japan - Audio-Technica has announced the passing of company founder and executive emeritus of Audio-Technica Corporation, Hideo Matsushita, on 5 March, 2013.

Hideo Matsushita passed away of natural causes at the age of 93. In accordance with his family's wishes, a private wake and funeral service were held on 8-9 March.

On the eve of Audio-Technica's 40th anniversary in 2002, Hideo Matsushita reflected on the company's early beginnings: "I came to Tokyo at age 32, and, thanks to an introduction by my uncle, went to work for the Bridgestone Museum of Art. At the urging of the museum's director, I began organizing LP concerts. These were much more successful than anyone imagined. After a decade at the Bridgestone Museum, I struck out on my own and established Audio-Technica in 1962."

He continued, "The company immediately launched its first product, the AT-1 Ste

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South Africa - Radial Engineering has appointed Stage Audio Works as its distributor for the African region.

Stage Audio Works, based in Southern Africa, is a leading supplier of cutting-edge live event audio and lighting technologies.

"Their philosophy of providing the highest quality products in their distribution lines up perfectly with Radial Engineering's product brands; Radial Pro Audio, Tonebone guitar pedals and Primacoustic acoustic products," explains Steve McKay, international sales manager for Radial. "Having well developed service, training and technical support departments further enhances the possibilities for the future."

"We are excited to increase Radial's presence across the African region," adds Gustav Barnard, technical director for Stage Audio Works. "The quality of the construction and audio performance make Radial th

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Germany - ArKaos has chosen Prolight & Sound Frankfurt to announce the formation of a new division - ArKaos Pro.

ArKaos Pro has been formed specifically to serve the large-scale, professional level show and lighting projects which now dominate much of the ArKaos client base. The new division will operate alongside the existing ArKaos organization.

"We have formed Arkaos Pro in acknowledgement of how ArKaos has grown and developed since its start," says business development manager, Agnes Wojewoda. "ArKaos products have evolved into far more sophisticated solutions over the past years as our software has continued to stretch boundaries and our client base diversified.

"ArKaos Pro will dedicate its time and expertise to the professional lighting market which has expanded exponentially for us in the last few years and now demands greater attention, energy an

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USA - Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden's new King Animal tour has hit the road with a grandMA2 full-size console supplied by Upstsaging. The national tour is in support of the rockers' sixth studio album, also called King Animal, which was released last November.

"We designed a show very specific to a theater space," says Justin Collie, production designer with PEDG. "The tour is a high-tech 'old school' theatre production. We used 60 of Chromlech's Elidy-S panels, arrayed as truss fascia. We selected them for the novelty of the fixture and because they fit in very well in terms of the color temperature. They feel like an old-school lamp but have an ultra-modern effect. They give a nice warm tungsten color temperature, and you can map media servers to them. It's very easy to get effects, and we can make specific QuickTime Movies to get very precis

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Canada - The new smaller, more powerful BTBeacon for CAST Group's ground-breaking BlackTrax 6D tracking system has earned a Certificate of Conformity by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and exceeded the rigorous standards required to display the CE Mark. Subsequently, the BlackTrax Solution Version 1 is in full production and the first systems are expected to ship within weeks.

While a fully-functional prototype of BlackTrax won both IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) Game-Changer and PLASA Gold Innovation Awards, the market-ready version of the system is even more advanced, thanks to some ingenious tweaks made to the revolutionary BTBeacon, says the company. CAST engineers have reduced the BTBeacon's thickness by about 50 per cent, making it smaller than an iPhone and less intrusive than a microphone belt-pack, "yet much more powerful

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Germany - ARX Systems, the Australia-based manufacturer of digital and analogue interface and signal processing products will be releasing several new USB audio products, new additions to their popular AudiBox range of "audio problem solvers" and the new MaxiDrive 8, eight channel line driver at April's Frankfurt ProLight & Sound exhibition.

New product releases include the USB I/O VSR Dual Channel Broadcast Standard USB Audio Interface.

Designed to the specifications of a major British broadcasting company, the USB I/O VSR features fully transformer isolated and balanced Inputs and Outputs, multiple selectable sample rates and is a true 'Plug and Play' USB digital / analogue pro audio interface, says the company.

Also being shown for the first time is ARX's new MaxiDrive 8 - Eight channel high current line driver / distribution amplifier. The MaxiDrive's very low

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UK - Award-winning band The xx has bought two DPA d:facto II Vocal Microphones after being impressed by their audio quality and ability to deliver an incredibly natural sound during a recent tour of the US.

The band, which comprises Oliver Sim, Romy Madley-Croft and Jamie Smith, won the 2010 Mercury Music Prize for their debut album xx. They were introduced to DPA's d:facto Vocal Microphones by their live sound engineer Rik Dowding who was keen to find an alternative to the microphones Oliver and Romy had been using.

"One of the most important things about working with this band is the translation of the very intimate, late night vocals of the albums to a live situation," Dowding says. "Higher mic gains introduce unwanted stage noise into the microphones, especially in smaller venues. In order to get that 'in your face', yet delicate sound, I needed a mic

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USA - Bandit Lites has revamped its website, www.banditlites.com, with a vibrant, dynamic new look. The website includes updated information regarding lighting tours, special events, system sales and solutions and LED technology.

Galleries showcase photos ranging from concert tours with Garth Brooks to special events such as the Presidential Debate. Additionally, an installation gallery highlights projects including Dollywood, The Hollywood Wax Museum and Pirate's Voyage.

The site will be a one-stop site where people can not only discover Bandit Lites current news and projects, but also find manuals to Bandits' GRN Lite fixtures, apply for employment opportunities, read about the rehearsal facilities and even shop for used gear.

"I feel like we hit the mark on this site, as we updated it to include many of the Internet's best practices such as social media integration,&

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USA - PRG (Production Resource Group) has stepped up its use of CAST Software's wysiwyg in the programming of world-class productions, among them, the recent Superbowl XLVII Halftime Show.

R&B star Beyoncé's performance for the show was watched by over 70,000 people at the New Orleans Superdome and broadcast to 108m viewers, with its breathtaking visual design by Al Gurdon, known for his work with Madonna and The Who. It was Gurdon's fourth year on the Superbowl and the fifth for wysiwyg, however, this year, around 90 per cent of the design was programmed virtually using the latest release of the suite, R30, more than a month in advance of the show, at PRG's purpose-built pre-visualisation studio in London.

Lighting director Rich Gorrod worked with Gurdon to design a system in AutoCAD, before uploading it to wysiwyg with the help of previz expert, Chris Burnage, and pat

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USA - Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Compendium are two of the more significant Grammys awarded every year. At the 55th Awards ceremony held on 10 February, these were won by recordings made and mastered on Merging Technologies' Pyramix. One of those is based at the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra's home and the other is located in Europe, in Warsaw.

Jack Vad is accustomed to making fine recordings of Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in the spectacular Davies Symphony Hall but he just had a feeling that this one might be a cut above the usual. The main piece on this Hybrid SACD is Harmonielehre by contemporary composer, John Adams. The complex and challenging orchestral writing in this piece requires careful microphone placement as well as precise execution. As always, the recording was live and portions of this production were simulta

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UK - Gary Barlow's recent solo tour was of a more intimate nature than those he undertakes with his fellow band members, but the quality of the audio is no less important than it is for Take That's stadium shows. The requisite equipment inventory boasts DiGiCo consoles, supplied by audio rental company Delta Sound, at both Front of House and monitor positions, a combination that is as sure to please as Gary himself.

Front of House engineer Gary Bradshaw, who also engineers for Take That, opted for a DiGiCo SD8 to take into account the restrictions on space presented by the tour's choice of venues.

"The gigs were very varied in their size," Bradshaw explains. "The biggest being the Brighton Centre, going down to a tiny seaside theatre in Scarborough where there's not much space at all. So I went for a nice, compact package, for which the SD8 fits the bill perfect

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UK - Surrey-based electrical contractors, The Technical Department has achieved the internationally recognised ISO9001, establishing it as one of the leaders in its field.

This independent assessment was conducted by the leading Certification Body, the British Assessment Bureau and demonstrates The Technical Department commitment to customer service and quality in delivery.

The Technical Department has now earned the right to display the coveted British Assessment Bureau ISO 9001 certification mark to demonstrate its conformance to the standard.

ISO 9001 was first introduced in 1987 and requires organisations to demonstrate that they do what they say they do and that they have a quality management system in place to ensure consistency and improvement; leading to high levels of performance and customer satisfaction. Certified organisations are committed to continuous improvem

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Germany - At the upcoming ProLight&Sound 2013, Ayrton will show a range of products including the NandoBeam 302 - an elegantly designed, compact 300W LED moving head providing ultra bright, concentrated beams and the possibility of concentric circles, individually controllable for special effects. NandoBeam 302 uses 19 RGBW 15W Osram light sources coupled with an ultra fast 8° to 40° zoom (beam angle). An innovative and advanced optical system allows bright, very concentrated beams to travel far and wide, with deep and colourful wash capacity, says the company.

The WildBeam 302 benefits from a large colour screen, an internal battery to run the unit when without access to power distribution and new Neutrik PowerCON True One power connectors. The internal structure is made of steel and aluminium which makes the WildBeam 302 road ready, says Ayrton.

Also showing will be

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USA - J. R. Clancy, Inc., has added to its sales and estimating staff, maintaining and expanding its technical services and expertise to serve its customers.

Eric Huss has joined Clancy as technical salesman. Prior to joining J. R Clancy, Huss worked for Artec Consultants on projects including Darat King Abdullah II Performing Arts Centre in Amman, Jordan; Dr. Phillips Centrefor the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla.; Grand Theatre du Bouregreg in Rabat, Morocco; and the Star Performing Arts Centre in Singapore.

Scott Uhrig joins J.R. Clancy as an estimator, coming to the company from The Oncenter entertainment complex in downtown Syracuse. As the complex's technical services manager for nearly 20 years, he was responsible for the technical operations of three facilities: the John H. Mulroy Civic Centrer Theaters, the Onondaga County War Memorial, and the Nicholas J. Pirro Conve

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Germany - Music Group, the parent company of Behringer, Midas, Klark-Teknik, Turbosound and Bugera, will showcase their ever-expanding line-up of high-performance audio products at this year's Prolight + Sound Show, held 10-13 April in Frankfurt.

The Music Group booth in Hall 8.0 M90 will showcase products from Midas, Klark-Teknik and Behringer, including the latter's Eurocom installed sound products. With the main focus on digital mixing, Behringer will present the latest additions to its growing X32 product family plus the new iX16 iPad mixer, while Midas will have their full PRO line and XL8 consoles on display. Recording studio pros and aficionados will be able to experience the new NEKKST studio monitors, a major collaboration with Keith R. Klawitter that debuted at NAMM 2013, as well as the U-PHORIA digital interfaces and iSTUDIO iS202 docking station for iPad.

Costa Lak

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